Gulf Cooperation Council

Soft power and nation branding are essential factors for a state to communicate with global audiences around the world. A state's investments in public diplomacy, and nation branding campaigns can prove to be effective in terms of establishing relationships with other countries, promoting tourism, and to gain influence in the international community. Qatar has established various soft power resources such as the Al Jazeera news network, FIFA World Cup 2022, and several cultural and educational exchange programs with countries from around the world. This dissertation will conclude that soft power has proved to be an effective strategy to be implemented by the state of Qatar, the small state has established itself in the international community by gaining legitimacy and credibility in the international community, which gives the small state the ability to gain regional influence. Through these soft power strategies the small state can go forward to pursue its ambitious foreign policy objectives.

Higher Education with international quality parameters has been one of the most important and challenging aspects of discussion for policy makers in the field of higher education in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab States of the Gulf. As evident, there are 62 universities ...

This paper reviews the key design features, accomplishments of and lessons learned from two regional group procurement mechanisms dealing with vaccines that have been in operation for more than 25 years. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) EPI Revolving Fund purchases vaccines and immunization supplies on behalf of more than 35 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Based on a ‘central contracting’ model, the program handles most aspects of procurement—from tendering to contracting with and paying producers—using a common fund to pay producers before being reimbursed by countries once goods are received in-country. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Group Purchasing Program among seven Persian Gulf States issues joint tenders for vaccines, as well as drugs and other medical goods. Through this ‘group contracting’ program, countries are responsible for contracting with and paying producers on their own, once the group has selected winning bids. Both programs have experienced substantial growth in the past two decades and are considered to have contributed to or accelerated achievements of immunization programs in both regions, including the introduction of new vaccines. The paper identifies several features of both programs—both those designed to attract country participation and those designed to ensure the programs' financial viability—which help explain their success and longevity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on 2 July 2021 changed its rules of origin (RoO) pertaining to when a product can be said to have originated from within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for the purpose of utilising the preferential tariff rates. The new RoO require a 40% value added to the product during production within the GCC; and a 25% local workforce in the manufacturing company. The previous RoO had been in operation and relied upon by the other GCC nations since the 1981 Unified Economic Agreement. Although KSA has acted contrary to the spirit and principles of the GCC Charter; and possibly restricted, disrupted and distorted international trade, its actions are nonetheless lawful under both regional and international law.

My paper critically examines Saudi Arabia's obligations under the regional and international legal frameworks; in particular, that of the GCC and World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Bahrain’s Royal Family, the Al Khalifa, has long pursued a strategy of divide and rule in order to prevent the emergence of cross-opposition coalitions, while exacerbating the country’s sectarian divide has become a critical means of ensuring regime survival. This article examines the country’s twentieth century imperial and post-independence history through the framework of divide and rule theory, providing crucial context for current events in Bahrain. It demonstrates how a divide and rule strategy is structurally embedded within the ruling family’s mode of governance, and reveals how it continues to be employed as an effective means of maintaining absolute monarchy in Bahrain.

Keywords: Bahrain, Arab Spring, Gulf Cooperation Council, divide and rule, sectarianism

Héritier du trône, le prince Mohammed Ben Salman entend réformer le royaume saoudien de manière profonde et sur tous les plans. Ses promesses de s’attaquer aux causes de l’extrémisme ne sont pas forcément synonymes d’une « déwahhabisation » du pays. Soutien et caution religieuse de la monarchie, les dignitaires wahhabites ont toujours su s’adapter aux précédentes tentatives de contrôle.

Business and Technology incubators are seen as important actors for the development of dynamic start-up companies in national economies. The way such incubators function and the impact they have on regional development may vary from one region to another. In this paper we survey and discuss the roles played by business and technology incubators in two different regions of the

This Migrant Labor in the Gulf Summary Report details the research findings that were presented by the Migrant Labor in the Gulf working group participants during their meetings in Doha, Qatar. CIRS launched the initiative in 2008 and held a total of three meetings. The working group is composed of experts in the field of migrant labor who hail from a variety of academic disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, economics, and political science. The working group is also composed of the CIRS research grant recipients: Andrew Gardner from the University of Puget Sound, Arland Thornton, Mansoor Moaddel, Dirgha Ghimirie, Linda Young-DeMarco, and Nathalie Williams from the University of Michigan, Susan Martin from Georgetown University, Mary Breeding from the World Bank, and David Mednicoff from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The edited volume, titled Migrant Labour in the Persian Gulf was published by Columbia University Press/Hurst in 2012.

