The civil conflict in Syria has been a major concern for many Gulf Arab states since the outbreak of the uprising against the Baathist dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad over four years ago. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait, among others, have been some of Assad’s leading regional opponents and strong proponents of regime change in Damascus. They have therefore reacted strongly to Russia’s escalation in Syria and are among the harshest critics of Moscow’s direct intervention into the conflict by conducting airstrikes against rebel groups and building up Russian ground forces. These developments will likely encourage a deeper engagement by Gulf Arab countries in the Syrian conflict in the coming months. Read more
Like the oil market, global supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is increasing. Global LNG supply is expected to grow 50 percent by 2020, faster than projected demand. Gas deliveries are also generally scheduled in long-term contracts, often tied to the price of oil, giving gas suppliers less flexibility in price negotiations when market conditions change. As the shale revolution has unsettled oil supply and price in the last year (along with substantial decrease in demand from Asia), gas suppliers are also seeing more competition from the West, namely the United States and Australia. Read more
Institutionalization in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states is proceeding within the financial sector in many ways as a result of economic growth, rather than as a precursor or foundation of economic growth. This paper gives an overview of the architecture of financial governance in the GCC states, situating financial governance in the context of domestic state-building, global capital flows and energy markets. Read more
AGSIW Welcomes New Board Members
AGSIW is pleased to announce that H.E. Yousef Al-Ebraheem, Dr. Bernard Haykel, H.E. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Mr. George R. Salem, Mr. Maroun Semaan, and Mr. Khaled Sifri, have joined the AGSIW Board of Directors.
"It is a great honor to welcome such a strong group of new members to our board," said Frank. G. Wisner, AGSIW Board Chairperson. "Each of them brings special expertise and unique experience to the mission of serving as the stewards of AGSIW." Read more
In the Media
As oil prices decline, Saudi Arabia is considering reductions in spending. Speaking with the Associated Press, AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Youngnoted "It's not an absolute crisis, but it is a question of planning for the future." She continued that the situation in the Gulf states is more complicated than being just about money, and that this is an opportunity for leaders for change.
In an Al Jazeera article on contrasting policy between the United States and Russia on Syria, AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish commented that it’s important for the United States to maintain its strategy “to counter both [ISIL and Assad] simultaneously no matter how difficult that may be.” Switching tactics and favoring Assad “would be playing into the hands of ISIL perfectly and validating their narrative in an extremely dangerous and counterproductive manner,” he concluded.
Visiting Scholars are individuals who possess a PhD or equivalent professional experience, and whose primary purpose for residence at AGSIW is to conduct independent research. The length of stay for a Visiting Scholar is typically a semester or academic year. AGSIW is actively seeking candidates with significant regional experience and fluency in written and spoken Arabic. AGSIW will provide a stipend that can be used to cover living expenses, travel costs, or incidental research expenses. Read more
