No description available.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): James A. Russell, W. Andrew Terrill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-55). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Daniel Moran, James Russell. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-45). Also available online.

Thesis--University of Maryland. / Without thesis statement. Bibliography: p. [159]-163.

Thesis in Political Science, University of Oslo, Institute of Political Science, 1998.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the foreign policy outcomes of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to understand the extent to which a Regional Intergovernmental Organization (RGO) consisting of developing nations is able to promote regional cooperation. Much of the literature on integration and the formation of Intergovernmental Organizations was developed with regard to western nations. These approaches are examined for their contributions to foreign policy behavior analysis and with respect to understanding why small and developing nations join such organizations. Final analysis of the outcomes using two scales to measure the organization's ability to promote regional cooperation reveal that the level of success was moderate and the level of political action undertaken by the GCC was generally moderate to low. Leadership is supportive of the organization but both external and internal factors contribute to the modest levels achieved so far. Issues of national sovereignty and a decade of regional conflicts affected the ability of the organization to achieve greater levels or regional cooperation.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Events at the beginning of the 21st century have brought a fundamental change to the security environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of a significance not witnessed in the region since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 eliminated the most significant external threat facing Saudi Arabia. At the same time, internal threats to the Kingdom appear to be increasing. The demographic and economic challenges facing the Kingdom are contributing to internal instability. Increased instances of political violence, particularly suicide bombings against targets within the Kingdom, have been carried out by terrorists linked to al-Qaeda. These attacks have targeted Westerners and, for the first time in May 2003, non-Saudi Muslims. This paper examines the security challenges facing Saudi Arabia at the start of the 21st century. It argues that while external threats to the Kingdom remain, the greater threat to security may lie within the Saudi state: the result of a failure to address current political realities. Major security challenges include the threat from Iran, economic and demographic pressures, the question of succession within the ruling al-Saud family and maintaining the U.S.- Saudi security partnership, a relationship which has endured over 50 years. / Captain, United States Air Force

Following the 1973 rise in the price of oil, the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations of the Middle East became hosts to hundreds of thousands of foreign workers taking part in the economic development of the region. From the beginning, the employment of migrant workers was seen as a temporary measure, necessary to compensate for the small indigenous populations in the Gulf. The numbers of foreign workers has become so great, that the migrants now constitute a majority of the population in several of the GCC countries. The relative permanence with which foreign workers have now established themselves is of great concern to the host governments. It appears that the insufficient skill-levels and sizes of the national workforces, together with the position the extensive and growing migrant communities hold in the growing Gulf economies point to the continued presence of large foreign populations for some time to come.

After the discovery of oil, many Arab Gulf States failed to diversify and expand their economies beyond the oil sector. Resource curse theory contends these states, also known as rentier states, exhibited slower economic development than other states due to their dependency on oil. Dubai has been classified as a rentier state, however, it has achieved significant economic growth and political stability. Kuwait and Qatar were selected as case studies to compare and contrast with Dubai. Dubai s growth can be attributed to its rulers decisions prior to and after the discovery of oil and the growing role of the merchant class in the state. Therefore, the resource curse theory alone cannot address the development of Arab Gulf states.