Muslim Public Opinion Toward the International Order by Mujtaba Ali Isani

Author:Mujtaba Ali Isani
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319973289
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The GCC’s founding aims, goals, and context were much different than those of the Arab League . The aim of the GCC was definitely not to unite to form one large Gulf Kingdom, but rather can be seen as an effort to unite for survival, given common strategic and external threats. These threats came from “Arab Socialism” and Saddam Hussein on the one hand, and from Iran and Shiism on the other hand. The small kingdoms of the Gulf (perhaps with the exception of Saudi Arabia, which is not a small kingdom) could not see themselves succeeding alone in the event of an attack from any of the bigger Middle Eastern powers.

The GCC’s six member states are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman. The first four of these are extremely oil-rich, out of which the first three also have especially small populations, making them some of the richest countries (by per capita GDP) on the planet. Bahrain also has an extremely small population, and although it has few oil reserves, its refineries make it an important link to the Middle East market. All six states are dynastic, family-run kingdoms, which makes preserving the regime type in the region a primary motive for their leaders.

Unlike the Arab League , in which the Secretariat was the most important organ, power in the GCC rests with its Supreme Council and Ministerial Council. The Supreme Council is made up of the heads of states that meet once a year, and the Ministerial Council composed of (foreign) ministers meets quarterly. The main bureaucratic organ of the GCC is the Secretariat based in Riyadh, which coordinates and implements GCC policies. Since the main aim of the GCC is to serve as an intergovernmental rather than as a supranational organization, real decision-making power rests with the Councils. According to the GCC charter, the main aims of the organization are economic and developmental; however, in terms of strategic and defense affairs, it has been more successful than the Arab League in presenting a united force on external affairs (GCC Charter 1981). Indeed, there is distrust and disputed territory between GCC members (e.g., Bahrain and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), but the motive of survival makes the GCC countries come together on external threats.

According to the GCC, the biggest threat, since the 1980s, comes from Iran and its aspirations of Shia expansion. Also, since Bahrain (a GCC kingdom) is a majority Shia region alleged to have an Iranian conspiracy since the GCC’s inception, the organization is extremely afraid of Shia opposition within its countries and in Bahrain.

However, on the strategic and military fronts, the GCC countries maintain a rapid deployment force and conduct regular military exercises. So although on paper, the GCC is less of a military alliance than the Arab League , the former has been much more functionally successful than the latter.

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