Policy Making in the GCC ─ State, Citizens and Institutions

The GCC is a major player in the post-2011 reordering of the Middle East. Despite the rise in prominence of individual Gulf states—especially Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—and the growth of the GCC as a collective entity, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the actual mechanics of policy-making in the region.

This book analyzes the vital role that institutions are coming to play in shaping policy in the Gulf Arab states. The research coincides with two key developments that have given institutions new importance in the policy process: the emergence of a new generation of leaders in the Gulf, and the era of low oil prices. Both developments, along with dramatic demographic change, have compelled state and citizens to re-evaluate the nature of the social contract that binds them together.

Contributors assess the changing relationship between state and citizen and evaluate the role that formal and informal institutions play in mediating such change and informing policy. The book shows how academic, social, and economic institutions are responding to the increasingly complex process of decision-making, where citizens demand better services and further empowerment, and states are obliged to seek wider counsel, although wanting to retain ultimate authority.

With contributions from both academics and practitioners, this book is highly relevant for researchers and policymakers alike.

Neil Quilliam is a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London. He also serves as director for strategic advisory services at Rapidan Group, an energy consultancy. Quilliam is an expert in international relations of the Middle East and focuses on the Gulf Arab states, Syria, and Lebanon. Recent publications include a contribution to the book Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy: Conflict and Cooperation (2016) and an article in the journal East Asia (2015). He advises European governments on foreign policy issues and energy companies with operations in the region.

Mark C. Thompson is the assistant professor of Middle East Studies at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where he teaches courses in international relations and globalization. His publications include the monograph, Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society (2014) as well as articles in the Journal of Arabian Studies; Middle Eastern Studies; and Diplomacy and Statecraft.