Saudi Arabia

MENASource Discussions: The Quest for Leadership in the Gulf

By MENASource

As President Barack Obama prepares for his travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, many have asked: What is the purpose of this trip? Far-reaching geopolitics are at stake as fissures among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council emerge over issues related to Egypt, Syria, and Iran.

Youth Activism in the Gulf States: Breaking Taboos

The rise of social media has had a profound effect on youth throughout the world, but in the Gulf in particular this new outlet for information exchange has created a space for activism that was impossible until now. On March 21, 2014, the Atlantic Council launched a new issue brief, “Breaking Taboos: Youth Activism in the […]

Will President Obama Prioritize Nuclear Cooperation with Saudi Arabia?

By Sigurd Neubauer

Next week, President Barack Obama is set to pay King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia a high-profile visit as he seeks to restore fraught relations over Syria and Iran policy. Although the two leaders are expected to hold wide-ranging consultations over regional developments, it remains unclear whether the US president has set aside time on his […]

Saudi Arabia brings the fight back home

By Kristin Diwan

In the first three years of the Arab Awakening, Saudi Arabia has undertaken an uncharacteristically assertive foreign policy. As a status quo power in a rapidly changing region, Saudi Arabia sought to counter potential Iranian gains and to maintain control over its regional sphere of influence.

Working Group on Defense Industrialization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Saudi Arabia, which spends more on defense than any other nation in the Middle East (up to 10 per cent of its GDP, which amounts to $21 billion), is the world’s seventh biggest spender in military terms. The United Arab Emirates, the world’s fourth largest arms importer, fields an increasingly capable military, is a regional leader […]

Moving the New US-Saudi Relationship Beyond Reassurance

By Richard LeBaron

Over the past two months, US and Saudi officials have done what they needed to do to calm the waters in US-Saudi relations. Senior officials visited Riyadh to discuss the status of the negotiations with Iran; the Saudi interior minister visited the United States to coordinate Syria policy more effectively; the vocal complaints of the […]

The Gulf and Geoeconomics

By Mohsin Khan

The sizable financing provided by the Gulf countries, in particular Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Egypt since the popular uprising in 2011 led many observers to conclude that Gulf states have started using their vast resources to shape the region, direct political developments, and mold strategic relationships; in other […]

Breaking taboos: Youth activism in the Gulf States

By Kristin Diwan

In a new Atlantic Council issue brief, Breaking Taboos: Youth Activism in the Gulf States, Visiting Senior Fellow Kristin Diwan contends that youth activists are bringing new forms of civic engagement and political contestation to the Arab states in the Gulf region.  Evaluating  youth movements in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, Diwan contends that although […]

Break Up in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab

On March 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain announced that they had withdrawn their ambassadors from Qatar, claiming that Doha had been violating a clause in the Gulf Cooperation Council charter banning interference in the domestic affairs of fellow GCC members. The decision, unprecedented in the GCC’s history, hints at significant […]