This thesis is focused on the main challenges which faced the progress of the GCC when it was established in May 1981. The core topic is the security challenges and the bilateral boundary disputes, internal and external, as well as the steps which resulted in the establishment of the GCC. The importance of the GCC is that the six Arab Gulf States contain 60% of the world's total oil reserves. This study focuses on the political and historical development of the reasons behind the establishment of the GCC, and the main internal and external challenges, which prevented these countries from achieving a trustful co-operation on the objectives for which the Council was established. External security in the Arab Gulf States was and still is the main responsibility of the West, Britain and the United States in particular. The boundary disputes, along with the other secondary challenges, are the main obstacles in the way of the GCC's achievements. This thesis is divided into seven chapters. Two of the core chapters concentrate on security (internal and external), and three on boundary disputes (internal and external and maritime). The first chapter provides a historical and political survey of the six states of the GCC. The second concentrates on the political developments which led to the establishment of the GCC. The third and fourth chapters address security in the Gulf, both external and internal; the fifth, sixth and seventh concentrate on the boundary challenges between the GCC states on one hand and the GCC states and their neighbours (Iraq, Iran and Yemen) on the other. The introduction of the thesis is a review of the relevant literature.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:640318 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Al-Rawas, Ali Omar Abdul |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21212 |
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