Podcasts about gulf monarchies

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I'd personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I'm speaking with Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and New York Times bestselling author. He's the author of Open Borders, one of the best books on immigration in my opinion, The Myth of the Rational Voter, named "the best political book of the year" by the New York Times, and Build, Baby, Build.It is human nature to find someone or something else to blame for our problems. And it's been a well-played hand in the Canadian immigration debate in the past ten months or more.But as Bryan says, 'Shouldn't we be focused on addressing the real problems? If we have a housing problem, focus on deregulating the housing sector and build more housing. If the problem is crime, then improve law enforcement rather than blame the newcomers.'In this conversation, Bryan and I chat about the economic gains from immigration. We also explored:* Scapegoating versus tackling the real problems* Lessons from the Gulf Monarchies approach to immigration* The Canadian immigration conversation* Why Open Borders is back in print, and a lot of other good stuff. Official Links

How would the Gulf countries transition to a post oil economy? Could they do so and what happens if they don't? I spoke to Dr David Roberts, author of Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies about this complex future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Adverse Selection by Life-Saving Charities, published by vaishnav92 on August 16, 2024 on LessWrong. GiveWell, and the EA community at large, often emphasize the "cost of saving a life" as a key metric, $5,000 being the most commonly cited approximation. At first glance, GiveWell might seem to be in the business of finding the cheapest lives that can be saved, and then saving them. More precisely, GiveWell is in the business of finding the cheapest DALY it can buy. But implicit in that is the assumption that all DALYs are equal, or that disability or health effects are the only factors that we need to adjust for while assessing the value of a life year.. However, If DALYs vary significantly in quality (as I'll argue and GiveWell acknowledges we have substantial evidence for), then simply minimizing the cost of buying a DALY risks adverse selection. It's indisputable that each dollar goes much further in the poorest parts of the world. But it goes further towards saving lives in one the poorest parts of the world, often countries with terrible political institutions, fewer individual freedoms and oppressive social norms. More importantly, these conditions are not exogenous to the cost of saving a life. They are precisely what drive that cost down. Most EAs won't need convincing of the fact that the average life in New Zealand is much, much better than the average life in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In fact, those of us who donate to GiveDirectly do so precisely because this is the case. Extreme poverty and the suffering it entails is worth alleviating, wherever it can be found. But acknowledging this contradicts the notion that while saving lives, philanthropists are suddenly in no position to make judgements on how anything but physical disability affects the value/quality of life. To be clear, GiveWell won't be shocked by anything I've said so far. They've commissioned work and published reports on this. But as you might expect, these quality of life adjustments wouldnt feature in GiveWell's calculations anyway, since the pitch to donors is about the price paid for a life, or a DALY. But the idea that life is worse in poorer countries significantly understates the problem - that the project of minimizing the cost of lives saved while making no adjustments for the quality of lives said will systematically bias you towards saving the lives least worth living. In advanced economies, prosperity is downstream of institutions that preserve the rule of law, guarantee basic individual freedoms, prevent the political class from raiding the country, etc. Except for the Gulf Monarchies, there are no countries that have delivered prosperity for their citizens who don't at least do this. This doesn't need to take the form of liberal democracy; countries like China and Singapore are more authoritarian but the political institutions are largely non-corrupt, preserve the will of the people, and enable the creation of wealth and development of human capital. One can't say this about the countries in sub Saharan Africa. High rates of preventable death and disease in these countries are symptoms of institutional dysfunction that touches every facet of life. The reason it's so cheap to save a life in these countries is also because of low hanging fruit that political institutions in these countries somehow managed to stand in the way of. And one has to consider all the ways in which this bad equilibrium touches the ability to live a good life. More controversially, these political institutions aren't just levitating above local culture and customs. They interact and shape each other. The oppressive conditions that women (50% of the population) and other sexual minorities face in these countries isn't a detail that we can gloss over. If you are both a liberal and a consequentialis...

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Adverse Selection by Life-Saving Charities, published by vaishnav92 on August 16, 2024 on LessWrong. GiveWell, and the EA community at large, often emphasize the "cost of saving a life" as a key metric, $5,000 being the most commonly cited approximation. At first glance, GiveWell might seem to be in the business of finding the cheapest lives that can be saved, and then saving them. More precisely, GiveWell is in the business of finding the cheapest DALY it can buy. But implicit in that is the assumption that all DALYs are equal, or that disability or health effects are the only factors that we need to adjust for while assessing the value of a life year.. However, If DALYs vary significantly in quality (as I'll argue and GiveWell acknowledges we have substantial evidence for), then simply minimizing the cost of buying a DALY risks adverse selection. It's indisputable that each dollar goes much further in the poorest parts of the world. But it goes further towards saving lives in one the poorest parts of the world, often countries with terrible political institutions, fewer individual freedoms and oppressive social norms. More importantly, these conditions are not exogenous to the cost of saving a life. They are precisely what drive that cost down. Most EAs won't need convincing of the fact that the average life in New Zealand is much, much better than the average life in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In fact, those of us who donate to GiveDirectly do so precisely because this is the case. Extreme poverty and the suffering it entails is worth alleviating, wherever it can be found. But acknowledging this contradicts the notion that while saving lives, philanthropists are suddenly in no position to make judgements on how anything but physical disability affects the value/quality of life. To be clear, GiveWell won't be shocked by anything I've said so far. They've commissioned work and published reports on this. But as you might expect, these quality of life adjustments wouldnt feature in GiveWell's calculations anyway, since the pitch to donors is about the price paid for a life, or a DALY. But the idea that life is worse in poorer countries significantly understates the problem - that the project of minimizing the cost of lives saved while making no adjustments for the quality of lives said will systematically bias you towards saving the lives least worth living. In advanced economies, prosperity is downstream of institutions that preserve the rule of law, guarantee basic individual freedoms, prevent the political class from raiding the country, etc. Except for the Gulf Monarchies, there are no countries that have delivered prosperity for their citizens who don't at least do this. This doesn't need to take the form of liberal democracy; countries like China and Singapore are more authoritarian but the political institutions are largely non-corrupt, preserve the will of the people, and enable the creation of wealth and development of human capital. One can't say this about the countries in sub Saharan Africa. High rates of preventable death and disease in these countries are symptoms of institutional dysfunction that touches every facet of life. The reason it's so cheap to save a life in these countries is also because of low hanging fruit that political institutions in these countries somehow managed to stand in the way of. And one has to consider all the ways in which this bad equilibrium touches the ability to live a good life. More controversially, these political institutions aren't just levitating above local culture and customs. They interact and shape each other. The oppressive conditions that women (50% of the population) and other sexual minorities face in these countries isn't a detail that we can gloss over. If you are both a liberal and a consequentialis...

