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.

Ein Ende der Golf-Krise?

Zur Wiederannäherung zwischen Katar und seinen Nachbarn

Mehr als drei Jahre nach Beginn der Blockade gegen das Emirat Katar zeichnet sich eine Aussöhnung zwischen den Golf-Staaten, insbesondere Saudi-Arabien und Katar, ab. Das erste Mal seit 2017 nahm der katarische Emir Anfang Januar wieder beim Treffen des Golf-Kooperationsrats in der saudischen Wüstenstadt Al-Ula teil, auf welchem die Mitgliedsstaaten ein Abkommen über „Solidarität und Stabilität“ unterzeichneten. Unter Vermittlung insbesondere der USA und Kuwaits ist es gelungen, dass sich Katar und seine Nachbarn wieder annähern. Damit könnten sich Perspektiven für einen geeinten Golf-Kooperationsrat, regionale Stabilität und wirtschaftliche Prosperität ergeben.

Education in Saudi Arabia

Challenges and Opportunities

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has made education a central part of achieving development goals related to overcoming unemployment, developing national talent and growing a diverse private sector. However, in tying educational excellence to economic outcomes, the Saudi education system has placed insufficient emphasis on the education process itself. By strengthening key components of the education system and schooling process, a stronger cohort of graduates will inevitably contribute to a growing economy. Steps toward greater flexibility and individual choice are underway, but more needs to be done in this area to deliver on the demands of the 2030 key performance indicators.

Bitter-Sweet Elections

The Oxymoronic Condition of the Kuwaiti Current Political Scene

The author of this article deals with the political scene in Kuwait during and after the last election term. She looks at some of the positive and not so positive electoral changes and the expected aftermath of these changes on the sociopolitical atmosphere of Kuwait. She also attributes significant space to the issue of Kuwaiti women in politics, using this brand-new womanless parliament as a case-in-study. The author also briefly provides basic electoral information as well as analyzes current results with mention of certain names and occurrences that were effectively operational during this election term.