The search for security by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states makes them interested not only in global options with their traditional allies but also in other potential opportunities, such as an engagement with China. Seeking options, of course, does not assume abandoning established ties, nor does it assume major power confrontation over involvement in Gulf politics. Rather, it aims to minimize GCC vulnerabilities that have the potential to emerge from a lack of alliance options. It is timely, therefore, to ponder the potential China has to contribute to the security of the GCC. China-GCC relations have been growing steadily, especially in this decade. Formal relations, which are mostly bilaterally-structured between individual GCC states and China, are mostly focused on the realms of economy and trade. Discussions of military and security relations are underdeveloped; nevertheless, in the past few years, the phrase ‘strategic partnership’ has been used by both sides to signal interests in something more than the purely economic. Such discussions come at a time when GCC leaders are trying to grasp the full long-term implications of America’s global politics vis-à-vis China and other major powers, its ‘pivot to Asia’, as well as its Gulf policies (especially towards Iran). Moreover, discussions about GCC-China ties are occurring in the midst of an increase in China’s global political profile. Questions which arise from this are: Can China be a security partner, and how? And what would a ‘strategic partnership’ entail? Asking if China is a viable security partner for GCC states has two dimensions: GCC security preferences and perceptions of what could China offer, and Chinese willingness and capacity to be a partner. This chapter is dedicated to interrogating the former.

In trying to think through the potential for GCC-China security ties and the shape they can take, the chapter starts with an investigation of how the relationship has been understood in official communications from the GCC side; it tries to unpack the many meanings of a “strategic partnership.” After which it investigates security issues of concern to the GCC and tries to see how GCC decision makers see China’s position on them. Building on the understanding that geographic proximity correlates positively with security concerns/threats, the chapter looks at three “geographic dimensions” in identifying such security issues: the GCC neighborhood, the Middle East, and the global system. The writer then examines what China’s position has been in regards to these concerns with the aim of understanding where mutual grounds and compatible preferences exist on which further security ties could be built.

Four preliminary findings can be summarized. First, political and security-related coordination lags behind trade and business deals. Second, China and the GCC states have interests in securing energy and trade routes such as in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Gulf, and the Red Sea; here the GCC seems to be interested in more Chinese initiatives in security-seeking. Third, China and the GCC have incompatibilities on issues such as intra-Gulf relations, Iran, Israel, and overall partisan support. Fourth, the GCC states and China assess their options towards each other on the backdrop of a complex canvas of ties both have with the United States; GCC states see a strategic partnership in the security field as a long-term commitment, not as a transaction. Thus, while tactical changes in China-GCC relations are occurring, a strategic shift does not appear in the making.

The Gulf Cooperation Council is an active organization in the Arabian Peninsula also in the Persian Gulf which seeks cooperation with the member states. The two examples of Bahrain and Yemen are evaluated in the framework which was suggested by Barry Buzan and Ole Waever, " Regional Security Complex Theory ". In this theory, the regional complexes are seen in the lens of securitization which can be an explanation in order to understand what happens in the Persian Gulf, what is the GCC's and Iran's motivations in these cases and what was the importance of these cases as the GCC states intervened both of these two examples which are to be evaluated. The article first explains the framework that will be dealt with and explain the GCC's aims to achieve. Then the examples of Bahrain and Yemen would be explained in order to understand the theory and also the developments that happen in Persian Gulf.

In an era of economic expansion and speedy urbanisation along with changing food preferences, the food balance equation has been disturbed that has resulted in " food gap "-a serious food security issue-even in rich gulf rich monarchies like Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Although such food deficit nations manage to supplement for this gap by importing foods, it alone cannot serve to be a reliable alternative since exporting countries have their own premises and conditions to be looked after. To tackle with such worrisome event of global food crisis, the World Food Conference (1974) adopted the concept of " food security'' that mainly focuses on-food availability, food access, security and utilisation. Dealing with the challenge of catering to the Kingdom's population, estimated to exceed 38 million by 2030, this paper provides a detailed insight into its domestic agricultural production and why Saudi food supply is very vulnerable and highly dependent on the world food market. This paper begins by elaborating on the discussion with respect to location, topography, climate etc, of the study area as these natural factors that make Saudi Arabia highly vulnerable in the food market. Finally, it examines the various types of strategies adopted to improve food security emphasises on factors which increase food demand and limit food production.