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Adverse Selection In Minimizing Cost Per Life Saved, published by vaishnav on July 14, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. GiveWell, and the EA community at large, often emphasize the "cost of saving a life" as a key metric, $5,000 being the most commonly cited approximation. At first glance, GiveWell might seem to be in the business of finding the cheapest lives that can be saved, and then saving them. More precisely, GiveWell is in the business of finding the cheapest DALY it can buy. But implicit in that is the assumption that all DALYs are equal, or that disability or health effects are the only factors that we need to adjust for while assessing the value of a life year.. However, If DALYs vary significantly in quality (as I'll argue and GiveWell acknowledges we have substantial evidence for), then simply minimizing the cost of buying a DALY risks adverse selection. It's indisputable that each dollar goes much further in the poorest parts of the world. But it goes further towards saving lives in one the poorest parts of the world, often countries with terrible political institutions, fewer individual freedoms and oppressive social norms. More importantly, these conditions are not exogenous to the cost of saving a life. They are precisely what drive that cost down. Most EAs won't need convincing of the fact that the average life in New Zealand is much, much better than the average life in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In fact, those of us who donate to GiveDirectly do so precisely because this is the case. Extreme poverty and the suffering it entails is worth alleviating, wherever it can be found. But acknowledging this contradicts the notion that while saving lives, philanthropists are suddenly in no position to make judgements on how anything but physical disability affects the value/quality of life. To be clear, GiveWell won't be shocked by anything I've said so far. They've commissioned work and published reports on this. But as you might expect, these quality of life adjustments wouldnt feature in GiveWell's calculations anyway, since the pitch to donors is about the price paid for a life, or a DALY. But the idea that life is worse in poorer countries significantly understates the problem - that the project of minimizing the cost of lives saved while making no adjustments for the quality of lives said will systematically bias you towards saving the lives least worth living. In advanced economies, prosperity is downstream of institutions that preserve the rule of law, guarantee basic individual freedoms, prevent the political class from raiding the country, etc. Except for the Gulf Monarchies, there are no countries that have delivered prosperity for their citizens who don't at least do this. This doesn't need to take the form of liberal democracy; countries like China and Singapore are more authoritarian but the political institutions are largely non-corrupt, preserve the will of the people, and enable the creation of wealth and development of human capital. One can't say this about the countries in sub Saharan Africa. High rates of preventable death and disease in these countries are symptoms of institutional dysfunction that touches every facet of life. The reason it's so cheap to save a life in these countries is also because of low hanging fruit that political institutions in these countries somehow managed to stand in the way of. And one has to consider all the ways in which this bad equilibrium touches the ability to live a good life. More controversially, these political institutions aren't just levitating above local culture and customs. They interact and shape each other. The oppressive conditions that women (50% of the population) and other sexual minorities face in these countries isn't a detail that we can gloss over. If you are both a liber...

Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how US tech companies are flocking to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fund their expensive AI ambitions.Nitasha Tiku is a tech culture reporter at the Washington Post.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.Also mentioned in this episode:Read the pieces Nitasha contributed to on Silicon Valley getting funding from Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and its embrace of the US military.Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018. There's still be no accountability.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman met with many Silicon Valley CEOs months before Khashoggi's murder.The United Arab Emirates launched its own AI strategy in 2018.The UAE also put Pegasus spyware on the phone of Khashoggi's wife months before his murder.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was photographed signing a woman's chest on June 4.Many Arab Americans in Silicon Valley have reported being scared to speak out in support of Palestinians for fear of retaliation.Support the Show.

On this episode of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast, Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how US tech companies are flocking to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fund their expensive AI ambitions.Nitasha Tiku is a tech culture reporter at the Washington Post.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The post-Arab Spring collapse of decades-old regimes inaugurated a decade of re-shaping for the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa region. A multipolar disorder ensued, solidified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Amid general bewilderment, the small monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent the decade between 2011 and 2022 trying to re-shape regional equilibria as protagonists. Cinzia Bianco's book applies an original theoretical framework to unpack the threat perceptions and strategic calculus driving the behaviour of these new impactful regional players. Six chapters look at the GCC monarchies individually. Bianco challenges commonly-held narratives, and goes beyond attention-grabbing headlines, thus provides reading keys to the past, present, and future of policy-making in the Gulf monarchies, which are middle powers destined to play an oversized role in the new multipolar world. Against that backdrop, the book talk will allow us to reflect on the major evolutions of Gulf states in the past decade, and venture on their future trajectories.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Cinzia Bianco of the University of Exeter joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, The Gulf Monarchies After the Arab Spring: Threats and Security. This book applies an original theoretical framework to unpack the threat perceptions and strategic calculus driving the behavior of new impactful regional players in the Middle East and North Africa. Bianco looks at how the small monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent the decade between 2011 and 2022 trying to re-shape regional equilibria as protagonists to provide reading keys to the past, present, and future of policy-making in the Gulf monarchies, middle powers destined to play an oversized role in the new multipolar world. (Starts at 0:10).

Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the Gulf security expert David Roberts. He has just published a book that examines the six Gulf monarchies through five security lenses: political, societal, economic, military and environmental. He argues that the monarchies have shown a remarkable resilience and defied repeated predictions of their demise. Sign up NOW at ArabDigest.org for free to join the club and start receiving our daily newsletter & weekly podcasts.

Tobias Zumbragel of University of Hamburg joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss his new book, Political Power and Environmental Sustainability in Gulf Monarchies. The book analyzes the political dynamics behind the sustainable transformation in the oil and gas-rich Gulf and explains the political factors behind the green transformation. (Starts at 1:02). Nermin Allam of Rutgers University discusses her research on women's participation in the Egyptian uprising and the afterlives of that protest. Check out her articles: "The afterlife goes on: The biographical consequences of women's engagement in the 2011 Egyptian uprising," & "Women's Unveiling in the 2011 Egyptian Uprising: Political Opportunities and Modesty Politics." You can also listen to one of our previous podcast posts about her book, "Women and the Egyptian Revolution: Engagement and Activism During the 2011 Arab Uprisings." (Starts at 32:09). Steffen Hertog of the London School of Economics discusses his chapter in The Political Science of the Middle East: Theory and Research Since the Arab Uprisings, which focuses on political economy and development (co-authored with Ferdinand Eibl and Shimaa Hatab). (Starts at 57:43). Music for this season's podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

