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Gulf Insights


The "Gulf Insights" series is published by the Gulf Studies Center on a weekly base with the aim to promote informed debate with academic depth. The Gulf Insights are commentaries on pressing regional issues written by the GSC/GSP faculty, staff and PhD and MA students, and they can be between 1,200 to 1,500 words.

All articles published under “Gulf Insights” series have been discussed internally but they reflect the opinion and views of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Center, the College of Arts and Sciences, or Qatar University. 

For submissions: gulfstudieseditor@qu.edu.qa 



 Politics and Security Coordinator: Dr. Luciano Zaccara, Research Associate Professor, GSC, QU.


Economy and Energy Coordinator: Dr. Nikolay Kozhanov, Research Associate Professor, GSC, QU.

Society and Culture Coordinator: Dr. Md Mizanur Rahman, Research Associate Professor, GSC, QU.

Editor and designer: Thouria Bilal Deeb Mahmoud, Senior Editor, GSC, QU.



Published Gulf Insights
















October 2024

Saudi Foreign Policy in Yemen: The Central Bank and the (New) Political Status Quo

Simon Coppieters PDF
April 2024 Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: Consequences on Oil and Gas Exports of the Gulf Countries
Iryna Rishniak PDF
March 2024

Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Renaissance: Societal Codes and Embrace 

Sinem Cengiz PDF
March 2024

Arab Opinion on Iran: The Gaza War Perspective 

Nesibe Hicret Battaloglu & Luciano Zaccara PDF
February 2024

The Art of Gulf Diplomacy: Kuwait’s New Emir Embarks on a GCC Tour 

Sinem Cengiz & Amna Sadiq PDF
February 2024

 Educational Diplomacy at Stake: Closure of a US University Branch in Qatar 

Sharique Umar
PDF
February 2024

IRAQ Provincial Elections 2023: A Decade in the Making 

Abdulla Al-Khazraji PDF
December 2023

Navigating Change: A Closer Look at Kuwait’s New Leadership and Policy Priorities 

Sinem Cengiz PDF
December 2023

Saudi Arabia’s Sport Investment Strategy: A Driver for Diversification, Empowerment, and Identity Construction



Sebastian Sons

PDF
December 2023

Gulf Food Security in the Times of Conflict: How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Impacts Grain Imports by The GCC Member States 




Iryna Rishniak PDF
December 2023

The 44th GCC Summit in Qatar: A Brief Review 






Amna Sadiq PDF
October 2023

The Gulf Regional Implication of the Gaza War 






Luciano Zaccara
PDF
September 2023

New Saudi generation reestablishes Al-Balad to keep the past alive 





Sinem Cengiz
PDF
June 2023 

Qatar Central Municipal Council elections 22 June 2023 




Luciano Zaccara
PDF
June 2023

Kuwait Legislative Elections 2023 






Luciano Zaccara & Ismail Zahirovic
PDF
May 2023

Qatar’s Humanitarianism: Between Altruism and Realpolitik 




Sharique Umar  PDF
April 2023

Political Dynamics Surrounding Iraq’s Electoral Law 


Abdulla Al-Khazraji


PDF
April 2023

What Iran gains from the recently signed deal with Saudi Arabia 

Luciano Zaccara  PDF
March 2023

Her Excellency, Not His: Gulf Women Breaking Diplomatic Tradition 

Sinem Cengiz PDF
March 2023

Al-Zubara – Preserving History and Making History 

Lakshmi Venugopal Menon & Farah Al Qawasmi



PDF
February 2023

Lifestyle Barriers to Physical Fitness in Kuwait and the Need for a Revision in Public Policies 

E. Esra Erturan-Ogut PDF
February 2023

Quest for the Best: Foreign Athletes as High-Skilled Migrants in the Gulf Region 

Sharique Umar PDF
January 2023

Reconciliation in the Gulf: the Case of Iran-Saudi Arabia Talks 

Mahjoob Zweiri & Nesibe Hicret Battaloglu PDF
January 2023

Challenges Facing the Iraqi Government for 2023 

Abdulla Farooq Hassan PDF
January 2023

Post-World Cup 2022: What Potential Legacies Qatar Can Build On 

Sinem Cengiz PDF
December 2022

Qatar’s World Cup 2022: Dropping Jaws and Turning Tables 


Mahjoob Zweiri & Farah Al Qawasmi

PDF
November 2022

The Fire in the Next Door: Popular Protests in Iran and the Responses from the GCC 

Nesibe Hicret Battaloglu 

PDF
November 2022

China and Europe in the Gulf: Competitor or Collaborator? 