As China’s international political role grows, its relations with states outside of its traditional sphere of interests is evolving. This is certainly the case of the Arab Gulf monarchies of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, which together comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). China’s levels of interdependence with these states has increased dramatically in recent years, spanning a wide range of interests. What motivating factors explain the Chinese leadership’s decision to forge closer ties to the GCC? Why have GCC leaders developed closer ties to China, and what kind of role can China be expected to play in the region as levels of interdependence intensify?

This book uses neoclassical realism to analyse the evolution of Sino-GCC relations. Examining the pressures that shaped China’s policy toward the Arab Gulf monarchies, it demonstrates that systemic considerations have been predominant since 1949, yet domestic political considerations were also always an important consideration. Relations are examined across diplomatic and political interactions, trade and investment, infrastructure and construction projects, people-to-people exchanges, and military and security cooperation.

This book will appeal to scholars in the fields of International Relations and International Political Economy, as well as area specialists on China, the Persian Gulf, the Arab Gulf Monarchies, and those working on foreign policy issues.

Discuss the causes and consequences of "Operation Desert Storm" in 1990/91. "Operation Desert Storm" was one of the few modern wars with a high degree of systemic legitimation-backed by the UN, NATO, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and even tacit support from the Soviet Union-in which Bush's administration hoped to achieve more than just a regime change in Iraq. Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, in August 1990, gave the US an opportunity to make an example out of him-to show the world the "price that must be paid by any regime that violates the terms of its alliance with the United States. The 1991 Gulf War was literally a punishment." (Mamdani, 2004, P. 146).

Rentier state theory has often been used by scholars to understand Arab Gulf states’ policies. Yet, this dissertation argues that rentier state theory does not fully explain how oil is employed as a political tool by the Arab Gulf states to benefit their regimes. Rentier state theory cannot effectively examine the political nature of oil outside of domestic politics, particularly in state development and economic diversification and foreign policy.
To articulate this point, the dissertation will apply rentier state theory, realism, and neoliberal institutionalism across these aforementioned subject areas pertaining to Gulf government policies. First, by examining the 2011 Arab Spring, rentier state theory will be applied to understand the significance of oil in domestic politics. Second, in order to expose rentier state theory’s gaps, both realism and rentier state theory will analyse the use of oil in state development, while realism will explain the Gulf states’ economic diversification attempts from the 1970s onwards. Third, realism and neoliberal institutionalism will examine the foreign policies of Gulf states, both from a regional perspective and from a wider external perspective. Ultimately, the dissertation will expose the shortfalls of rentier state theory in its analysis of oil and Gulf politics.

Drawing on existing theoretical perspectives and previous research, this study essentially investigated the strategic motives, location choice, and international entry mode strategies of emerging market multinational enterprises based on a case study of a telecom company, Qatar Telecom (Qtel) from the Gulf Cooperation Council. Using empirical findings from the semi-structured interviews, this study has clearly indicated that the main strategic

