International Relations of the Gulf Working Group I

On June 18 and 19, 2008, CIRS hosted a working group to discuss various aspects of the “International Relations of the Gulf.” This initial round of talks consisted of preliminary thoughts on chosen topics and brainstorming sessions to critically assess the project’s focus, parameters of analysis, and main thesis.

A second working group meeting took place in January 2009. The papers have been collected as an edited volume titled The International Politics of the Persian Gulf (Syracuse University Press, 2011). The International Relations of the Gulf research initiative explores critical issues in the Gulf region such as security strategies and foreign policy implications of political reforms in the Gulf region, questions of sovereignty and borders, American policy, and the foreign and security policies of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other regional actors.

Below are the working group participants and their specialized topics: 

Seminar Program 

• Britain and the Gulf Shaikhdoms 1820-1971: The Politics of Protection – James Onley, University of Exeter
• Foreign Policy Perspectives of the Persian Gulf States – Fred Lawson, Mills College
• American Policy toward the Persian Gulf: Strategies, Effectiveness, and Consequences – Mohammed Ayoob, Michigan State University
• The Iraqi Factor: Regional Consequences of Internal Turmoil – Daniel Byman, Georgetown University
• GCC Collective Security Efforts – Joseph Kostiner, Tel Aviv University
• Sovereignty and Boundaries in the Gulf States: Settling the Peripheries – J.E. Peterson, University of Arizona
• Conceptualizing EU-Gulf Relations: Trends and Realities – Gerd Nonneman, University of Exeter
• Iran’s Regional Foreign and Security Policies in the Persian Gulf – Mehran Kamrava, Georgetown University in Qatar
• Saudi Arabia’s Regional Security Policy – Gregory Gause, University of Vermont
• Qatar’s Foreign Policy: Autonomy and Security – Steven Wright, Qatar University
• China, India and the Gulf – Converging Interests? – N. Janardhan, Gulf-Asia News, UAE
• Political Reform and Foreign Policy in the Gulf Monarchies – Katja Niethammer, Georgetown University in Qatar​