After the conservative Arab Gulf Monarchies--Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Sa'udi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--joined forces on 25 May 1981 within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), few fathomed that security requirements on and around the Arabian Peninsula would be so precarious and for so long. Several of the monarchies even hoped that coordination on foreign policy issues over which near unanimity existed could, eventually, lead to a full-fledged union as envisaged in the organization's founding charter. In this new study, Joseph A. Kechichian provides an evaluation of GCC...

After the conservative Arab Gulf Monarchies--Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Sa'udi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--joined forces on 25 May 1981 within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), few fathomed that security requirements on and around the Arabian Peninsula would be so precarious and for so long. Several of the monarchies even hoped that coordination on foreign policy issues over which near unanimity existed could, eventually, lead to a full-fledged union as envisaged in the organization's founding charter. In this new study, Joseph A. Kechichian provides an evaluation of GCC...

Shaykh Yusuf Yassin (1892-1962) marked the contemporary history of the Kingdom of Sa'udi Arabia in his capacity as a favorite advisor who was the founder monarch's confidential secretary, relentless envoy and chief foreign policy consultant. Born in Latakiyyah, Syria, Yassin earned the confidence of King 'Abdul 'Aziz bin 'Abdul Rahman Al Sa'ud, and moved to Riyadh even before the Third Sa'udi Kingdom was inaugurated in 1932. After obtaining citizenship he participated in critical decisions reached by the ruler as regional and international actors honed in on the wealth of the Arabian...