This event was the launch of three papers authored by Courtney Freer and Spyros Sofos of the LSE Middle East Centre as part of the Global Transitions Series, a research output from PeaceRep – the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform funded by the UK Aid from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). 1. Qatar and the UAE in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding by Courtney Freer 2. Peacebuilding in Turbulent Times: Turkey in MENA and Africa by Spyros Sofos 3. MENA Regional Organisations in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: The League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation by Courtney Freer. Courtney Freer is Provost's Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and Visiting Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. Previously, Courtney was Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. From 2015-2020, Courtney was a Research Officer for the Kuwait Programme at the LSE Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. She previously worked at the Brookings Doha Center and the US–Saudi Arabian Business Council. Spyros Sofos is a Research Officer on the LSE Kuwait Programme project 'Ecologies of Belonging and Exclusion: An Intersectional Analysis of Urban Citizenship in Kuwait City.' Spyros's research explores the intersection of societal insecurity, identity and collective action and, to date, it has focused on Turkish politics and society, nationalism and populism in Europe and the Middle East, urban citizenship in the Middle East, European Muslim identities and politics, and the theory of populism. His latest book Turkish Politics and ‘The People': Mass Mobilisation and Populism published by Edinburgh University Press explores the emergence of populism in contemporary Turkey and its genealogy as a tradition of action and discourse. His other publications include Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe published by Routledge, Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey published by Oxford University Press, and Islam in Europe: Public Spaces and Civic Networks published by Palgrave. Greg Shapland is a Visiting Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre and an independent researcher, writer and consultant on politics, security, resources and environment (including water) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). His entire career has been focussed on the Middle East and North Africa, whether as a commercial representative, university lecturer or government official (in the Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office and FCO). From 1979 until 2015, he served in the MENA Research Group in the FCO. He was also Head of Research Analysts from July 2010 to July 2013. During his time with the FCO, Greg served in British Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Tel Aviv and in the Consulate General in Jerusalem. Since leaving the FCO, Greg has worked on post-conflict stabilisation, Israeli-Palestinian relations, inter-state and intra-state water disputes and the impact of climate change in the MENA region. He is currently working on a book on the politics and geography of the MENA region.

This webinar presented the results of two LSE Kuwait Programme research projects: 1. Urban Governance and Spatial Patterns in Kuwait: Exploring the Links Between the Physical and the Socioeconomic - Dhari Alrasheed and Nuno F. da Cruz 2. Can Smart Cities Solve the Housing Crisis? A Study on Korea-Kuwait Partnership for a New Smart City in Kuwait - Hyun Bang Shin and Do Young Oh Nuno F. da Cruz is Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at LSE Cities, London School of Economics and Political Science. His work on urban and metropolitan governance is multidisciplinary in nature and global in reach, engaging with a wide range of public policy issues. Nuno has previously worked in cooperation with various non-government and multilateral organisations such as UCLG, Metropolis, UN Habitat and Transparency International. Dhari Alrasheed is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the College of Business Administration at Kuwait University. His research activity spans two fields. The first is urban economics, studying various issues related to housing, spatial inequality, transportation, and social capital. The second is applied econometrics, with interest in discrete choice modeling, Bayesian econometrics, and spatial econometrics. Dhari holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of California, Irvine, as well as a MSc and BSc in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University. Hyun Bang Shin is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (SEAC), and Professor of Geography and Urban Studies in the Department of Geography and Environment. Prof Shin's research centres on the critical analysis of the political economy of urbanisation with particular attention to cities in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea and China. Do Young Oh is Research Assistant Professor at the School of Graduate Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He was previously a Research Officer, based jointly at the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he finished his PhD in Regional and Urban Planning. Courtney Freer is a Visiting Fellow with the LSE Middle East Centre, and Provost's Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, Courtney was an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

As the US looks to disentangle itself from various conflicts globally, it leaves behind power vacuums. In the MENA region, various regional – and global - powers are vying to fill the void. In this week's episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by three guests directly from ECFR's MENA Forum in Rome: Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, professor of political science in the UAE; Alia Moubayed, MENA chief economist for Jefferies; and Julien Barnes-Dacey, head of ECFR's MENA programme. Together, they analyse the changing geopolitical and regional dynamics in the MENA region: Who is filling the vacuum which the US is increasingly leaving behind? How are regional actors reacting to US disengagement? And what does this mean for Europe's future role in the region? This podcast was recorded on 5 October 2021. Further reading: - Iraq's parliamentary election will produce more of the same by Nussaibah Younis: https://buff.ly/3A5xORd - Europe's post-Afghanistan to-do list by Arancha Gonzalez Laya: https://buff.ly/3AHJyuC - Autonomous in Afghanistan: How the Europeans could have stayed after US withdrawal by Mary Kaldor: https://buff.ly/3CaB0wi Bookshelf: Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazaareesingh After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies by Christopher Davidson Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

The PowerPoint presentations from the event can be viewed here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/events/2021/kuwaits-urbanisation This Kuwait Programme event was a discussion about two research projects - 'Public Space in Kuwait: From User Behaviour to Policy-making' led by Alexandra Gomes and Asseel Al-Ragam, and 'Towards an Equitable Transport System in Kuwait' led by Adeel Muhammad. This webinar will explore how Kuwait’s urbanisation trends and car-centric development have shaped planning, urban design, and individual behaviour with consequences for public health and the environment. The webinar included two presentations. The first from Alexandra Gomes and Asseel Al-Ragam on ‘Public space in Kuwait’ looked at some of the challenges and opportunities facing Kuwait’s residential neighbourhoods and everyday use of public space. The second from Reem Alfahad on ‘Social justice, transport and accessibility’ explored transport spatial inequalities at the city scale. Alexandra Gomes is a Research Officer at LSE Cities, where she is responsible for coordinating the Centre’s socio-spatial analysis across a range of projects. Focusing on urban studies, comparative analysis, urban inequalities, public space and urban walkability. She also teaches at UCL’s The Bartlett School of Planning, where she is finishing her PhD. Asseel Al-Ragam is Associate Professor of Architecture, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Research, and Graduate Studies and Director of the Architecture Graduate Program at Kuwait University’s College of Architecture. She is an award-winning author with published research on Kuwait’s built environment. She was a research fellow and lecturer at École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture, Paris. She works as an architecture and planning consultant and is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee at Kuwait’s Private University Council. Sharifa Alshalfan is an architect, urban researcher and educator. She is part of a team of experts developing housing and urban policy recommendations at the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. She also works as a consultant on urban development at the World Bank and teaches periodically at Kuwait University at the College of Architecture. Her work has been published by CITY, LSE Kuwait Programme, LSE Cities and the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. Adeel Muhammad is a visiting post doctoral researcher at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds. Previously, Adeel worked as a Research Officer at LSE Cities, on projects related to mapping and analysing the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban expansion and transport mobility across Asia and Africa. Reem Alfahad holds an MSc in City Design and Social Science from the London School of Economics, and a BA in Public Policy Studies from Duke University. She is most interested in the cultural and social dynamics of inclusion, particularly as they relate to urban spaces. Most recently, through the LSE Kuwait Programme, she has focused on mobility access in Kuwait and the different sociocultural dimensions that include or exclude different groups from being able to move freely. Previously, she worked with Kantar Public in London, UK, and the Cultural Secretariat of Medellin, Colombia, among others. Outside of academic research, she is working on an audio documentary series focusing on globalized gentrification. Dr Courtney Freer is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

