Abstract
The small states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have always nursed a fear of encroachment and interference by the larger states in the Gulf—Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. This chapter discusses how Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates dealt with their apprehension specifically regarding Iran and Saudi Arabia. It argues that their ample financial resources, strategic location, and history—each applying to a different extent in the different states—have helped them compensate for their small size and population. While all GCC states, including the large Saudi Arabia, have a sheltering relationship with the United States, they all followed defined strategies that helped them preserve their sovereignty and ensured the security of their royal families. Bahrain has utilized the shelter theory in its relationship with Saudi Arabia to face Iran and other threats, Kuwait has been a nonaligned mediator in GCC affairs but accommodates Iran, Oman rejects Saudi policies and nourishes good relations with Iran, Qatar has audacious hedging strategies that distance it from the kingdom but open it to Iran, and the UAE has been both ally with and foe against Saudi Arabia and Iran but has widened its military reach in its strategic theater.
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Notes
- 1.
Thorhallsson (2018), p. 64.
- 2.
- 3.
Anthony (2016), pp. 23–43. See also Clayton Thomas, “Arms Sales in the Middle East: Trends and Perspectives for U.S. Policy,” Congressional Research Service, R44984, October 11, 2017, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R44984.pdf.
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- 12.
Katzman, “Oman,” op. cit.
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Ahmad Ghaddar, “Factbox: Strait of Hormuz: the world’s most important oil artery,” Reuters, May 13, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-oil-emirates-tanker/factbox-strait-of-hormuz-the-worlds-most-important-oil-artery-idUSKCN1SJ0PS.
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Jonathan Gorvett, “Oman plans pipeline to Iran as US sanctions loom,” Asia Times, October 2, 2018, http://www.atimes.com/article/oman-plans-pipeline-to-iran-as-us-sanctions-loom/.
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Guzansky, “The Foreign Policy Tools,” op. cit.
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Camille Lons, “Oman: between Iran and a hard place,” European Council on Foreign Relations, May 3, 2018, https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_oman_between_iran_and_a_hard_place1.
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- 22.
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Ali Abdelaty, “Qatari forces in Saudi coalition return home,” Reuters, June 7, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-alliance/qatari-forces-in-saudi-led-coalition-return-home-idUSKBN18Y2YH.
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Kamrava (2014), p. 159.
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Sultan Barakat, “Qatari Mediation: Between Ambition and Achievement,” Brookings Doha Center, Analysis Paper no. 12, June 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Final-PDF-English.pdf.
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Lina Khatib, “Qatar and the Recalibration of Power in the Gulf,” Carnegie Middle East Center, September 2014, https://carnegieendowment.org/files/qatar_recalibration.pdf.
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Andrew Critchlow, “Saudi and UAE ready $20 billion boost for Egypt’s El-Sisi,” Telegraph, June 1, 2014, telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/10868522/Saudi-and-UAE-ready-20bn-boost-for-Egypts-El-Sisi.html.
- 34.
Barakat, “Qatari Mediation,” op. cit.
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Craig Nelson, “U.S., Taliban Show Optimism in Afghan Peace Talks,” Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-taliban-show-optimism-in-afghan-peace-talks-11548622334.
- 41.
For a historical rundown of the islands dispute, see Mattair (1995). See also, Al-Mazrouei (2015), http://gulfresearchmeeting.net/publication_pdf/Noura%20paper.pdf.
- 42.
Alexander Cornwell, “UAE fully complying with U.S. sanctions on Iran: official,” Reuters, November 19, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-emirates-sanctions/uae-fully-complying-with-u-s-sanctions-on-iran-official-idUSKCN1NO1IV.
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Adam Schreck, “UAE brands Muslim Brotherhood terrorists,” Times of Israel, November 16, 2014, https://www.timesofisrael.com/uae-brands-muslim-brotherhood-terrorists/.
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Robin Wigglesworth, “UAE quits Gulf monetary union,” Financial Times, May 20, 2009, https://www.ft.com/content/822cab2e-4534-11de-b6c8-00144feabdc0.
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Mark Mazzetti and Emily Hager, “Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder,” New York Times, May 14, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html.
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“UAE runs Aden as protectorate,” Middle East Eye, op. cit.
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Harb, I.K. (2021). Shelter and Strategic Hedging in the Gulf Cooperation Council. In: Brady, AM., Thorhallsson, B. (eds) Small States and the New Security Environment. The World of Small States, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51529-4_13
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