Executive Summary

The concept of Gulf security usually focuses on regime stability, territorial integrity against potential external aggression, military procurements, and the free flow of oil and gas. However, the health crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic has confirmed what has been increasingly apparent in the past few years: Gulf security is first and foremost human security.

It is crucial to bring the human security aspect front and center in the debates on Gulf security as it encompasses critical challenges for the region’s population, but also because recent and increasing sources of human insecurity threaten some of the foundational premises underpinning the polities of the Gulf Arab states, particularly their rentier political economy and regime-centric approach to security. This paper reframes human security issues as an inherent part of national security in the Gulf states and suggests innovative and pertinent ways to address future challenges with greater inclusivity.

In particular, it reviews the risks that the Gulf countries face regarding public health, food, and water security, as well as environmental security more broadly. It then assesses how these issues directly challenge some of their traditional definitions of security, in economic and strategic contexts. Finally, it offers some pathways to tackle the multifaceted security challenges the future holds for Gulf countries.

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