This Kuwait Programme event was a discussion about Dr Zeynep Kaya’s recent research on women's political participation in Kuwait. Dr Lubna Al-Kazi acted as a discussant, and Dr Courtney Freer chaired the event. Since the introduction of women’s suffrage in 2005, the number of women elected to parliament in Kuwait has been very small. Despite this, their presence in high political office has changed the discourse around women’s political and public roles, while also generating a misogynistic backlash against women. The paper Dr Kaya will present at this event provides an overview of the discussions about women’s electoral participation in Kuwait building on 27 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019 with politicians, public officers, academics and activists and the academic literature on women’s political participation. The paper captures the state of the discussions on women’s electoral participation and provides an account of what issues are emphasised and omitted in these discussions in 2019. The interviews provided important insights on the dynamics that influence women’s electoral participation in Kuwait and the strategies they used to get elected. Dr Zeynep Kaya is a Lecturer in International Development in the Department of Social and Policy Studies, University of Bath, and a Visiting Fellow with the LSE Middle East Centre. Previously she was a Senior Teaching Fellow at the Department of Development Studies at SOAS and an Academic Associate at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. She is interested in understanding how communities and political groups perceive, interact with and challenge international processes and dominant norms. Her research looks at the relationship between gender, violence and development in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Zeynep has a PhD in International Relations from the LSE, where she conducted research on the transformation of Kurdish nationalism and territorial identity in an international context. Her book Mapping Kurdistan: Territory, Self-Determination and Nationalism was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. Dr Lubna Ahmed Al-Kazi is Director of the Women’s Research and Studies Center at Kuwait University. Lubna has been a professor in the Sociology Department at Kuwait University since 1984, after graduating from the University of Texas in 1983 with a PhD in Demography and Sociology. She was a consultant with the Population Division at the United Nations for one year from 1986-87, and in 2009 a consultant for the United Nation Development Programme, when she prepared the section on Gender and Development for the Kuwait National five-year plan 2010 – 2015. Lubna is on the editorial board of Arabic Journal Al-Thaqafa Al-Alamiah and the Journal of Arabian Studies. She is a member of the ‘Women’s Cultural and Social Society’ and ‘the Sociologists Association’ in Kuwait. She is also a member of Advisory Board of Vital Voices, an women‘s organization established by Hillary Clinton when she was the First Lady in the United States. Her areas of interest and research are gender, population change and family. Dr Courtney Freer is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Join the conversation on Twitter using #LSEKuwait

The formal diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab governments around the region are deepening. And even though Israeli-Arab diplomacy has existed through back channels for decades, the recent formalization of these connections has enabled a slew of political shifts to occur. Rabbi Marc Schneier has on the forefront of these moves, advising some of these governments on their policy towards Israel and the American Jewish community. He's been a special advisor to King Hamad of Bahrain, he led the first-ever Evangelical Christian mission to Azerbaijan, and continues to be in contact with officials front the UAE to help guide further interfaith efforts. As a political figure, he occupies a unique, if little known position in global politics. His presence in meetings and discussions allows governments to claim that they seek to be friendly to the Jewish people. The first half of this discussion explores Rabbi Schneier's beliefs regarding judaism, equality and civil rights. In the second half I challenge him on the tension I see between his beliefs that all people should be equal and deserve civil rights, and the governments he's advising who evidently do not believe that. I also challenge him on whether he puts any pressure on these governments to improve their human rights record.

Held on 8 December 2020, this Kuwait Programme, LSE Middle East Centre event was a discussion about the 2020 parliamentary elections in Kuwait. After Kuwaitis go to the polls on 5 December amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing anxieties about the country’s fiscal positions, top experts in Kuwaiti elections come together to discuss the results and what they mean for Kuwait under the new amir, Sheikh Nawaf. With the return of much of the cross-ideological opposition after a four-year boycott (2012-2016), the continued political activism of Kuwait’s tribes, and a variety of secular and Islamist blocs contesting the elections, they are an important bellwether of Kuwaiti politics and the likely direction of policymaking. Further, the appointment of a new cabinet after the election will also signal the priorities of the new executive moving forward. Abdullah al-Khonaini completed his MA in Power, Participation, and Social Change from the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University. He co-founded 'Raqib50', an online parliament watch that holds Kuwaiti parliamentarians accountable by making their voting records accessible to the public. His research interests include a focus on civil society, dynamics of informal civic groups and participation, postcolonial identity and belonging in the Gulf. Alanoud Al-Sharekh is the Director of Ibtkar Strategic Consultancy, leading political, leadership and diversity training programs in Kuwait and the GCC region. She is chairperson of the Chaillot award winning Abolish 153 campaign to end honour killing legislations, and a cofounder of Mudhawis List, a platform to support women running for political office. She is currently an Associate Fellow at the Chatham House MENA Program and Research Fellow at Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. In 2019 she was named one of the 100 most inspiring and influential women in the world by the BBC. Michael Herb is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Georgia State University. His work focuses on Gulf politics, monarchism and the resource curse. He is the author of The Wages of Oil: Parliaments ‎and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE (Cornell University Press, 2014) and All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (SUNY ‎‎1999), in addition to numerous articles. He maintains the Kuwait Politics Database, a comprehensive source of information on Kuwaiti elections. He has twice won Fulbright awards to study in Kuwait. Daniel L. Tavana is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Council on Middle East Studies at the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University. His research interests include a focus on elections, identity, and comparative political behaviour, as well as the dynamics of political opposition in authoritarian regimes. Previously, Daniel was a Research Associate at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) in Washington, DC. He completed his BA at the University of Pennsylvania, an MPhil in International Relations at the University of Cambridge, and an MPP at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Courtney Freer is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

