AL-KHALEEJ

With global power shifting towards multipolarity, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar – have become increasingly central to global diplomacy, trade, and security. As their economies seek to play leading roles in emerging technological sectors, and governments gain increasing confidence in their autonomous foreign policy decision-making, Arab Gulf states have adopted different strategies to leverage new realities and develop more diversified economic and security arrangements. Gulf states have also positioned themselves as mediators in regional and international conflicts. This raises questions about the nature of Gulf mediation and how it can deliver sustainable political solutions where traditional approaches have failed. At the same time, the Gulf is at the heart of global economic security, with key trade routes passing through volatile areas. This has led the states to rethink their national security strategies and defense cooperation beyond historical allies. Fiker Institute’s Al-Khaleej Program sets out to analyze how Arab Gulf states will navigate an increasingly fragmented world order, how these dynamics will shape intra-Gulf relations, and what impact they will have on the Gulf’s foreign relations and domestic policies.

Commentary

Middle Powers & the Case for Foregoing Polarity

There is an ongoing debate about the rise of middle powers in the world, including in the Gulf, and where this rise fits in the mechanics of the international system. This debate sometimes places those middle powers in the context of what some observers see as rising multipolarity. But the notion of polarity itself, while […]

Dr Lina KhatibSeptember 2026

Essays

Gendered Spaces In Arab Women’s Writing: Comparing the Works of Fatema Mernissi & Soraya Altorki

INTRODUCTION The imaginary construction of the West’s need to ‘save’ women outside its borders, backed by military power and political legitimization across decades, is what Edward Said invited us to reconsider in his seminal work Orientalism. Instead of focusing on how people in the Middle East are represented or misrepresented, he calls for us to consider the power-knowledge nexus […]

Mariam ElashmawyAugust 2026

Policy Briefs

SCENARIOS FOR DE-DOLLARIZATION: RISKS & OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE GULF

Geopolitical tensions, economic sanctions, tariff mechanisms, and selective trade settlement in non-dollar currencies have prompted renewed scrutiny of the United States (US) dollar’s global role. Yet, despite gradual diversification trends, the dollar remains the dominant reserve, invoicing, and settlement currency worldwide. Rather than the imminent displacement of the US dollar, the resurgence of debates around de-dollarization reflects broader shifts in […]

Ahmed BuhejjiJuly 2026

Commentary

Considerations for a GCC-Iran Non-Aggression Pact

In a scale unprecedented since the Gulf War of 1990, the recent hostilities between the United States (US), Israel, and Iran have undermined the confidence and security of each and every Arab Gulf state. It may have been Israel and the US that started the war, but it was the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states who served as […]

Mahdi Ghuloom and Dr Rob Geist PinfoldJune 2026

Reports

Working Group on Gulf Foreign Policy: Meeting IV – Key Takeaways

Fiker Institute’s Working Group on Gulf Foreign Policy held its fourth meeting and discussed the announcement of MOU between Iran and the US and its implication for regional security.

June 2026

Policy Briefs

The Water, Energy & Food Nexus: Reframing Gulf Climate & Foreign Policy

In the early weeks after the US-Iran escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, the crisis was narrated through a familiar vocabulary of oil flows, gas markets, tanker movements, price volatility, and insurance risk. The language was immediate, recognizable, and not wrong. Energy is the first lens through which the world understands the Gulf. Yet the region’s modern resource system […]

Rumaitha Al BusaidiJune 2026