Book review : The small Gulf states : foreign and security policies before and after the Arab Spring

Abstract

The small states in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) play an outsized role in global politics. Owing to their resources, locations and partnerships, they are often at the centre of international affairs. This has been especially true in the decade since the Arab Spring, an event that posed acute threats for some Gulf governments, whilst promising fortuitous prospects for others. Why did the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) react to the Arab Spring differently; and can their statecraft inform small state studies? The small Gulf states offers insight into these questions by assessing how these states have pursued foreign and security policies amid regional power shifts and oil-price volatility. The volume provides three main contributions. First, its editors merge decades of small state and area studies scholarship to assess what makes the Arab Gulf states unique relative to those in Europe. Second, its contributors identify how Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, in particular, have proactively gained regional influence through diverse diplomatic, ideational and economic means. Third, it inspires future scholarship by suggesting how these states may navigate the international system’s mounting multipolarity with divergent aid and alignment strategies.