This event will be a discussion around the Omani Union (1952-1965), an overlooked political group that represents a seminal stage in the emergence of the leftist current in Oman. While the Dhofar Revolution has received increasing scholarly attention, comparatively little is known of the Jabal Akhdar (or Green Mountain) Uprising of the 1950s and early 60s, which sought independence for inner Oman under the rule of the Imam of the Ibadi sect. Despite the Imamate’s religious and tribal nature, the Omani Union’s educated and cosmopolitan cadres became closely aligned with it, imbuing its discourse with Arab nationalist, leftist, and Third Worldist ideas. They portrayed the “Omani Revolution” as parallel to those of Palestine and Algeria, forming part of the Pan-Arab awakening led by Nasserist Egypt, and a broader Afro-Asian struggle for independence. Moreover, they sought to transform the Imamate movement into a progressive patriotic front uniting all Omanis in armed struggle against the forces of reaction and colonialism. Although ultimately unsuccessful in its aims, the Omani Union pioneered and popularized ideas subsequently espoused by the better-known Omani leftist movements of the late 1960s and 1970s. Prominent among these ideas were Third Worldist socialism, a common Gulf identity and solidarity (with Oman as the region’s revolutionary center), and a “Greater” or “Natural” Omani homeland extending from Dhofar to the Trucial States. Talal Al-Rashoud is a Visiting Fellow at the Middle East Centre, and an Assistant Professor of Modern Arab history at Kuwait University. He obtained his PhD in history from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and holds master’s degrees in history and government from King’s College London and Georgetown University respectively. Al-Rashoud specialises in the history of modern ideological movements in the Gulf region and their transnational connections. His current research deals with the relationship between Arab nationalism and education in Kuwait (1911-1961), and Arab nationalist activism among Omani exiles in the 1950s and 1960s. Courtney Freer is Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Join the conversation on Twitter using #LSEOman

As the UAE and Bahrain reach a US-backed agreement with Israel, author and scholar Norman Finkelstein discusses the confluence of powerful forces that have sold out the Palestinian cause: Gulf monarchies, Palestinian Authority leaders, and U.S. liberals who have found common cause with far-right evangelicals and neocons in backing the Israeli occupation. Finkelstein contrasts their legacies on Palestine with that of the late Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said. Guest: Norman Finkelstein, author and scholar. His latest book is "I Accuse!". Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

On this week's podcast, Jonathan Fulton talks about his book China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies with Marc Lynch. "It's interesting because a lot of the narrative about China-Gulf relations seemed to be stuck in this oil-for-trade narrative— that China is buying a lot of oil and selling a lot of stuff— and that's kind of the extent of the relationship. And from what I've seen here in Abu Dhabi, there's just so much more going on. And it really felt like like there had to be something that looked at it from an IR perspective and gave a fuller picture of the relationships," said Fulton. Fulton explains what and how China's policy towards Gulf monarchies changed in regards to foreign and domestic policies, in the past and now. Fulton is an assistant professor of political science in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he researches China – Middle East relations, Chinese foreign policy, the global strategic implications of the Belt and Road Initiative, and international relations of the Gulf region.

This event launches Crony Capitalism in the Middle East: Business and Politics, from Liberalization to the Arab Spring edited by Ishac Diwan, Adeel Malik, and Izak Atiyas. The popular uprisings in 2011 that overthrew Arab dictators were also a rebuke to crony capitalism, diverted against both rulers and their allied businessmen who monopolize all economic opportunities. While the Middle East has witnessed a growing nexus between business and politics in the wake of liberalization, little is discussed about the nature of business cronies, the sectors in which they operate, the mechanisms used to favour them, and the possible impact of such crony relations on the region's development. Combining inputs from leading scholars in the field, Crony Capitalism in the Middle East presents a wealth of empirical evidence on the form and function of this aspect of the region. Crony Capitalism in the Middle East is unique in both its empirical focus and comparative scale. Analysis in individual chapters is empirically grounded and based on fine-grained data on the business activities of politically connected actors furnishing, for the first time, information on the presence, numerical strength, and activities of politically connected entrepreneurs. It also substantially enhances our understanding of the mechanisms used to privilege connected businesses, and their possible impact on undermining the growth of firms in the region. Ishac Diwan is Professor of Economics at Paris Sciences et Lettres (a consortium of Parisian universities) where he holds the chair of the Economy of the Arab World. He has held recent teaching positions at Columbia University, School for International Public Affairs, and at the Harvard Kennedy School. He directs the Political Economy program of the Economic Research Forum, where he runs two projects on the study of crony capitalism, and the analysis of opinion surveys. Diwan is a frequent consultant with governments and international organizations, working recently on policy issues in Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Adeel Malik is Globe Fellow in the Economies of Muslim Societies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and an Associate Professor at the Department of International Development, University of Oxford. Malik is an empirical economist with a strong multi-disciplinary orientation. He is trying to develop a broader research lens to study Middle Eastern political economy. Malik’s research on Middle Eastern political economy has featured in the CNN, Financial Times, the New York Times, Project Syndicate, and Foreign Affairs. Courtney Freer is a Research Fellow at the Kuwait Programme, LSE Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. She previously worked at the Brookings Doha Center and the US–Saudi Arabian Business Council. Join the conversation on Twitter using #LSEMiddleEast

On this episode of SEPADPod, Simon speaks with Jonathan Fulton, Assistant Professor of Political Science in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University, in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Jonathan is the author of the China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies and co-editor of External Power and the Gulf Monarchies. On this episode, Simon and Jonathan talk about the complex and multifaceted relationship between China and the Gulf Monarchies, the 'One Belt One Road Initiative', and Gulf perceptions of China. Insightful and thought provoking. Don't miss it!

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon chats with Courtney Freer, a research fellow at the LSE's Middle East Centre. Courtney is the author of Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. On this episode we explore Islamism in the Gulf, consider how regional politics shapes local Islamism, and reflect on the relationship between Islamists and regimes.

As we enter 2019, the probability over the next year, of a large-scale military confrontation between Israel and Iranian proxies has significantly increased. In order to prevent that scenario these are my recommendations: The United States must employ and lead a strategy that is backed by major European factors that will focus on stabilizing the situation in the eight arenas of the escalating and intensifying power struggle between Iran and its proxies, and the Arab states and the Gulf Monarchies led by Saudi Arabia. As I outlined above, those eight arenas are: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, The Gulf, Yemen, the Gaza Strip, and, the Iranian Nuclear and Ballistic Missile Project. The specific focus on that strategy should be: Sustain and increase the pressure on the Lebanese Hezbollah; Strengthen the Iraqi government’s ability to restrain the Iranian affiliated militias within the PMU; Accelerate the process of securing a political arrangement in Syria that will prevent Iran from completing its Land Corridor; Strictly implement the Hodeidah Agreement, and actively promote a political arrangement to end the war in Yemen that will focus on thwarting Iranian efforts to control Yemen and the surrounding waterways and water passages; Increase United States military presence in The Gulf; Lay the foundation for a NATO-style Alliance of the Arab Gulf States, Jordan, and Egypt that will be designated to maintain and protect the integrity and sovereignty of Arab states

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China's increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf's foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton's book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region's economic relations with China and its importance to China's infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative's architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China's determination to avoid being sucked into the region's multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China's refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf’s foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton’s book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region’s economic relations with China and its importance to China’s infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative’s architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China’s determination to avoid being sucked into the region’s multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China’s refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton‘s China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf’s foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand.

