The China-Iran deal may be a stepping stone to increased ties between Tehran and Beijing, but the Gulf Arab states remain integral to Beijing’s economic projection in the Middle East.
The IRGC’s military exercises are little more than ineffective political propaganda.
Oman’s precarious reliance on energy exports to China and insufficient Chinese investment in non-oil segments of the Omani economy leave the sultanate in a weak position to address urgent economic challenges.
Gulf states have much to hope for, and worry about, if President Trump wins reelection.
The first decisions of Oman's new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, demonstrate a calm and deliberate ruling style and offer a glimpse into important changes that may be yet to come.
The complementary nature of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Gulf “vision” development programs has established another pillar of China-Gulf cooperation.
The Iran-China agreement appears as a framework for cooperation. Its realization depends on external factors over which Iran has no influence.
Under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic and the political imperatives of upcoming elections, populism is raging in Kuwait. It colors public discourse high and low, from elite campaigns to root out corruption to grassroot demands to expel guest workers.
A pilot survey of Imam Hussein University academic journals shows the limits of academic freedom in the Islamic Republic, save a few pieces reflecting the Iranian leadership’s view of the role of missiles in strategic deterrence.
Survival supersedes ideology, and the ruling elites of the Islamic Republic find themselves adhering to the constants in security policy of a predecessor they vilify.
Learn MoreThrough its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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