Tingyi Wang

PDF
October 2022

The Crisis in Iraq: Should Gulf Be Worried? 

Mahjoob Zweiri & Lakshmi Venugopal Menon

PDF
October 2022

Kuwait 2022 Parliamentary Elections: Key Characteristics and Future Prospects 

Kazuto Matsuda & Thomas Bonnie James

PDF
October 2022

Assessing the Socio-political Aspect of Kuwait’s 2022 Parliamentary Elections: Kuwaitis Vote for Change 

Sinem Cengiz PDF
July 22

Environmental Cooperation in the Red Sea: a lost opportunity? 

Victoria Silva Sánchez

PDF
May 2022

Lebanon’s Elections: What next? 

Simon Mabon and Elias Ghazal PDF
May 2022

Yemeni Presidential Council and the GCC: Renewed Vigor or More of the Same 

Mahjoob Zweiri and Lakshmi Menon Venugopal PDF
April 2022

Look East and Move Beyond Oil and Blue Diamond: Saudi Arabia-Thailand Diplomatic Revival and Normalisation 

Vorachai Israsena-Pichitkanjanakul PDF
April 2022

Argentina-Qatar: Political and Economic Relations and the Bet on Building Long-lasting Ties. 

Mariela Cuadro and Ornela Fabani PDF
March 2022

Israel and the Persian Gulf: Impact of US Offshore Balancing Strategy 

JavadHeiran-Nia PDF
March 2022

Regional actor transformed into an international key-player: The Qatar entrance in the Ukraine crisis. 

Leticia Rodríguez PDF
February 2022

Houthi posturing, not mere retaliation 

Fernando Carvajal PDF
February 2022

The Latin American Region and the UAE Nexus 

Thomas Bonnie James and Shaikha Majed Al-Moslemani


PDF
December 2021

What lessons we can take from The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup 

Mahfoud Amara PDF
December 2021

Saudi Arabia’s Quiet Diplomacy with Iran 


Hazal Muslu El Berni PDF
December 2021

GCC’s Evolving Cities and the Dearth in Urban Planning 





Lakshmi Venugopal Menon
PDF
November 2021

Al-UlaDeclaration: A Window of Opportunity for Wider Regional Reconciliation? 



Nesibe Hicret Battaloglu
PDF
November 2021

Varying Perspectives: The Al-Ula Agreement and the Future of the GCC 




Thomas Bonnie James 
PDF
September 2021

QATAR The First Shura Council Elections 





Luciano Zaccara
PDF
June 2021

Iran Presidential elections 2021: What the numbers say 




Luciano Zaccara
PDF
June 2021


The Qatar Shura Council Elections: A Preliminary assessment 




Luciano Zaccara and Salem Ghurab
PDF
June 2021

Qatar: The End of a Blockade, The start of a New Era 





Mahjoob Zweiri and Farah Al Qawasmi PDF
May 2021


India’s Vaccine-diplomacy with the GCC 





Lakshmi Venugopal Menon and Thomas Bonnie James PDF
May 2021


Women’s Rights and Intersectionality in the Gulf-Identity Politics, the Question of Inclusion and Representation. 




Zarqa Parvez PDF
February 2021


King-making amid the Gulf Crisis 





Bulent Aras and Emirhan Yorulmazlar

PDF
December 2020


The Challenges of 2020 and the Future of Political Reforms in the GCC 




Cihat Battaloglu

PDF
December 2020

Trump Gone: What does it mean for the GCC 



Hamdullah Baycar and Huzeyfe Altiok

PDF
December 2020

Can 2021 be the year Iran and the GCC States engage in dialogue? 


Mehran Haghirian

PDF
November 2020

Cooperation between the UAE and Israel in the Oil Market: Can it go beyond Political Considerations? 