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf’s foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton’s book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region’s economic relations with China and its importance to China’s infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative’s architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China’s determination to avoid being sucked into the region’s multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China’s refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf’s foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton’s book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region’s economic relations with China and its importance to China’s infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative’s architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China’s determination to avoid being sucked into the region’s multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China’s refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf’s foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton’s book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region’s economic relations with China and its importance to China’s infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative’s architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China’s determination to avoid being sucked into the region’s multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China’s refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf’s foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton’s book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region’s economic relations with China and its importance to China’s infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative’s architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China’s determination to avoid being sucked into the region’s multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China’s refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton‘s China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China’s increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less... Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Jonathan Fulton's China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) sheds light on China's increasing economic role at a moment that the traditionally dominant role in international oil markets of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers is changing as a result of the United States having become more or less self-sufficient, China replacing the US as the Gulf's foremost export market, and members of the Organization of Oil-Producing Export Countries (OPEC) becoming increasingly dependent on non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and regulate supply demand. Fulton's book is also a timely contribution to discussion of the changing global balance of power as Gulf states increasingly see the United States as an unreliable and unpredictable ally. In describing China-Gulf relations as one of “deep inter-dependence,” Fulton charts with three case studies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – the rapid expansion of the region's economic relations with China and its importance to China's infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative even if the Gulf has not been woven into the initiative's architecture as one of its key corridors. The fact that the Gulf is not classified as a corridor suggests the potential pitfalls of China's determination to avoid being sucked into the region's multiple conflicts, including the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and the 18-month old Saudi-UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar that has so far failed to subjugate the Gulf state. Acknowledging that even though Gulf states welcome China's refusal to interfere in the domestic affairs of others and hope that it can secure its interests through win-win economic cooperation China may not be able to sustain its foreign and defense policy principles, Fulton makes a significant distribution by not only charting and analysing the deepening China-Gulf relationship but suggesting that Chinese policy is in effect putting the building blocks in place to ensure that it can respond to situations in which it ultimately may have to become politically and perhaps even militarily involved. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

