Edited Research Volumes: GCC Relations with Post-War Iraq: A Strategic Perspective

This volume contains the contributions to the Gulf Research Center workshop entitled: “Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Relations with Post-War Iraq: A Strategic Perspective,” held during the July 2013 Gulf Research Meeting in Cambridge, UK. The papers examine the history and future of the often fractious relationship between Iraq and the GCC countries. The backdrop is the US dominance of security arrangements in the Arabian Gulf region for most of the post-war period. The volume’s contributions explore the underlying reasons for the region’s instability from a variety of perspectives and with an emphasis on the GCC’s relationship with Iraq. Topics covered include: Iraq’s federal architecture, the highly controversial role of Iran, the effects of regional sectarianism, the possibility of Iraq becoming a member of the GCC, the impact of Chinese oil demand, the evolving nature of US regional military deployments, and the expanding use of social media by religious clerics. The volume’s goal is to produce operational recommendations for senior government figures. To that end, each author provides two lists of recommendations for improving the region’s stability: one targeting GCC policymakers and the other targeting their Iraqi counterparts. There is a strong consensus concerning the need for a more inclusive and multilateral approach to regional security, and for any such approach to be spearheaded by the region’s principle stakeholders: Iraq, Iran and the GCC countries themselves. However, the precise nature of a potentially successful common security strategy remains an area of considerable controversy.

Edited by: Omar Al-Ubaydli, Andrea Plebani

Publication Date: September 29th, 2014

Publisher: Gulf Research Centre Cambridge

Publication Category: GRC Books

Price: 56.27 SAR

Type: Digital Copy, Hard Copy

File Size: 4,743.67 KB