Nikolay Kozhanov

PDF
November 2020


The Gulf and the smart city movement in the Middle East 



Javier Guirado

PDF
September 2020

Consequences of Kuwaiti Succession for the GCC 



Courtney Freer

PDF
August 2020

The UAE-Israel Normalisation “If you can’t convince them, confuse them” 





Mahjoob Zweiri

PDF
July 2020

Is the Strait of Hormuz still a vital energy route? Alternatives between Ambition and Reality

هل لا يزال مضيق هرمز معبراً عالمياً حيوياً للطاقة؟ البدائل بين الواقع والطموح



Mahjoob Zweiri & Yara Nassar

PDF
July 2020

 [Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

How sanctions and the pandemic affect Iran’s economy


Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

PDF
June 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

Oman: Food Security in Times of Uncertainty 


Gertjan Hoetjes

PDF
June 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

Missed Opportunities:  The Trump Administration, Iran, and the Coronavirus Pandemic 





Juan Cole

PDF
May 2020

 [Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

Navigating Troubled Waters: Experts’ Views on GCC Challenges for Socio-Economic Recovery in the Post-Covid-19 Period



Nikolay Kozhanov and Luciano Zaccara (eds.) PDF
May 2020

 [Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

Covid-19 Crisis and Iran-Turkey-Qatar Relations: Economic Downgrade and Corona Diplomacy 




Nesibe Hicret Battaloglu

PDF
May 2020

Nº28 May 2020 [Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


Covid-19 in War-Ravaged Yemen: Ends or doubles the war? 





Betul Dogan-Akkas PDF
May 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia: Beyond the health crisis 




Antonino Occhiuto

PDF
April 2020

Saudi Arabia in Struggle for the Chinese Oil Market: the Price War as Necessity



Nikolay Kozhanov PDF
April 2020

 [Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

The Covid-19 Pandemic: Vulnerability of Migrant workers in the GCC States 




Md Mizanur Rahman PDF
April 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


Pandemic threatens to drive wedge into US-Gulf relations 




James M. Dorsey PDF
April 2020

Saudi Arabia: More Room for Wahhabism Lite? 







Paul Aarts PDF
April 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


Covid-19, a Common Threat towards Intrusive Regionalism 





Mahdokht Zakeri PDF
April 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


Covid-19 in Qatar:  Well Versed in Crisis Management 






Marc Owen Jones PDF
April 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


Covid-19 in Kuwait: An Opportunity for the Government 






Hamad H. Albloshi PDF
April 2020

[Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]


COVID-19 and Plummeting Oil Prices; a Time of Reckoning for Oman 




Ahmed Ali M. al Mukhaini PDF
March 2020

 [Covid-19 in the Gulf Special Coverage]

The Sudden Cost of Unexpected Threats: The Novel Coronavirus and Dubai 






Hamdullah Baycar PDF
March 2020


Iran: Legislative elections 21st February 2020





Luciano Zaccara

PDF
February 2020

Reconstructing the Event: The Repercussions of Soleimani’s Assassination in the GCC 



Erick Viramontes PDF
February 2020


Natural Gas in the Gulf:  From a Failed Regional Gas Grid to an Emerging Intra-Gulf LNG Market? 




Naji Abi-Aad

PDF
January 2020


Arabian Gulf Cup offers hope of diplomatic breakthrough 



John McManus PDF
December 2019


Moving Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar: What Is Needed To Enable ICT, Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship?





Tarek Ben Hassen and Fatima Al-Dhaheri PDF
December 2019


Economic Drivers of the GCC Investments in the Horn of Africa Region 





Héla Miniaoui

PDF


November 2019

العنوان: مبادرة هرمز للسلام الإيرانية والبلدان المجاورة: نموذج هلسنكي

Iran Hormuz Peace Initiative and the Neighboring Countries: The Helsinki Model 





Mahjoob Zweiri and Muyassar Suleiman 

PDF
October 2019


Can Pakistan mend relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran? 





Ana Ballesteros Peiró

PDF
October 2019

Drone Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Oil Refining Facilities: Lessons to be Learnt 






Nikolay Kozhanov

PDF
April 2019


Iran’s Economic Challenges in the New Year: Problems with(out) Solutions?




 Nikolay Kozhanov PDF
February 2019


Food Security in Qatar: Threats and opportunities 





Hussein A. Amery

PDF
February 2019





 Shareefa Al-Adwani PDF
January 2019

Qatar’s Exit from the OPEC: Economically Driven, Politically Determined





Nikolay Kozhanov
PDF
November 2019

Blood Diplomacy: Saudi Arabia between Yemen and Jamal Khashoggi





Paulino R. Robles-Gil Cozzi

PDF
November 2018



The causes and consequences of the dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia





Thomas Juneau

PDF
April 2016

Internal Mechanisms and the Political Establishment in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Myth of Reality 






Mahjoob Zweiri

PDF
March 2016

Who won the Iranian elections? 





Luciano Zaccara PDF