The GCC aid package for Bahrain illustrates how massive capital flows underlie the contentious politics and strategic alliances within the Gulf and broader Middle East.
While G.C.C. military spending spiked largely in tandem with high oil prices, the current drop in oil prices has yet to result in a reduction in military spending. The cost of G.C.C. military development continues to rise as regional tensions soar, and is potentially unsustainable as Gulf governments attempt to diversify their economies.
The nascent coalition linking Israel with the Gulf was born as a coalition of countries that are united by their common failure to dissuade Washington from its path of rapprochement with Iran.
In this week's briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Herman Franssen, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the battle for Fallujah, Thursday's OPEC meeting, and Saad Hariri's defeat in Tripoli, Lebanon.
Energy expert Jean-François Seznec argues that intra-regional energy cooperation is a sorely missing aspect in the Middle East and North Africa, costing the region in terms of its economic potential.
Obama’s successor will inherit a relationship with Saudi Arabia and the others that is troubled by mistrust and doubt about the strength of U.S. commitments, even though it is firmly rooted in security cooperation and economic ties.
President Barack Obama’s Thursday visit to Riyadh to participate in the Gulf Cooperation Council summit comes one year after his meeting with GCC leaders in Camp David, and is an attempt to shore up an important relationship at a time when the two sides have been drifting apart over key regional issues.
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Herman Franssen, and Robert Ford provide analysis on recent events including Obama's Last GCC Summit, the Doha Oil Summit, and Iraq's Cabinet Change.
Since Oman and South Korea established official diplomatic ties in 1974, trade has largely defined the Muscat-Seoul relationship. Oman’s oil and liquefied natural gas (L.N.G.) and South Korea’s automobiles, electronics, and large vessels have dominated bilateral trade. Yet as Seoul stakes out increasingly vital national interests in the volatile Middle East, a host of geopolitical and security trends will more meaningfully influence the future of Omani-Korean relations.