Publikationen

Economic Diversification in the Gulf States

Challenges and Opportunities

The Regional Program Gulf States at Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, together with the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and Doha Institute for Graduate Studies held a two-day workshop on May 25th & 26th entitled “Economic Diversification in the Gulf States: Challenges and Opportunities.” The workshop, which brought virtually together scholars from Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Germany discussed fiscal policies in Oman and Kuwait, the role of the private sector and MSE as economic vehicles toward economic diversification, the level of women participation in the private sector in Kuwait, Germany’s FDI and private companies in the Gulf States, and the opportunities for closer European-Gulf cooperation in terms of economic transformation. In their opening remarks, Mr. Fabian Blumberg, regional representative to the Gulf States, Dr. Haider Saeed, director of the research department at ACRPC, and Dr. Hamid Ali, dean of the School of Public Administration and Development Economics welcomed the distinguished speakers and underlined the importance of the theme of the workshop for the Gulf States. The workshop was well attended and diffused live on the social media of the ACRPC.

Saudi Arabia and Iran

From Bitter Confrontation to Bilateral Talks

In this policy report, the authors trace Saudi Arabia and Iran’s attempts to resume bilateral talks since 2016. They also discuss the motivations and the prospects of the recent talks between the two countries that are taking place in Iraq since last April. The authors argue that in order for the two parties to arrive at an agreement on a new regional security arrangement that serves their interests, this dialogue should be institutionalized, and trust-building steps should also be taken. This, the authors contend, could be done by establishing a permanent forum where the Gulf States and Iran can talk and cooperate on issues such as energy, maritime security, environment, and tourism before moving ahead to discuss the hard issues that are related to security.

Präsidentschaftswahl im Iran 2021

Von Wächterrat, Wahlboykott und Wettbewerbsverzerrung

Am 18. Juni wird im Iran ein neuer Präsident gewählt. In dem Bestreben, die Macht des Establishments zu stärken, hat die Wahlaufsicht des Regimes Kandidaten aus den Reihen der Moderaten und Reformkräfte disqualifiziert, was zu breiten Boykottaufrufen geführt hat. Der Wahlsieg des als Establishment-Spitzenkandidat gehandelten Ebrahim Raisi, der dem Obersten Führer Ali Khamenei nahesteht, scheint sicher. Eine Änderung der allgemeinen politischen Ausrichtung des Regimes wird nicht erwartet.

What Drives President Biden’s Middle East Policies? And what are their Impacts on the Gulf States?

In this article, Dr. Yaghi argues that although President Biden’s political views belong to the centrist camp of the Democratic Party, his policies in the Middle East will most likely lean more to the left for two main reasons. First, the Middle East is draining the U.S. scarce resources and is shifting them away from where they needed most, i.e., for competition with great powers and for economic recovery. Second, the progressive current in the Democratic Party is very strong, such that President Biden cannot turn his back to its political and economic demands. Accordingly, President Biden will avoid further military involvement in the Middle East and will adopt policies that will directly impact the Gulf States.

Civil Society Engagement in a Ceasefire Mechanism in Yemen

Two-days workshop to discuss a possible engagement of Yemen’s civil society in a potential ceasefire mechanism

On May 19th and 20th, the Regional Program Gulf States and Yemen Policy Center held a two-days workshop to discuss a possible engagement of Yemen’s civil society in a potential ceasefire mechanism sponsored by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.

Qatar

Strategic implications of economic diversification

The “Qatar National Vision 2030” sets the strategic goals for the State of Qatar. Economic diversification and development, coupled with social advancement, and comprehensive environmental management are at the core of Qatar’s current National Development Strategy. Although Qatar’s neighbors in the region put forward strategic goal systems for their national advancement as well, Qatar differentiates itself in the way it executes those strategies.

"This war has to end"

100 Tage Biden und Perspektiven für eine Konfliktlösung im Jemen

Ein Ende des Krieges im Jemen – das ist die klare Forderung des neuen US-Präsidenten Joe Biden. Dies markiert eine Wende in der amerikanischen Außenpolitik, die mit einem neuen Kurs auch gegenüber Saudi-Arabien und dem saudisch-iranischen Verhältnis einhergeht. Durch die proaktive Initiative der neuen US-Regierung ergeben sich zum ersten Mal seit langer Zeit Perspektiven für eine Konflikt- und Kriegsbeilegung im Jemen. Viele zentrale Fragen bleiben jedoch noch ungeklärt.

AWAKEN 2021

AWAKEN is a community-building program that entails a series of festivals and public events that aims at bringing people together in order to build a more resilient and inclusive society.

The Power of Youth

Future Change Maker Programm

Supported by the Regional Program Gulf States at KAS, Ibtkar has launched a 10 weeks training program for the Kuwaiti youth aiming at assisting them to acquire the necessary skills for self-initiative campaigning.

Humanitarian Foreign Aid of Gulf States

Background and Orientations

Foreign aid from the main Gulf donors (the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) have been controversial for many years. This is due to the fact that Gulf foreign aid objectives and types are intrinsically intertwined. During the past fifteen years, humanitarian aid has transformed the Gulf states to become amongst the leading international humanitarian donors. However, the politicisation of humanitarian aid has done more damage to Gulf states than creating visibility and reputation. This article looks into the development of Gulf aid and the politics of humanitarian aid.