From Alliance to Union: Challenges Facing Gulf Cooperation Council States in the Twenty-First Century

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. To answer their search for permanent stability, Arab Gulf rulers erected a regional alliance that sought to integrate internal and regional defenses, as well as strengthen their existing socio-economic ties. 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. Between 1981 and 2015 these Arab Gulf monarchies experienced major socio-political transformations resulting from upheavals throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds. The perceived necessity to bring about a full-fledged union has come into conflict with entrenched viewpoints from regimes that value traditional military/political roles and norms. In this new study, Joseph A. Kaechichian provides an evaluation of GCC States' military institutions to better evaluate whether a stable alliance is capable of enduring over the next few decades, and how civilian leaders perceive the role and influence of their military officers for the task. Kaechichian raises fundamental questions over internal, regional and international threats, including an existential challenge emanating from the Islamic revolutionary government of Iran.