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...