• Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkish-Gulf Relations in the Context of Regional Reconciliation

    Feb 14, 2024Salim Çevik

    Since 2021, Turkey has been resetting its policies in the Middle East and has started to reconcile with its rivals in the previous decade—Egypt, Israel, Saudi …

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Qatar’s Successful World Cup Signals a New Era in the Gulf and Beyond

    The 22nd FIFA Men’s World Cup came to an end in Doha, Qatar on December 18 with one of the most thrilling finals in the nearly century-long history of the comp…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEducation and Development

    Women’s Education at Western Universities in Qatar and the UAE

    Sep 9, 2022Alainna Liloia

    As more and more western universities set up branch campuses in Gulf Arab states, many women are finding themselves with greater opportunities than ever before…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Gulf Countries’ Aid to Egypt: It Is Politics, Not the Economy, Stupid!

    May 5, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On April 4, 2022, Gulf Arab countries pledged $22 billion to help Egypt avert a currency crisis resulting from the Russian war on Ukraine. The Egyptian pound l…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarUS Foreign Policy

    Qatar’s New Designation as US Non-NATO Ally Serves Multiple Purposes

    Feb 4, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Less than five years after the eruption of the Gulf crisis of June 2017 that seriously threatened Qatar’s security, President Joe Biden designated the Gulf Ara…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey and the Gulf States: A New Era of Détente

    Dec 8, 2021Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkish officials celebrated the November 24 visit of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Ankara as the beginning of “a new era” between Tur…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptReligion and Politics

    Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood: Old Problems and New Divisions

    Nov 3, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    Since its removal from power in 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt continues to face many problems and challenges. Having always prided itself on being the …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    A New Strategic Architecture Is Emerging in the Gulf

    Sep 24, 2021Imad K. Harb

    As the Gulf crisis of 2017 recedes into memory, following the reconciliation in January at the “solidarity and stability” summit in Saudi Arabia’s al-Ula on th…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The Gulf

    The GCC Reconciliation: An Assessment

    Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held their 41st summit meeting on January 5, 2021 in al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, and agreed to end the Gulf crisis that…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The Gulf

    Saudi Arabia Ends the GCC Crisis

    Jan 7, 2021Imad K. Harb

    It finally happened: the GCC crisis is seemingly over. The 41st summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) succeeded in surmounting the three-and-a-h…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    The GCC Crisis at Three Years: No Lessons Learned

    Jun 2, 2020Khalil Al-Anani Kristian Coates Ulrichsen Marwan Kabalan Courtney Freer Karen E. Young

    The continuation of the GCC crisis undermines the idea of a supranational entity through which the six countries of the council could realize political, econom…

  • From our Affiliates
    QatarThe GCC

    Actors, Structures and Qatari Foreign Policy

    Feb 10, 2020Marwan Kabalan

    In a research paper on Qatar’s foreign policy, Marwan Kabalan concludes that a small state’s geopolitical factors and relative capabilities remain central in a…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    GCC Reconciliation Is Coming, but Pesky Issues Remain

    Dec 8, 2019Imad K. Harb

    A limited reconciliation between parties to the GCC crisis is likely to take place during the upcoming summit in Riyadh. However, certain thorny and serious po…

  • Viewpoint
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    Challenges to Resolving the GCC Crisis

    Khalil E. Jahshan discusses the challenges inherent in a reconciliation between Qatar and the neighboring countries that embargoed it and precipitated the unse…

  • From our Affiliates
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    Is a resolution of the GCC crisis imminent?

    Nov 18, 2019Ibrahim Fraihat

    Ibrahim Fraihat argues that the September 14 attack on Aramco has had a significant effect on Riyadh and has forced Saudi Arabia to revise its policies toward …

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    In Saudi Arabia, Covering the Khashoggi Murder Is a State Affair

    Aug 13, 2019Connor Echols

    Over the last decade, stories about the potential for freedom of the press in the Arab world have alternated between hopeful and hopeless. The 2011 Arab uprisi…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Arabian Gulf Must Not Sleepwalk toward War

    Aug 7, 2019Imad K. Harb

    The volatile situation in the Arabian Gulf has put the region on edge and increased anxiety about intra-Gulf peace, safety of navigation in the strategic Strai…

  • Viewpoint
    QatarEnergy and Economics

    Qatar Withdraws from OPEC: Business, Politics, or Both?

    It strains credulity to believe that Qatar’s decision to withdraw from OPEC was taken in total isolation from the regional conflict and tensions with neighbors.

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    The GCC Is Meeting Again: What to Expect?

    Regardless of what happens at the GCC summit on December 9, the likelihood is that the council as it functioned up until 2017 is not coming back anytime soon, …

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    Can a GCC Reconciliation Summit at Camp David Succeed?