Undoubtedly copyright law is a wide subject. Hence in this dissertation I intend to examine copyright law in the context of Private International Law (PIL), in order to answer the following questions: which court is competent to rule over a cross-border copyright infringement? Which law will be applied? Once a judgment over the claim is issued, how can it be recognized or enforced in another State?
The conquests of our time, such as the absence of geographical borders – not only in terms of freedom of movement but also of technological developments, where, thanks to the Internet, time and space limits have been restricted – have increased the number of international transactions. They have also placed at everyone’s disposal a huge quantity of heterogeneous contents (whether online or not) which are protected by copyright: this implies that the chances of such protection being violated have significantly increased. Indeed, technology has made copyright enforcement difficult to achieve. Nowadays it is possible to obtain and reproduce copyrighted works without any monetary investment; hence, as technology becomes more sophisticated, copyright holders need to benefit from the highest levels of certainty and predictability in relation to the procedural regulation of a future dispute, especially when the latter has an international nature.
My analysis focuses on a PIL comparison between two regional legal systems: the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Their apparent distance from the historical, institutional and social point of view does not prevent – but rather, incentives, in my view – the study of the respective approaches to private international law and their connection with copyright law. However, it is necessary to focus on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for two reasons. In the first place, from a practical point of view the Gulf Cooperation Council lacks a uniform legal framework in the field of private international law and copyright law: therefore, the United Arab Emirates may represent a reference model in these subject-matters. In the second place, the importance of the UAE in this context is undisputed for historical grounds and various reasons which are basically linked to their own legislative development, economic evolution and foreign relations.
The idea to compare the EU PIL’s approach to the United Arab Emirates’ one arose last year when I had the occasion to spend some months in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, working as an intern in an international law firm. Thanks to that experience I had the chance to understand the political and institutional framework at the base of the country, the latter’s role in the Gulf Cooperation Council and the coexistence between extreme innovation and technology, and, on the other side, deep-seated traditions. Furthermore, the relatively small number of locals sharing the Country with vast majority of residents in the latter, the expats (who, in most cases, enter into contact with this country for business reasons), contributes to characterize this country.
The thesis is divided into five chapters.
The first one briefly illustrates the historical evolution of copyright law – from its inception to the worldwide affirmation through international treaties and organizations aimed at its protection – and its current regulation from a substantive point of view, with particular reference to the subject matter of protection, the rights included in copyright protection and its beneficiaries.
The second chapter provides a general overview over the main sources regulating the topic at stake, ie. the international treaties in the area of copyright, among which the Berne Convention and the TRIPs Agreement; the relevant European PIL regulations operating in relation to disputes arising out of copyright infringement; and the – limited and ongoing – legal sources on copyright law and PIL rules of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United Arab Emirates.
The third and fourth chapters represent the central focus of my research. The third chapter deeply analyses the legal bases allowing the EU institutions to adopt instruments on private international law. It also examines, in particular, the EU approach on the two main aspects that must be considered when a copyright infringement arises at the European level: the conflict of jurisdictions, which is governed by EU Regulation no 1215/2012 (Brussels I-bis) - and the conflict of laws, governed by EC Regulation no 864/2007 (Rome II), in light of the interpretation given to them by Court of Justice of the European Union.
Finally, the fourth chapter provides first a basic understanding of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United Arab Emirates: ie. the historical context in which they were established, their institutional and governmental structure and their economic relevance. It then presents both a benchmarking between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council legal framework in order to highlight the main differences, and an overview of the United Arab Emirates’ private international law.
In my concluding remarks I transpose the theoretical content of the previous chapters into practice, by addressing a practical case of a cross-border online copyright infringement from the point of view both of an EU Member State’s court and of an Emirati court.

FOR CITATION: Salem, Hilmi S. (Feb. 2021). افكار حول تحقيق التوازن بين الاستدامة البيئية والتنمية المستدامة في المنطقة العربية Ideas on Achieving a Balance between Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Development in the Arab Region. المستقبل العربي - مركز دراسات الوحدة الربية - بيروت - لبنان ‘URL: https://caus.org.lb/ar/%d8%a3%d9%81%d9%83%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%ad%d9%88%d9%84-%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b2%d9%86-%d8%a8%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%85%d8%a9/ AND https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349035786_afkar_hwl_thqyq_altwazn_byn_alastdamt_albyyyt_waltnmyt_almstdamt_fy_almntqt_alrbyt_Ideas_on_Achieving_a_Balance_between_Environmental_Sustainability_and_Sustainable_Development_in_the_Arab_Region ملخص الاستدامة البيئية والتنمية المستدامة هما معياران مهمان وأساسيان لرفاهية البشر وضبط النظام البيئي والحفاظ على الموارد الطبيعية. وبناءً علىه، يتطلب ذلك ألا تؤثر الأنشطة الاقتصادية والصناعية الحالية على رفاه الأجيال الحالية والقادمة، مع مراعاة الامور الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والبيئية والانسانية (الاخلاقية)، فضلاً عن الاستفادة من التطورات التكنولوجية والتقنية أو الفنية. ومع ذلك، لا يزال هناك جدل كبير حول مدى حدوث التغيير والتطور والنمو في أحد هذه االامور (رأس المال الاقتصادي، على سبيل المثال) على حساب الامور الأخرى، مع الحفاظ على التوازن العام. في هذه الورقة العلمية الموجزة، تم التحقيق في هذه الأمور للدول العربية بشكل عام ، ولدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي بشكل خاص. وكذلك تم تقديم اقكار للتوازن بين الاستدامة البيئية والتنمية المستدامة في المنطقة العربية. كلمات مفتاحية: الاستدامة البيئية؛ التنمية المستدامة؛ النظام البيئي؛ الموارد الطبيعية؛ اقتصاديات اجتماعية؛ الجغرافيا السياسية؛ المنطقة العربية؛ مجلس التعاون الخليجي.

