With the Cultural Majlis, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi aims to bring together the Middle East and North Africa community within U.S. campuses and establish an inclusive dialogue connecting people, ideas, and cultures.
The French president has a number of qualities that appeal to many Gulf leaders, which may help explain his recent success in bringing France, and Europe, to the forefront of different diplomatic initiatives in the region.
As part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic and social reform plan, Vision 2030, the kingdom has taken a top-down approach to developing the country’s arts and culture sector.
The end of the dispute will add little or no oil output immediately, but it does restore some spare capacity, and resolves one of the breaches in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Oman’s political transition presents the new sultan and his government with a choice to maintain the status quo of economic policy or undertake a deeper, structural transformation of the energy-dependent economy.
Despite a subdued response by global and Gulf markets, the state of U.S.-Iranian relations poses long-term risks to Gulf Arab economies.
Oman has had notable success with its Khazzan gas field, but the sultanate will need to manage its domestic gas consumption and sign favorable long-term supply contracts to continue to benefit from LNG exports.
The OPEC+ group has agreed on deeper production cuts, but the next few weeks and months will show whether they have done enough to balance the market.
OPEC will need to adapt to new realities in an era of disruption and rapid transformation.
On October 2, AGSIW held its fifth annual Petro Diplomacy conference, exploring what measures the oil-producing states are adopting to manage the global transition to renewables and alternative energy sources and how this will impact demand for oil in the decades ahead.
The energy world is entering an era of disruption, where traditional methods of extracting, using, and trading energy are changing rapidly and where old rules no longer apply.
Countries that export larger quantities of low-sulfur crude oil will be the foremost beneficiaries of the demand brought on by IMO 2020, but the new regulations will not be a boon for everyone in the region.
The contest among Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, and Malaysia over the symbolic leadership of the Muslim world places a heavier burden on these states to appear as champions of Muslim causes.
GCC states all oppose any escalation with Iran, but it remains unclear if that will help heal other rifts.
As Iran contemplates its response to the killing of Major General Qassim Suleimani, it will likely look to an asymmetric response employing resources in the region, such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The United States does not have attractive options as far as its military presence in Iraq, but it has workable ones to achieve its strategic and security goals.
Following a U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s Quds Force chief, Gulf Arab states can help calm tensions.
Saudi and Emirati efforts to preserve their position of primacy in post-transition Sudan is apparent in their willingness to assist in economic development, provide humanitarian assistance, and strengthen security cooperation with its government.
The relaxation of social norms in Saudi Arabia has proved to be both emboldening and disorienting.
While recent demonstrations in Iran were prompted by widespread dissatisfaction over the rise of fuel prices, the root of the protests was in much deeper grievances.
As long as U.S. sanctions are in place, Iran is likely to encounter more unrest. How the recent crisis compares to earlier crises in the Islamic Republic may provide insights into the regime’s behavior in future protests.
Through 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.
Learn More
