Gulf Arab states must be breathing a collective sigh of relief over the acrimony that continues to characterize U.S.-Iran relations a year after the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka, the Iran nuclear deal. After all, Gulf Arab states were convinced the JCPOA would be Iran’s Get Out of Jail Free card, ending its international isolation and enabling Washington and Tehran to turn the page on more than three decades of hostility – at their expense. Read more
Increased oil price volatility, fueled by frustration with the slow pace of a rebalancing of oversupplied markets, is behind OPEC‘s decision to hold informal talks on the sidelines of the 15th International Energy Forum (IEF) in September. Initially, there were zero expectations that OPEC ministers would hold any meaningful discussions in Algiers but, taking the market by surprise, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih on July 11 signaled his support for a meeting of both OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Algiers and, if needed, possible action to help balance the market. Read more
أمضى المرشح الجمهوري دونالد ترامب الاسبوع الماضي في مناوشات و معارك عبثية مع عائلات الجنود الذين سقطوا في حروب الولايات المتحدة، و مع قيادات الحزب الجمهوري و من بينهم رئيس مجلس النواب بول راين، و السيناتور جون ماكين، و مع الصحافيين الذين يغطون حملته و الذين يصفهم بأنهم "الأكثر كذبا في العالم". و طالت رشقات ترامب الكلامية مسؤولين في حملته، لكن الملفت أن حصة منافسته هيلاري كلينتون و الرئيس أوباما كانت الأقل من بين الجميع اطلع على المزيد
In August, reports of workers, many of them construction laborers from India and the Philippines, laid off from their jobs without pay and without access to food or a way home, shocked citizens and residents of the Gulf and outsiders alike. The wind down of large construction projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council states has been expected by businesspeople and investors for some time. It is an inevitable part of the boom-bust cycle of oil and gas dependent economies, especially of patterns of investment and government spending in the Gulf in the last decade. Read more
Amal contacted me two years ago. She was 30 years old, a junior university professor, and she needed help. For four years her father had beaten her, locked her in her room, and threatened to stop her from working because she wanted to marry a non-Saudi professor. Now she wanted to explore a potential escape from the country of her birth, Saudi Arabia. Read more
Much attention was generated by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s interview with politico.eu. The minister appeared to offer Russia an economic lifeline from Western sanctions through economic access to the Gulf Cooperation Council—the grouping of the six Arab Gulf monarchies, most of which have large oil reserves—and “a pool of investment that exceeds that of China.” Read more
From the days of antiquity, through to the middle of the twentieth century, economics was largely a deductive and narrative discipline. The leading contributions were dense treatises hundreds of pages in length, with scarcely a number or equation in sight. Economists influenced policymakers through the general principles that they espoused, such as David Ricardo’s opposition of the protectionist English Corn Laws, rather than the precise, numerical prescriptions that a medical researcher would present to a health minister. Read more
AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish sat down with Khaled Almaeena, a leading Saudi journalist and former editor-in-chief of the Saudi Gazette, to discuss the Saudi National Transformation Program and its social implications.
AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish appeared on Sky Arabia TV discussing the U.S. presidential election and its implications for the Middle East. Additionally, Ibish was quoted in an Al Arabiya article on Lebanese politics, noting "Lebanon is not a failing state, but a fading state."
AGSIW Non-Resident Fellow Fahad Nazer commented on the "28 pages" indirectly linking Saudi Arabia to the 9/11 attacks for CNN, noting that "It is very common for the [Saudi] government to help Saudi citizens, certainly in terms of providing medical assistance or support while they are abroad." Nazer also discussed the July 4 attacks in Saudi Arabia for LobeLog, highlighting the lack of a moral red line exhibited by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant: “Even al-Qaeda, which is certainly brutal in its own right, has never targeted Muslims in their houses of worship. ISIS has done that repeatedly.”
Position Title: Associate – Cultural Programs Department/Team: Programs and Communication Period: Part Time (25 hours/week, no benefits) Location: Washington, DC
Job Summary: The cultural associate will be responsible for proposing and implementing cultural programming at AGSIW, such as panel discussions, film screenings, art exhibitions, and music performances. The associate will monitor the arts and culture scene in the GCC countries and help shape the direction of AGSIW cultural programming. The associate will provide administrative, communication, and logistical support to the programs team to plan and execute cultural programming. Read more
Position Title: Research Associate Department/Team: Senior Resident Scholars Period: Part Time (20-25 hours/week, no benefits) Location: Washington, DC
Job Summary: Provide research assistance and administrative support to senior resident scholars at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. At the direction of the scholars, conduct research on Gulf politics, foreign policy, culture, economics, and U.S. policy toward the region. Monitor contemporary developments in the Gulf states and in U.S. policy, including reviews of regional media and foreign language sources. Contribute analytical essays, bibliographies, and summaries on relevant topics. Read more
