The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an international organisation established in 1981 between six Gulf countries, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). According to the GCC Supreme Council, it was established to foster and manage cooperation between these countries and to serve their common interests. This thesis explores another factor, that it was established in response to specific security concerns in the context of the energy crisis that arose after the 1970‟s war between Egypt and Israel, the Soviet attack on Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution which was followed by the Iran-Iraq war. It is a doctrinal study that aims to determine where the GCC fits as an international institution within the framework of international law and international institutions particularly. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis is to analyse critically what the GCC is and does exactly. More specifically, it examines the type of organisation the GCC is, its relationship with member states and other international organisations and considers its future role as a key regional organisation. This thesis analyses the reason for its establishment, leaders‟ opinions about its nature, the GCC's methods for producing collective political attitudes and economic cooperation. It also assesses the kinds of laws the GCC produces, their status, whether hard and soft law, as well as their enforcement. This analysis is conducted from a combined legal positivist and international relations framework. From Nasserism to the Arab Spring, the GCC has withstood the waves of political movements in the Middle East. This thesis provide a critical analysis of the GCC‟s overall achievements and aims, with a particular focus on its response to key political developments such as these. This thesis argues that GCC members have been using the GCC as means to achieve their own ends. Due to the nature of their governing systems – absolute monarchy – they are using the GCC to maintain the security and stability of their own ruling systems. However, while the GCC has always focused on security and economic cooperation, its achievements are stronger in the latter because security is linked to external factors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:606041 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Alhaiyaf, Khalid Nasser |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/48750/ |
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