Program Related Publication Feeds

Saudi Youth: Unveiling the Force for Change

dholodnik — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been spared the unrest that recently swept many of its neighbors in the Middle East.

Gulf Roundtable: Iran’s Maritime Evolution

dholodnik — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Iran’s nuclear program gets the press, but Iran’s navy is an indispensible part of its regional strategy. A swift, versatile navy gives Iran political and economic leverage in and around the Gulf, and allows it to challenge U.S. presence without necessarily suffering retaliation. Dr. David B.

Gulf Analysis Paper: Iran's Maritime Evolution

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

As Iraq and Afghanistan fade from the headlines, Iran is likely to re-emerge as the preeminent security concern in the Middle East for the United States and its allies. Iran’s intransigence over its nuclear ambitions, its support for Shia opposition forces in the region, and material support for terrorist organizations are challenges that will likely persist for the foreseeable future.

Gulf Roundtable: A GCC Strategy for Counter-Piracy?

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Pirates’ bounties have never been more bountiful in the Arabian Sea. Despite a multi-national counter-piracy effort in the region, pirates are pursuing increasingly lucrative targets with unprecedented skill and sophistication. The GCC states, whose economies rely heavily on maritime trade through the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, feel the piracy threat acutely but have th

Counter-Piracy in the Arabian Sea

Mon, 09 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Piracy not only threatens to disrupt maritime trade in the region that Gulf economies depend on, it also undermines confidence in the ability of regional governmnets to address security challenges in their own "backyard." The problem provides a unique opportunity for local actors, most importantly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, to demonstrate initiative and exercise

Gulf Roundtable: Eyes on Bahrain

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The unrest raging in Bahrain is hardly surprising. The Bahraini uprising feeds on old political tensions, according ot Kristin Smith Diwan, professor of international relations at American University's School of International Service, and is part of a genuine call for a more representative government. Fred Wehrey, senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, believes the disc

Water and National Strength in Saudi Arabia

mDziuban — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Of all the manifestations of Saudi Arabia's spectacular development over the past half century, none presents a starker set of contrasts than water. Oil has helped finance rapid urban development and generous philanthropic and humanitarian projects around the world.

Gulf Roundtable: Scarcity and Strategy in the GCC

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Resource scarcity in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will challenge the same political and economic structures that resource abundance has helped shore up. Dr. Toby Jones and Dr. Eckart Woertz discussed these challenges at a Gulf Roundtable hosted by the CSIS Middle East Program on February 25, 2011.

Scarcity and Strategy in the GCC

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

One of the Gulf Arab region's most pressing challenges over the next several decades relates not to national defense or conventional warfare, but to water. Policymakers traditionally think of the GCC in terms of defense sales and security umbrellas, and international conflict in the region remains a possibility. However, water scarcity and the domestic strains it will create ar

Gulf Roundtable: From Soldiers to Diplomats: the U.S. Civil-Military Transition in Iraq

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

GCC concerns about Iranian influence in Iraq are "overplayed," according to Mark Matthews, former Director of Strategy, Plans, and Assessment for U.S.

Gulf Roundtable: Iran, the Bomb, and Gulf Security

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

When it comes to its nuclear program, Iran's government seeks to manipulate any U.S.

Gulf Roundtable: Iran: Addressing the Nuclear Threat

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

On September 21, 2010, the CSIS Middle East Program hosted Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA), chairman of the U.S.

Gulf Roundtable: The Conventional Military Balance in the Gulf

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In a conventional war against Iran, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries would almost certainly win, according to Dr. Anthony Cordesman, the Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS.

Gulf Roundtable: Saudi Arabia: Domestic Dynamics and Regional Policies

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Saudi debate on a range of social and regional policy issues has expanded considerably over the last five years. Much of this discussion is driven by the media which has expanded its coverage of women’s rights, freedom of speech, and government accountability.

Gulf Roundtable: Regional Reverberations: What If Israel Strikes Iran?

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

If Israel struck Iran militarily, experts say, Iran would likely seek to retaliate against U.S. and GCC interests in the Gulf, Iran and Afghanistan. While Dr. Gary Sick argued that the aftermath of such a strike would be so profound as to make it both undesirable and unlikely, Dr. Kenneth Katzman suggested that contingencies are already in place to help manage the consequences.

Gulf Roundtable: Trouble in the Backyard: Yemen and the GCC

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Yemen’s plight has sparked concern in more than one corner of the world. While the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) fears a failed state in its backyard, the United States and Europe fear that al Qaeda will turn the country into a safe haven for terrorists.

Gulf Roundtable: The UAE 123 Agreement: A Model for the Region?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The energy-rich countries of the Middle East often have a hard time making a case for civilian nuclear power. In Iran, “peaceful purposes” are a thin veil for what many experts conclude are nuclear weapons ambitions, and the Gulf’s vast hydrocarbon reserves make any call for nuclear power appear illogical.