    President Trump is planning to host a GCC reconciliation summit in September to shore up Arab support for his Iran policies; but to succeed, he will need to re…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Needless Crisis in the Arabian Gulf

    The Trump Administration would do well to work with the Saudis and Emiratis to identify a face-saving way to back down and end the blockade of Qatar.

  • Policy Analysis
    IranThe GCC

    How the blockade on Qatar failed

    Jun 5, 2018Marwan Kabalan

    The GCC crisis has inflicted significant financial loss on Qatar, but it has failed to bring it down.

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    One Year Later: A Necessary Reckoning in the GCC

    Jun 5, 2018Imad K. Harb

    Countries blockading Qatar must reflect on how their attempts to control the Gulf are destabilizing the entire region.

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    Perspective: Can Washington Resolve the Impasse?

    Jun 1, 2018Majed M. al-Ansari

    The White House—and more specifically, President Donald Trump—played a negative role in the GCC crisis when it started. The president initially supported the S…

  • Policy Analysis
    KuwaitConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Kuwait’s GCC Mediation: Incentives and Reasons for Failure

    Jun 1, 2018Marwan Kabalan

    Kuwait has been a mediator in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since the first crisis of 2013-2014 between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and …

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    A Difficult Position: US Mediation in the Gulf Dispute

    Jun 1, 2018Charles W. Dunne

    Strengthening and maintaining the Gulf Cooperation Council are among the top goals of any American administration that seeks to preserve peace and stability in…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarSecurity and Defense

    Measures of Stalemate in the Gcc Crisis

    Jun 1, 2018Imad K. Harb

    The current existential crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) began in May 2017 with a hacking operation of the Qatar News Agency website and the public…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Doubts Surrounding Trump’s Work on GCC Reconciliation

    Apr 9, 2018Imad K. Harb

    Conditions in the Gulf and in Washington do not augur well for Trump-led successful negotiations to resolve the GCC crisis, although all players are making the…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    US Allies Upstage Tillerson’s Mideast Tour

    Feb 27, 2018Joe Macaron

    Israel and Turkey dominated Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first expanded high level trip to the Middle East as US foreign policy faces new regional challe…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarSecurity and Defense

    The US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue: Messages and Implications

    Feb 8, 2018Marwan Kabalan

    The most consequential outcome of the US-Qatar strategic dialogue is the US official declaration of “readiness to work jointly with Qatar to deter and confront…

  • Policy Analysis
    OmanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Determinants of Oman’s Strategic Position on the Gulf Crisis

    Jan 23, 2018Imad K. Harb

    As Oman seeks to steer a neutral course in the ongoing GCC crisis, Omani decision-makers worry that what happened with Qatar may be justified against their own…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarEnergy and Economics

    The GCC’s Future Is in the Balance after Its 38th Summit Meeting

    Dec 7, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The GCC should be preserved despite the failure of its 38th summit meeting in Kuwait and the establishment of a Saudi Arabian-Emirati new political and militar…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The GCC Crisis: Media, Hacks, and the Emergence of “Cyber Power”

    Jul 25, 2017Tamara Kharroub

    Media tools have been employed heavily in the GCC crisis to suppress freedom of the press and expression, indicating a shift from military and soft power to a …

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Stupendous Hubris…and Its Damage

    Jul 18, 2017Imad K. Harb

    Revelations in the Post article stand the entire GCC crisis on a new footing, now that tangible information has been made public and confirms the Qatari govern…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Qatar-US Memorandum of Understanding: A Game Changer

    Jul 11, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The MOU is a game changer and provides a significant milestone on the road to a political solution that preserves GCC unity, stability, and prosperity.

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Absent Rationality in the GCC Crisis

    Jul 5, 2017Imad K. Harb

    Developments since last May have shown a careless disregard on the part of the Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates-Bahrain entente of the basic tenets of rationa…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Legal Analysis of the Demands Presented to Qatar

    Jun 26, 2017

    I. IntroductionOn June 23, 2017, Kuwait, acting as a mediator, presented Qatar with a thirteen-point list of demands on behalf of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Saudi, UAE Demands to End Qatar Crisis: Commands, Diktats, and Ultimatums

    The Saudi-led coalition presented Qatar a list of 13 demands to end the crisis. Analysts at Arab Center Washington DC provide an assessment and analysis of thi…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    What’s at Stake for the United States in the GCC Crisis?

    Jun 8, 2017Joe Macaron

    A lot is at stake for US national security in the Gulf, including the possibility of living with a divided GCC, the potential expansion of Iranian influence, a…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Why Qatar? Explaining Contentious Issues

    Jun 6, 2017Imad K. Harb

    What should concern all members of the GCC today is working together not only to simply iron out differences but to provide an agenda for successful collective…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan’s Gulf Tour: Reassurance without Substance?

    Feb 21, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Contemporaneous visits to the Gulf region by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani indicate urgent regional diplomacy in …