Khaleeji-Capital: Class-Formation and Regional Integration in the Middle-East Gulf

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Hanieh

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) are most typically understood from the perspective of their position as the world’s key oil- and gas-producing states. This essay explores the largely-overlooked processes of class-formation in the GCC, and argues that very profound tendencies of capital-internationalisation are occurring alongside Gulf regional integration. The circuits of capital are increasingly cast at the pan-Gulf scale, and a capitalist class – described as khaleeji-capital – is emerging around the accumulation-opportunities presented within the new regional space. The formation of khaleeji-capital represents the development of a class increasingly aligned with the interests of imperialism and has important ramifications for understanding the region’s political economy.

Author(s):  
Adam Hanieh

The six Gulf Cooperation Council monarchies—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman—hold a distinctive position in the Middle East. Located on the strategically significant Arabian Peninsula, they rank among the most important producers of oil and gas in the world. This chapter examines some of the key political economy issues in the Gulf, including the role of the region’s hydrocarbon production within global oil markets, debates around the nature of state and class in the Gulf, and the Gulf’s growing political and economic influence on the wider Middle East. The possible implications of these dynamics for the Gulf’s future trajectories—and those of the wider Middle East—are surveyed.


Author(s):  
Adrienne A. Reynolds

The countries of the Middle East are undergoing rapid change in many areas, and the field of education is illustrative. This is particularly the case for the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The governments of the GCC are actively striving to lessen their dependence on both their petroleum-based economies as well as the large expatriate populations that make up the majority of human resources in the workplace. One of the solutions to greater independence is through upgrading the national educational systems. Educational technology plays a key role, both as a tool used in education as well as being a conduit toward embedding technological facility into every aspect of their economic development, and thus is an end in itself.


2011 ◽  
pp. 2648-2656
Author(s):  
Adrienne A. Reynolds

The countries of the Middle East are undergoing rapid change in many areas, and the field of education is illustrative. This is particularly the case for the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The governments of the GCC are actively striving to lessen their dependence on both their petroleum-based economies as well as the large expatriate populations that make up the majority of human resources in the workplace. One of the solutions to greater independence is through upgrading the national educational systems. Educational technology plays a key role, both as a tool used in education as well as being a conduit toward embedding technological facility into every aspect of their economic development, and thus is an end in itself.


Subject Saudi-Emirati strategic partnership. Significance The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are accelerating their strategic partnership. On June 6 they held the inaugural meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council (SECC), signalling increased assertiveness and a deliberate turning-away from the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The partnership has become pivotal for the region but has delivered mixed results. Impacts The new SECC will eclipse the troubled GCC as the driver of Gulf policies and may deter US efforts to convene a GCC summit in September. Excluded Kuwait and Oman may look for other regional ties, as they face increasing pressure from the Saudi-Emirati duo. The two countries’coordination against Iran will define long-term alliances in the Middle East region.


Subject Middle East hydrocarbons routes. Significance Geopolitical uncertainty is increasing in the Middle East due to the confrontation between Iran and its Arab neighbours, and the internal splits within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). These include the breach between Qatar and the group of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain; as well as -- to a much lesser extent -- the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone dispute. Impacts Hormuz access will always be indispensable to Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Iran itself. Competition will increase around the Bab al-Mandab -- a key secondary energy transit route -- among Turkey, Egypt, Iran and the GCC states. The boycott of Qatar by its neighbours will complicate and weaken Arab countries’ responses to Iran and to higher oil prices.


Author(s):  
Adrienne A. Reynolds

The countries of the Middle East are undergoing rapid change in many areas, and the field of education is illustrative. This is particularly the case for the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The governments of the GCC are actively striving to lessen their dependence on both their petroleum-based economies as well as the large expatriate populations that make up the majority of human resources in the workplace. One of the solutions to greater independence is through upgrading the national educational systems. Educational technology plays a key role, both as a tool used in education as well as being a conduit toward embedding technological facility into every aspect of their economic development, and thus is an end in itself.


Author(s):  
Ali Mustafa Qamar ◽  
Rehan Ullah Khan ◽  
Suliman Alsuhibany

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization in March 2020. Since then, it has attracted the enormous attention of researchers from around the world. The world has gone through previous instances of corona-viruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. Nevertheless, none was of these were of this serious nature as COVID-19. In this research, we carry out a bibliometric analysis of coronavirus research using the Scopus database. However, we restricted ourselves to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The analysis was performed using Biblioshiny software. We analyzed 4288 articles written by 24226 researchers from 1994 till 2021, published in 1429 sources. The number of authors per publication is 5.65. A bulk of the research (more than 68%) appeared in the form of articles. More than 43% of the publications appeared in 2020 and more than 44% in 2021. Saudi Arabia appears the most-cited country, followed by Qatar. Journal of Infection and Public Health published the most number of papers, whereas New England Journal of Medicine is the most-cited one. Memish, Z.A. wrote the maximum number of papers. The top source, according to the H-index, is the Journal of Virology. Furthermore, the two most prolific universities are King Saud University and King Abdulaziz University, both from Saudi Arabia. The research uncovered deep learning as a niche theme used in recent publications. The research landscape continues to alter as the pandemic keeps on evolving.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-386
Author(s):  
Debbie Abuelghanam ◽  
Naser Tahboub

Much has been written about the relationship between Iran and the Gulf states. This relationship, while extremely complex, historic as well as deep rooted, needs to be revisited, especially in the light of the growing discords. This article investigates the contest over the balance of power in the Middle East which is impacted by state interests, foreign policy, ideology, sectarianism, and geography. There are three questions that need to be asked: (a) What role does Iran play in the Gulf region? (b) What is its relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? and (c) Is there room for the two regional powers (Iran and Saudi Arabia) in the Gulf region? Iran’s role in the Middle East has expanded exponentially by both diplomatic means as well as by proxy and direct interventions. It has become apparent that while once Saudi Arabia controlled the GCC, due to recent events, the regional group has become trivialized. As Saudi Arabia and Iran vie for power, the Gulf is tension-filled and fraught with the possibility of misperceptions and miscalculations.


Author(s):  
Simon Chadwick

This chapter presents an overview of sports business in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. GCC member states stage mega-sports events and invest in global sports through the acquisition of football clubs, for example. Shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights deals of the region’s national airlines aim to create favorable perceptions of the companies and their nations as well as to diversify economies beyond oil and gas. This chapter also provides a statistical profile of sport in each GCC member state and shows that Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman are lagging far behind Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar in terms of sport industry size. Fluctuating oil prices, political tensions between GCC states, and weak attendance at games are serious threats to the future growth of the sport industry. Our conclusion is that the private sector needs to develop extensively in order to replace the state as the industry’s central focus.


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