The Gulf Cooperation Council, Its Future Impact on Middle East Stability
Abstract
In May of this year, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will celebrate its eighth anniversary. Principally formed to consolidate the economic interests of six Persian Gulf states--Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--the GCC has evolved into an astute political instrument with ever increasing military power. Fearful that the Iran-Iraq war would spread to the Western Gulf, the level of cooperation between the GCC states transcended age-old rivalries and unsettled disputes. Now that the Gulf war has subsided, these old rivalries and disputes may surface, and superpower initiatives may cause major regional policy changes. This paper seeks to broadly analyzed the past, present and future role of the GCC in the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf region. It first addresses the social threats endemic to each GCC state and the threats to stability they pose. Next, the paper provides a broad historical perspective of U.S.-Persian Gulf regional policy including how it evolved and how the Iranian revolution caused it to be reevaluated. Finally, the paper suggests that the void left by the demise of the twin pillars policy has not been filled and that allowing the GCC to become a de facto U.S. surrogate is not in the best interest of regional stability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 31, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA207315
Entities
People
- Arnold Fields
Organizations
- United States Army War College