JONATHAN FULTON AND LI-CHEN SIM, EDS. External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies ROUTLEDGE 2018 December 28, 2018 James M. Dorsey Jonathan Fulton and Li-Chen Sim’s edited volume, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies (Routledge, 2018) is a timely contribution to understanding the increasingly diversified relations between the Gulf’s six oil-rich monarchies and external powers. Traditionally reliant on the United States for their security, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have become far more assertive in the wake of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and mounting doubts about the reliability of the United States. The newly found assertiveness of the Gulf states, despite the fact that they remain largely dependent for their security on the United States, have forged closer ties with a host of external powers, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Coupled with shifts in the oil market as the United States emerges as the world’s largest producer and exporter, Asian nations topping the Gulf’s oil clients, and OPEC’s need to coordinate with non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and production levels, external powers have seen significant business opportunities in the Gulf states’ effort to wean themselves off oil and diversify their economies. In doing so, they have benefitted from the US defence umbrella in the region at no cost to themselves. This volume breaks ground by looking at the Gulf’s expanding relations from the perspective of the various major external powers rather than that of the Gulf states themselves. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to an understanding not only of the Gulf but also of the nuts and bolts in the global rebalancing of power the potential emergence of a new world order. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Jonathan Fulton and Li-Chen Sim’s edited volume, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies(Routledge, 2018) is a timely contribution to understanding the increasingly diversified relations between the Gulf’s six oil-rich monarchies and external powers. Traditionally reliant on the United States for their security, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have become far more assertive in the wake of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and mounting doubts about the reliability of the United States. The newly found assertiveness of the Gulf states, despite the fact that they remain largely dependent for their security on the United States, have forged closer ties with a host of external powers, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Coupled with shifts in the oil market as the United States emerges as the world’s largest producer and exporter, Asian nations topping the Gulf’s oil clients, and OPEC’s need to coordinate with non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and production levels, external powers have seen significant business opportunities in the Gulf states’ effort to wean themselves off oil and diversify their economies. In doing so, they have benefitted from the US defence umbrella in the region at no cost to themselves. This volume breaks ground by looking at the Gulf’s expanding relations from the perspective of the various major external powers rather than that of the Gulf states themselves. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to an understanding not only of the Gulf but also of the nuts and bolts in the global rebalancing of power the potential emergence of a new world order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton and Li-Chen Sim’s edited volume, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies(Routledge, 2018) is a timely contribution to understanding the increasingly diversified relations between the Gulf’s six oil-rich monarchies and external powers. Traditionally reliant on the United States for their security, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have become far more assertive in the wake of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and mounting doubts about the reliability of the United States. The newly found assertiveness of the Gulf states, despite the fact that they remain largely dependent for their security on the United States, have forged closer ties with a host of external powers, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Coupled with shifts in the oil market as the United States emerges as the world’s largest producer and exporter, Asian nations topping the Gulf’s oil clients, and OPEC’s need to coordinate with non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and production levels, external powers have seen significant business opportunities in the Gulf states’ effort to wean themselves off oil and diversify their economies. In doing so, they have benefitted from the US defence umbrella in the region at no cost to themselves. This volume breaks ground by looking at the Gulf’s expanding relations from the perspective of the various major external powers rather than that of the Gulf states themselves. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to an understanding not only of the Gulf but also of the nuts and bolts in the global rebalancing of power the potential emergence of a new world order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton and Li-Chen Sim’s edited volume, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies(Routledge, 2018) is a timely contribution to understanding the increasingly diversified relations between the Gulf’s six oil-rich monarchies and external powers. Traditionally reliant on the United States for their security, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have become far more assertive in the wake of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and mounting doubts about the reliability of the United States. The newly found assertiveness of the Gulf states, despite the fact that they remain largely dependent for their security on the United States, have forged closer ties with a host of external powers, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Coupled with shifts in the oil market as the United States emerges as the world’s largest producer and exporter, Asian nations topping the Gulf’s oil clients, and OPEC’s need to coordinate with non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and production levels, external powers have seen significant business opportunities in the Gulf states’ effort to wean themselves off oil and diversify their economies. In doing so, they have benefitted from the US defence umbrella in the region at no cost to themselves. This volume breaks ground by looking at the Gulf’s expanding relations from the perspective of the various major external powers rather than that of the Gulf states themselves. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to an understanding not only of the Gulf but also of the nuts and bolts in the global rebalancing of power the potential emergence of a new world order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton and Li-Chen Sim’s edited volume, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies(Routledge, 2018) is a timely contribution to understanding the increasingly diversified relations between the Gulf’s six oil-rich monarchies and external powers. Traditionally reliant on the United States for their security, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have become far more assertive in the wake of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and mounting doubts about the reliability of the United States. The newly found assertiveness of the Gulf states, despite the fact that they remain largely dependent for their security on the United States, have forged closer ties with a host of external powers, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Coupled with shifts in the oil market as the United States emerges as the world’s largest producer and exporter, Asian nations topping the Gulf’s oil clients, and OPEC’s need to coordinate with non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and production levels, external powers have seen significant business opportunities in the Gulf states’ effort to wean themselves off oil and diversify their economies. In doing so, they have benefitted from the US defence umbrella in the region at no cost to themselves. This volume breaks ground by looking at the Gulf’s expanding relations from the perspective of the various major external powers rather than that of the Gulf states themselves. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to an understanding not only of the Gulf but also of the nuts and bolts in the global rebalancing of power the potential emergence of a new world order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fulton and Li-Chen Sim’s edited volume, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies(Routledge, 2018) is a timely contribution to understanding the increasingly diversified relations between the Gulf’s six oil-rich monarchies and external powers. Traditionally reliant on the United States for their security, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have become far more assertive in the wake of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and mounting doubts about the reliability of the United States. The newly found assertiveness of the Gulf states, despite the fact that they remain largely dependent for their security on the United States, have forged closer ties with a host of external powers, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Coupled with shifts in the oil market as the United States emerges as the world’s largest producer and exporter, Asian nations topping the Gulf’s oil clients, and OPEC’s need to coordinate with non-OPEC producers like Russia to manipulate prices and production levels, external powers have seen significant business opportunities in the Gulf states’ effort to wean themselves off oil and diversify their economies. In doing so, they have benefitted from the US defence umbrella in the region at no cost to themselves. This volume breaks ground by looking at the Gulf’s expanding relations from the perspective of the various major external powers rather than that of the Gulf states themselves. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to an understanding not only of the Gulf but also of the nuts and bolts in the global rebalancing of power the potential emergence of a new world order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speakers: Courtney Freer, Toby Doge, LSE Middle East Centre; Stéphane Lacroix, Sciences Po, Paris; John Jenkins, Policy Exchange, London. Scholars of Middle Eastern politics have long overlooked the role played by political Islam in domestic politics of the wealthy monarchical states of the Arabian Gulf, so-called 'rentier states'. While rentier state theory assumes that citizens of such states will form opposition blocs only when their stake in rent income is threatened, this book demonstrates that ideology, rather than rent, has motivated the formation of independent Islamist movements in the wealthiest states of the region, specifically, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The book therefore argues that Brotherhood movements have managed to use the links between the social (i.e. informal personal networks) and political (i.e. government institutions) to gain influence in policymaking in such states. Using contemporary history and original empirical research, Courtney Freer updates traditional rentier state theory and argues that political Islam serves as a prominent voice and tool to promote more strictly political, and often populist or reformist, views supported by many Gulf citizens. Recorded on 16 October. ----------------------------------------- Courtney Freer (@courtneyfreer) is Research Officer at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Arab Gulf states, with a particular focus on Islamism and tribalism. Sir John Jenkins is a British ex-diplomat, Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange in London and a Board Member of the LSE Middle East Centre and also of the American University of Iraq at Suleimaniya. Stéphane Lacroix is associate professor of political science at Sciences Po in Paris and a researcher at the Centre de Recherches Internationales (CERI). Toby Dodge (@ProfTobyDodge) is Kuwait Programme Director, Kuwait Professor and Professor in the International Relations Department. Image: Qatar's Abdulwahab Grand Mosque. Image Courtesy of Omar Chatriwala, Flickr.