The presence of about 6 million Indians in the Gulf is reflective of a mutually beneficial relationship between the Gulf states and India. The Indian migrants are preferred over others owing to their skills and non-involvement in the domestic affairs of the host country, and this particular preference has ensured a steady flow of remittances back home. The Indian migrants’ 40 year sojourn in the Gulf has helped build the foundation of a strong bilateral relationship with most of the countries in the region. In view of recent developments, however, there is a need to examine if migration of Indians to the region will continue at the same level in next two decades. Economic slowdown in some countries of the Gulf, internal demographic compulsions, indigenisation policies and political uncertainties plaguing some of the states could have a negative impact on Indian migrants working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In this context, this chapter examines the profile of Indian migrants in the region; level of remittances; the immediate impact of renewed indigenisation policies; political uncertainties and possible contingencies in future; bilateral and multilateral initiatives undertaken by the Indian government to aid mutually beneficial migration to the region; and finally, the socio-economic and cultural impact of migration on India and the implications of a large-scale return of migrants from the Gulf. The chapter also identifies some key drivers affecting migration from India to the Gulf region and offers some recommendations.

​Taking into account the power changes at the global level and their impact on the regional level (particularly the Eastern Mediterranean), it is here argued, in line with a small but growing body of literature, that the Eastern Mediterranean should be seen as a distinct geopolitical space. The report begins with an analysis of the transition of the international system to multipolarity, one of the outcomes of which is the regionalization of the international system and the growing importance of the regional level of analysis. It ultimately examines whether the Eastern Mediterranean as a distinct region (or sub-region) has been experiencing processes of regionalism with regard to different areas of cooperation. It further argues that the synergies currently under development in the Eastern Mediterranean could be seen as the first step towards a regionalist project (or "proto-regionalism"), highlighting, however, that the realization of such a project faces multiple limitations and is highly conditional on a number of factors that need to be addressed first. A more gradual, well-thought-out and comprehensive approach should be followed-one that would also address important regional challenges-if the involved actors want to invest in a stable and sustainable regionalist project.

برزت الصين، الدولة التي یتجاوز عدد سكانها الـ 1.4 مليار نسمة، على مدى السنوات الماضية، قوةً اقتصادية عالمية لا يمكن تجاهلها، فاقتصادها يعد حالیًّا أكبر اقتصاد في العالم من ناحیة القوة الشرائیة، والثاني بعد الولایات المتحدة من حیث القیمة السوقیة، ومن المتوقع أن يصبح الأول مع نهاية العقد الحالي.

هذا الأداء المذهل، والتوسع الاقتصادي السريع للصين، أُنجِزا في فترة قصيرة من الزمن، حيث تضاعف الناتج المحلي الإجمالي للصین منذ انفتاح بكين على العالم الخارجي عام 1979 نحو 50 مرة، من أكثر من 300 مليار دولار إلى نحو 15 تريليون دولار في الوقت الراهن[1]. وهنا تشير أحدث بيانات لصندوق النقد الدولي، إلى أن الصين سوف تضيف إلى ناتجها الإجمالي أكثر من 9 تريليونات دولار مع نهاية 2026، أو ما يزيد على الحجم الحالي للاقتصادين الياباني والألماني معا[2].

هذا الصعود المتواصل لم يعد مفاجئًا لأحد، فقصة نهوض “التنين” الصيني أبهرت العالم بأسره، وأصبحت مصدر إلهام لكثير من الدول، ومبعثًا للقلق لدول أخرى في آن.  لكن فيما يخص الدول العربية، بات جليًّا أن صانعي القرار في معظم العواصم العربية يرون، منذ فترة طويلة، وعلى نحو متزايد، الكتابة على الجدار: “الصين قد تصبح القوة العظمى الأولى في المستقبل؛ مما يجعل نسج علاقات إستراتيجية مع هذه القوة الصاعدة قضية حيوية وإستراتيجية”.

