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Gulf States

Policy Analysis on Gulf States

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Brief Analysis
Gulf Coalition Operations in Yemen (Part 1): The Ground War
The Saudi-led coalition has waged a dynamic campaign, but all actions so far constitute a prelude to the tougher fighting ahead should the coalition launch an assault on Sana and the Houthi heartland.
Mar 25, 2016
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  • Alex Almeida
  • Michael Knights
Articles & Testimony
Behind the GCC's Terrorist Designation of Hizbullah
The decision, which has been coming for some time, is a function of increased Hizbullah activities in the Gulf states and growing tensions with Iran.
Mar 10, 2016
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  • Matthew Levitt
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Hezbollah Labeled Terrorist by GCC States – But What Do Their People Think?
March 8, 2016 In a remarkable if little-noticed development last week, all six GCC states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain – formally designated the Lebanese movement Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called this step “important and even amazing,” but
Mar 8, 2016
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  • David Pollock
Articles & Testimony
Filtering the Islamic State's Meta-Narratives: From Global to Local
The following is an excerpt from Aaron Zelin's contribution to the Carter Center report Countering Daesh Propaganda: Action-Oriented Research for Practical Policy Outcomes . To read his full chapter, download the PDF. The Islamic State provides an unprecedented amount of documentation on its own nature and the messages it hopes
Feb 27, 2016
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Brief Analysis
Saudi Arabia Rethinks Its Commitments to Lebanon
Riyadh's latest financial and diplomatic measures may just be a shot across Beirut's bow, but several signs point to a potentially wider Gulf withdrawal that could leave Lebanon even more at Iran and Hezbollah's mercy.
Feb 25, 2016
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  • David Schenker
Brief Analysis
Iranian EFPs in the Gulf: An Emerging Strategic Risk
Tehran and its proxies have increased their efforts to provide armor-piercing explosive devices to Shiite cells in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and this game-changing escalation could pose even greater challenges if Riyadh takes further action in Syria.
Feb 23, 2016
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  • Michael Knights
Articles & Testimony
The Reality of Riyadh
Saudi Arabia today is trying to unite the Arab world, while countering Iran in Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere, and also coping with an oil price that remains stubbornly weak.
Feb 16, 2016
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  • Simon Henderson
Brief Analysis
Desert Stretch: Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Military Operations
Riyadh's offer to deploy ground troops in Syria and reestablish air operations comes while its forces are still heavily committed in Yemen and a huge military exercise begins in the kingdom's north.
Feb 16, 2016
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  • Simon Henderson
Articles & Testimony
The Shift in Saudi Foreign Policy
While many believe that Riyadh's Yemen campaign and oil policy are sowing the seeds of domestic instability, the kingdom's activist approach is likely to endure for the foreseeable future given Washington's recent track record.
Feb 10, 2016
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  • David Schenker
In-Depth Reports
Bahrain’s Stalled Reforms and the Future U.S. Role
With tensions peaking between Iran and the conservative Arab states, the current calm in the island kingdom of Bahrain may prove only temporary. A longtime U.S. ally that hosts the Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters, Bahrain plays a crucial role in ensuring regional security. Yet reforms of its political system have
Feb 8, 2016
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  • Simon Henderson
Articles & Testimony
Preventing a Middle Eastern Gordian Knot
The situation in the Middle East is beginning to resemble the Balkans: either the Balkans in the early 1990s, before Washington woke up and played its role as security leader, or the Balkans before World War I, when no one woke up.
Feb 3, 2016
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  • James Jeffrey
  • Soner Cagaptay
Articles & Testimony
In the Regional Power Struggle, has Erbil Decided to Join the Sunni Bloc?
The security of the Kurdistan Region-Iraq (KRI) depends more on agreements between Erbil and Kurdistan’s neighbors than the KRI’s own security and intelligence capabilities. Whenever the regional powers surrounding the KRI have suspected that their interests are at risk, they have not hesitated to put the KRI’s security and stability
Jan 29, 2016
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  • Frzand Sherko
Articles & Testimony
The Truth About Sectarianism
Rather than postulating alternatives to centuries-old sectarian doctrines, Washington should focus on preventing exploitative actors from institutionalizing their violent vision through schools and bureaucracies.
Jan 25, 2016
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  • Jacob Olidort
Articles & Testimony
Facts and Fictions: A Defense of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship
Despite very different values and tactical preferences, Washington and Riyadh continue to share important strategic interests, and it would be the height of folly to throw them overboard because of misguided reactions to recent events.
Jan 21, 2016
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  • David Pollock
Articles & Testimony
Saudi Female Victory in Municipal Elections: Overrated or Underestimated?
Around twenty Saudi women won municipal elections last month, and the news of Saudi women making history through political participation went viral. Talk shows discussed Saudi women’s victory and social media networkers congratulated Saudi women for their remarkable accomplishment. While some commentators overrated women's gain on the political level, others
Jan 20, 2016
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  • Heba Albeity
Articles & Testimony
Sectarianism, Riyadh’s Weapon Against International Demands
There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia is now wary—as are the rest of the Arab countries—of something like the Arab spring breaking out in the region. As a result, Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is keen to distract attention away from internal
Jan 15, 2016
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  • Muhammad Mansour
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Sectarianism, Riyadh’s Weapon Against International Demands
January 15, 2016 There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia is now wary—as are the rest of the Arab countries—of something like the Arab spring breaking out in the region. As a result, Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is keen to distract attention
Jan 15, 2016
Articles & Testimony
Saudi Arabia and the Case for Rebalancing U.S. Foreign Policy
The United States needs a new doctrine for the Middle East. This new strategy should acknowledge that some allies in the Muslim world, especially Saudi Arabia, no longer act as forces of stability. The U.S. administration must demand demonstrable changes in state-sanctioned religious indoctrination if it hopes to mitigate the
Jan 15, 2016
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  • Omar Al-Nidawi
Brief Analysis
Saudi Terrorism Trials and the Executions
The executions earlier this month followed an upsurge in convictions in the Specialized Criminal Court.
Jan 14, 2016
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  • Lori Plotkin Boghardt
Sailors aboard a Turkish Naval Forces warship - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Turkey's New Base in Qatar
Having a permanent military foothold in the Gulf will put Turkey in an elite group of powers, but more presence also means more exposure, whether to Saudi-Iranian tensions or other local crises.
Jan 11, 2016
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  • Olivier Decottignies
  • Soner Cagaptay

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Supported by the

Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy

The Washington Institute's Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy embodies the Institute's long-term research focus on the conservative Arab Gulf states -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman -- and the key role these countries play collectively as a primary source of the world's oil and natural gas.

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Featured experts

Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Senior Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.
Simon Henderson
Simon Henderson
Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Michael Knights
Michael Knights
Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to Iran-backed militias.
Elizabeth Dent - source: The Washington Institute
Elizabeth Dent
Elizabeth Dent is a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where she focuses on U.S. foreign and defense policy toward the Gulf states, Iraq, and Syria.
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