Courtney Freer‘s new book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (Oxford University Press, 2018) contributes significantly to an understanding of one of the most controversial political groups in Middle East politics. Widely viewed as a player that cannot be excluded from the political process in the region, the Muslim Brotherhood is at the crux of political conflict, particularly in Egypt, where its president, Mohammed Morsi, was toppled in a military coup in 2013, and in the Gulf where it is at the crux of a dispute that has pitted Qatar against an alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Courtney Freer’s study of the Brotherhood in the Gulf portrays the development of an opposition group in an autocratic environment. It also is a study of a group that operates in an environment in which one of its key appeals, the provision of social services like healthcare, is of little use because the oil-rich Gulf states introduced welfare states that offered their citizenry cradle-to-grave social security as part of the social contract. Similarly, the Brotherhood’s role as a provider of a religiously couched identity had to compete in societies with strong tribal allegiances and governments that co-opted Islam as part of their legitimization. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood played a key role in state building in the Gulf where highly educated members of the group fleeing persecution in countries like Egypt and Syria found employment, particularly in education and the judiciary. By tracing the different trajectories of the Brotherhood in the Gulf ranging from Kuwait, where an institutionalized parliamentary system allowed it to ease into mainstream politics, to the UAE, where it came go be seen as an existential threat alongside all expressions of political Islam, Freer fills a vital gap in the literature about a region that is in throes of volatile, often brutal transition. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Courtney Freer‘s new book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (Oxford University Press, 2018) contributes significantly to an understanding of one of the most controversial political groups in Middle East politics. Widely viewed as a player that cannot be excluded from the political process in the region, the Muslim Brotherhood is at the crux of political conflict, particularly in Egypt, where its president, Mohammed Morsi, was toppled in a military coup in 2013, and in the Gulf where it is at the crux of a dispute that has pitted Qatar against an alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Courtney Freer’s study of the Brotherhood in the Gulf portrays the development of an opposition group in an autocratic environment. It also is a study of a group that operates in an environment in which one of its key appeals, the provision of social services like healthcare, is of little use because the oil-rich Gulf states introduced welfare states that offered their citizenry cradle-to-grave social security as part of the social contract. Similarly, the Brotherhood’s role as a provider of a religiously couched identity had to compete in societies with strong tribal allegiances and governments that co-opted Islam as part of their legitimization. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood played a key role in state building in the Gulf where highly educated members of the group fleeing persecution in countries like Egypt and Syria found employment, particularly in education and the judiciary. By tracing the different trajectories of the Brotherhood in the Gulf ranging from Kuwait, where an institutionalized parliamentary system allowed it to ease into mainstream politics, to the UAE, where it came go be seen as an existential threat alongside all expressions of political Islam, Freer fills a vital gap in the literature about a region that is in throes of volatile, often brutal transition. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Courtney Freer‘s new book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (Oxford University Press, 2018) contributes significantly to an understanding of one of the most controversial political groups in Middle East politics. Widely viewed as a player that cannot be excluded from the political process in the region, the Muslim Brotherhood is at the crux of political conflict, particularly in Egypt, where its president, Mohammed Morsi, was toppled in a military coup in 2013, and in the Gulf where it is at the crux of a dispute that has pitted Qatar against an alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Courtney Freer’s study of the Brotherhood in the Gulf portrays the development of an opposition group in an autocratic environment. It also is a study of a group that operates in an environment in which one of its key appeals, the provision of social services like healthcare, is of little use because the oil-rich Gulf states introduced welfare states that offered their citizenry cradle-to-grave social security as part of the social contract. Similarly, the Brotherhood’s role as a provider of a religiously couched identity had to compete in societies with strong tribal allegiances and governments that co-opted Islam as part of their legitimization. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood played a key role in state building in the Gulf where highly educated members of the group fleeing persecution in countries like Egypt and Syria found employment, particularly in education and the judiciary. By tracing the different trajectories of the Brotherhood in the Gulf ranging from Kuwait, where an institutionalized parliamentary system allowed it to ease into mainstream politics, to the UAE, where it came go be seen as an existential threat alongside all expressions of political Islam, Freer fills a vital gap in the literature about a region that is in throes of volatile, often brutal transition. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Courtney Freer‘s new book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (Oxford University Press, 2018) contributes significantly to an understanding of one of the most controversial political groups in Middle East politics. Widely viewed as a player that cannot be excluded from the political process in the region, the Muslim Brotherhood is at the crux of political conflict, particularly in Egypt, where its president, Mohammed Morsi, was toppled in a military coup in 2013, and in the Gulf where it is at the crux of a dispute that has pitted Qatar against an alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Courtney Freer’s study of the Brotherhood in the Gulf portrays the development of an opposition group in an autocratic environment. It also is a study of a group that operates in an environment in which one of its key appeals, the provision of social services like healthcare, is of little use because the oil-rich Gulf states introduced welfare states that offered their citizenry cradle-to-grave social security as part of the social contract. Similarly, the Brotherhood’s role as a provider of a religiously couched identity had to compete in societies with strong tribal allegiances and governments that co-opted Islam as part of their legitimization. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood played a key role in state building in the Gulf where highly educated members of the group fleeing persecution in countries like Egypt and Syria found employment, particularly in education and the judiciary. By tracing the different trajectories of the Brotherhood in the Gulf ranging from Kuwait, where an institutionalized parliamentary system allowed it to ease into mainstream politics, to the UAE, where it came go be seen as an existential threat alongside all expressions of political Islam, Freer fills a vital gap in the literature about a region that is in throes of volatile, often brutal transition. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Courtney Freer‘s new book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (Oxford University Press, 2018) contributes significantly to an understanding of one of the most controversial political groups in Middle East politics. Widely viewed as a player that cannot be excluded from the political process in the region, the Muslim Brotherhood is at the crux of political conflict, particularly in Egypt, where its president, Mohammed Morsi, was toppled in a military coup in 2013, and in the Gulf where it is at the crux of a dispute that has pitted Qatar against an alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Courtney Freer’s study of the Brotherhood in the Gulf portrays the development of an opposition group in an autocratic environment. It also is a study of a group that operates in an environment in which one of its key appeals, the provision of social services like healthcare, is of little use because the oil-rich Gulf states introduced welfare states that offered their citizenry cradle-to-grave social security as part of the social contract. Similarly, the Brotherhood’s role as a provider of a religiously couched identity had to compete in societies with strong tribal allegiances and governments that co-opted Islam as part of their legitimization. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood played a key role in state building in the Gulf where highly educated members of the group fleeing persecution in countries like Egypt and Syria found employment, particularly in education and the judiciary. By tracing the different trajectories of the Brotherhood in the Gulf ranging from Kuwait, where an institutionalized parliamentary system allowed it to ease into mainstream politics, to the UAE, where it came go be seen as an existential threat alongside all expressions of political Islam, Freer fills a vital gap in the literature about a region that is in throes of volatile, often brutal transition. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madawi al-Rasheed (LSE) and Courtney Freer (LSE), give a talk for the Middle East Centre Seminar Series at St Anthony's College Oxford, chaired by Toby Matthiesen (St Anthony's College). Dr Courtney Freer is a Research Officer at the Kuwait Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Arab Gulf states, with a particular focus on Islamism and tribalism. Her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford revised rentier state theory by examining the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE; a book version of these findings will be published by Oxford University Press in Spring 2018 under the title Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies. She previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Brookings Doha Center and as a researcher at the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council. Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed is Visiting Professor at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics. Previously she was Professor of Social Anthropology at King’s College, London and Visiting Research professor at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on history, society, religion and politics in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Middle Eastern Christian minorities in Britain, Arab migration, Islamist movements, state and gender relations, and Islamic modernism. Her latest book Muted Modernists: the Struggle over Divine Politics in Saudi Arabia was published by Hurst in 2015. Her presentation draws on her forthcoming edited volume: Salman’s Legacy: the dilemmas of a new era published by Hurst and OUP in March 2018.

The George Washington University's Marc Lynch, director of the Project on Middle East Political Science, speaks with Christopher Davidson, reader in Middle East Politics in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. Davidson was formerly visiting associate professor at Kyoto University, and assistant professor at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. He is the author of several books on the politics and international affairs of the Gulf states, including Abu Dhabi: Oil and Beyond, Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success, and The Persian Gulf and Pacific Asia: From Indifference to Interdependence. Lynch and Davidson discuss Gulf politics and Davidson's recent publication, After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies.

The George Washington University's Marc Lynch, director of the Project on Middle East Political Science, speaks with Christopher Davidson, reader in Middle East Politics in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. Davidson was formerly visiting associate professor at Kyoto University, and assistant professor at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. He is the author of several books on the politics and international affairs of the Gulf states, including Abu Dhabi: Oil and Beyond, Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success, and The Persian Gulf and Pacific Asia: From Indifference to Interdependence. Lynch and Davidson discuss Gulf politics and Davidson's recent publication, After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies.