• COVID-19 and Plummeting Oil Prices; a Time of Reckoning for Oman 

      al Mukhaini, Ahmed Ali M. ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      As Oman braces itself to embark on the 'Oman 2040 Vision', the year 2020 comes as a year of reckoning in several regards. The death of Sultan Qaboos on 10th January, marked the beginning of an era where state institutions ...
    • Covid-19 Crisis and Iran-Turkey-Qatar Relations: Economic Downgrade and Corona Diplomacy 

      Battaloglu, Nesibe Hicret ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The Covid-19 pandemic has become a global issue beyond being a health crisis alone. Since its emergence in China, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica. The Middle East is no exception and the socio-economic ...
    • Covid-19 in Kuwait: An Opportunity for the Government 

      Albloshi, Hamad H. ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The first Covid-19 disease case was found in Kuwait on February 24th, 2020 when a Kuwaiti citizen was tested positive after coming back from Iran. Since then, the Kuwaiti government has taken many measures to contain its ...
    • Covid-19 in Qatar: Well Versed in Crisis Management 

      Jones, Marc Owen ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      As of April 13th 2020, Qatar has 2979 positive cases of Covid-19. Like a number of other countries, Qatar was caught off guard by the novel respiratory virus. Initially assessed as posing a low risk to the country, the ...
    • Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia: Beyond the health crisis 

      Occhiuto, Antonino ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The Covid-19 pandemic is already exerting a heavy economic toll on all areas of the world. The energy producing countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) make no exception. In Saudi Arabia, the economic impact of the ...
    • Covid-19 in War-Ravaged Yemen: Ends or doubles the war? 

      Dogan-Akkas, Betul ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      Yemen is a suffering war zone since the beginning of the civil war in 2014, out of the clash between Yemeni government in Sana'a' and the Northern tribes, mainly, the Houthi insurgents. As of 2020, after two military ...
    • Covid-19, a Common Threat towards Intrusive Regionalism 

      Zakeri, Mahdokht ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The Covid-19 pandemic news has become the top headline of almost all international media and the topic of everyday conversation among people. Coronavirus, like international terrorism is a global challenge to both states ...
    • Gulf Security in the Age of Covid-19 

      Cole, Juan; Baabood, Abdullah; Kozhanov, Nikolay; Zaccara, Luciano; Al Ansari, Majed ( Gulf Studies center - College of Arts & Sciences - Qatar University , 2020 , Video)
      NA
    • How sanctions and the pandemic affect Iran's economy 

      Salehi-Isfahani, Djavad ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      Iran has been under international sanctions of one kind or another for four decades, but its economy has never been as bad as it is now. In May 2018, the Trump administration began its campaign of maximum pressure to force ...
    • Missed Opportunities: The Trump Administration, Iran, and the Coronavirus Pandemic 

      Cole, Juan ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      On the surface, the global coronavirus pandemic of 2020 might have offered the United States and Iran an opportunity to stand down from their virtual war footing. In the lead-up to the outbreak, Iran had shot down a US ...
    • Navigating Troubled Waters: Experts' Views on GCC Challenges for Socio-Economic Recovery in the Post-Covid-19 Period 

      Kozhanov, Nikolay; Zaccara, Luciano ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The GCC economies are being seriously hit by the negative impact of low oil prices and spread of Covid-19 pandemic. The restrained inflow of oil incomes deepens the budget deficit of the countries and makes government ...
    • Oman: Food Security in Times of Uncertainty 

      Hoetjes, Gertjan ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      As the protest illustrated, the affordability of food has been an issue of concern among Omani citizens. As a result of its arid climate, the salinity of the country's soil and water scarcity, there are restrictions to the ...
    • Pandemic threatens to drive wedge into US-Gulf relations 

      Dorsey, James M. ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      It is early days, but first indications are that the global pandemic is entrenching long-drawn Middle Eastern geopolitical, political, ethnic, and sectarian battle lines rather than serving as a vehicle to build bridges ...
    • Saudi Arabia: More Room for Wahhabism Lite? 

      Aarts, Paul ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The Saudi government was surprisingly quick to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the decisive measures it took was closing the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, something which had not happened since Napoleon invaded ...
    • The Covid-19 Pandemic: Vulnerability of Migrant workers in the GCC States 

      Rahman, Md Mizanur ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) contain some of the highest numbers of migrants of any country in the world. Estimated at as many ...
    • The Sudden Cost of Unexpected Threats: The Novel Coronavirus and Dubai 

      Baycar, Hamdullah ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      The economy of Dubai is remarkable in that it has moved away from an oil-based to one in which 95% of its income is derived from non-oil sectors. This diversification has been possible thanks to the real estate, tourism, ...
    • The UAE-Israel Normalisation ''If you can't convince them, confuse them'' 

      Zweiri, Mahjoob ( Gulf Studies Center , 2020 , Article)
      What was a secret marriage is now publicly announced to the world, as a strong relationship between the UAE and Israel, which has been normalized through the media on August 13, 2020. The UAE became the third Arab state - ...