Gulf Roundtable: The New Silk Road: The Arab Rediscovery of China

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

For the first time in modern history, China has surpassed the United States as the largest exporter to the Middle East, with revenues totaling around $60 billion per year. Ben Simpfendorfer, chief China Economist for the Royal Bank of Scotland, suggests that the figure reflects a “historical rebalancing” in the global economy and that China-Middle East ties will continue to grow.

Gulf Roundtable: The Bet: Gulf Investment and the Future of Oil Demand

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

As fluctuating oil prices continue to affect both producers and consumers throughout the world,
PFC Energy consultant Roger Diwan offered his insights into the particular role of oil investment
within the Gulf States. He focused on the uncertainties of future oil demand, and how these
factors in turn motivate the exploration and development of new fields in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,

Gulf Roundtable: Assessing the Iranian Nuclear Challenge

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

“In the case of Iran, to think that you will deal with the weapons system without dealing with the reason that they find that option attractive is a serious mistake,” said David Kay, a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and the former chief UN nuclear weapons inspector in Iraq.

Gulf Roundtable: The Democracy Tax: Accountability, Transparency and Efficiency in the Gulf

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500

While democratic countries tend to be wealthier than authoritarian countries, few argue that democracy creates wealth. Still rarer are those who suggest that democracy inhibits wealth creation. The Gulf, however, may be an exception.

Gulf Roundtable: UAE 1-2-3 Nuclear Agreement

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

H.E. Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States, discussed the UAE's proposed civilian nuclear energy program at a CSIS Gulf Roundtable on January 12, 2009. He was joined by his colleague H.E.

Gulf Roundtable: Making Sense of Gulf Economic Trends

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

“What happens in the Gulf affects the entire Middle East,” observed Mohsin Khan of the International Monetary Fund, but he estimates that the Gulf countries will fare far better than most through the current economic downturn.

Gulf Roundtable: Iraq’s Reintegration into the Gulf

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

“Ordinary Iraqis fear that the Gulf states are working against Iraq,” explained Stephen Negus of the Woodrow Wilson Center. While there is a small Gulf Arab presence in the country, “Iran is indispensible to Iraq in a way the Gulf has not been and is not likely to become,” he added.

Gulf Roundtable: Fundamentalist Islam at a Crossroads: 9/11, Iraq, and the Saudi religious debate

Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

“The split between the Muslim Brothers and the Wahhabis is now at the center of all Islamist debates” in Saudi Arabia stated Stephane Lacroix, a post-doctoral fellow and a lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris.

Gulf Roundtable: Recentering the Global Economy: Gulf capital and the future of wealth

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

“U.S. companies have no choice but to depend on sovereign wealth funds for assets,” stated Daniel Gross, Newsweek’s chief economic columnist. A growing supply of dollar-based capital piling up on the balance sheets of foreign governments has intersected with a sudden demand for capital in the United States. These conditions have created opportunities for U.S.

Gulf Roundtable: Iraq after the Surge: Implications for the Gulf States

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Africa at the International Crisis Group (ICG). Hiltermann asserted that the U.S. surge strategy, combined with U.S. engagement with Sunni tribes through the so-called Sunni Awakening (or sahwa), has created precisely the openings Arab states were calling for to create some political accommodation in Iraq. Still, significant challenges remain.

Gulf Roundtable: The New Rules of the Game: Gulf wealth and the global economy

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While the Arab Gulf is enjoying a huge windfall as oil revenues have skyrocketed, the region continues to face serious economic challenges, according to Ahmed Saeed of Cerberus Capital. Saeed, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa and the Middle East at the U.S.

Gulf Roundtable: Iran: Meeting the Military Challenge

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Defining the Iranian military challenge to the Gulf is “exceedingly difficult given the multidimensional nature of the threat, the enigmatic nature of the state, and the fact that Iran frequently exaggerates and obfuscates its military capabilities” argued Frederic Wehrey, an international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation.

Gulf Roundtable: The Gulf’s Shi’a: Toward Loyalty or Rebellion?

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400

National identity trumps sectarian identity among the Shi’a populations of the Arab Gulf, stated J.E. Peterson, an expert on the history and politics of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states who is affiliated with the University of Arizona. He analyzed the current state of the Gulf Shi’a for the third session of the CSIS Gulf Roundtable on July 12, 2007.

Gulf Roundtable: Iran and the Struggle for Gulf Supremacy

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Two leading American experts on Iran judged that Iran is a more rational power than is often supposed, and more aggressive U.S. diplomacy to test Iranian intentions and shape Iranian actions could have positive effects in the coming years.

Gulf Roundtable: The Arab Quartet

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The re-launching of the “Arab Peace Initiative” at March’s Arab League Summit was accompanied by an innovation: the creation of an “Arab Quartet” to help pursue peace efforts between the Arab world and Israel. Professor F.