في إطار هذه الخلفية الإستراتيجية، تطورت العلاقات العربية الصينية- تطورًا مطًّردًا- خلال العقود القليلة الماضية، حيث أصبحت الصين الآن المشتري الرئيسي للنفط العربي والشريك الاقتصادي الرئيسي للدول العربية، وأكبر مستثمر في المنطقة. ومع إطلاق بكين مبادرة الحزام والطريق عام 2013، طورت الصين شراكات إستراتيجية شاملة مع السعودية، ومصر، والإمارات، والجزائر، في حين زاد نفوذها في إيران بعد توقيعها هذا العام خطة تعاون مدتها 25 عامًا مع طهران.

ويمكن القول إن هذا التحول حدث نتيجة عاملين رئيسيين؛ الأول هو أن الصعود الاقتصادي المذهل للصين على مدى العقود الثلاثة الماضية أدى إلى زيادة حادة في طلب البلاد على الطاقة. في غضون ذلك، أصبحت دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، وهي أكبر مُصدر للنفط والغاز الطبيعي المسال، مركز ثقل النشاط الاقتصادي الصيني في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا، في حين يعكس العامل الثاني حالة عدم اليقين المتزايدة للدول العربية بشأن مسار علاقاتها مع الولايات المتحدة، والانطباع السائد لا سيما في دول الخليج أن واشنطن في طريقها إلى تقليص وجودها في المنطقة للتفرغ لمشكلاتها الداخلية ومواجهة الصعود الصيني.

وتأسيسًا على ما سبق، فإن هذه الورقة الموجزة تستعرض المحددات الأساسية التي تؤطر لتلك العلاقات، والتي سوف نشرحها على التوالي لاحقًا:

(1) المصالح الإستراتيجية والسياسية.

(2) الطاقة.

(3) المصالح الاقتصادية.

(4) المصالح الأمنية.

(5) التنافس الصيني الأمريكي في منطقة الشرق الأوسط.

من أجل فهم أوسع لتطور العلاقات العربية الصينية؛ ومن ثم استشراف دور الصين المستقبلي في منطقة الشرق الأوسط.

The sponsorship system of the Arab Gulf countries comprises rules and regulations that tie the residence of a migrant worker to his/her sponsor in the country. This paper offers an in-depth examination of the legal framework of the sponsorship system of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It looks at different aspects of the system starting with the requirement for sponsorship and ending with the rules on absconding and repatriation.

Citation:
Randeree, K., Al Youha, H. (2009) Strategic Management of Performance: An Examination of Public Sector Organizations in the United Arab Emirates, The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 9(4) 123-134.

This paper outlines a mechanism for the development and implementation of a strategic performance management framework within government departments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The work also addresses corporate performance management for governmental organizations dealing with service and operations with the aim of evaluating existing performance management systems and identifying major issues and challenges affecting their implementation. This research has enabled the identification of the most appropriate systems and indicators for utilization within all
government divisions. Thus, through the use of effective performance management systems, an organization can develop performance related strategies and generate accurate and timely reports pertinent to organizational management activities. Consequently, organizational leaders and senior managers are equipped for decision-making based on proper measures, with the aim of boosting organizational efficiency and productivity.

This is a study of how the Bahraini regime and its supporters utilized
Facebook, Twitter and other social media as a tool of surveillance
and social control during the Bahrain uprising. Using a virtual ethnography conducted between February 2011 and December 2011, it establishes a typology of methods that describe how hegemonic forces and institutions employed social media to suppress both online and offline dissent. These methods are trolling,
naming and shaming, offline factors, intelligence gathering and passive observation. It also discusses how these methods of control limit the ability of activists to use online places as spaces of representation and anti-hegemonic identity formation.
While there is considerable research on the positive role social media plays in activism, this article addresses the relative paucity of literature on how hegemonic forces use social media to resist political change

The Arab uprisings have changed the regional order of the Arab world. As traditional leading powers like Iraq, Syria and Egypt have lost influence in the Middle East due to internal security issues and economic difficulties, a few states were able to take advantage of the recent regional turmoil. Seemingly, the mini-state Qatar has managed to benefit from the uprisings more than any other Arab state. Many IR authors explain this phenomenon with the concept of soft power. This paper tests systematically the validity of the soft power argument by examining three " soft power resources " as defined by Joseph Nye: culture, political values, and foreign policies. It is argued that the soft power concept fails in all three aspects to grasp the nature of Qatar's regional and international influence. Instead, it is suggested to consider Qatar's 'hard power' potentials which define more accurately the actual international influence of the Gulf state.

Gleaming glass skyscrapers, state-of-the-art technology, and wealthy merchant families have replaced the Gulf’s muddy towns and villages populated by traders and pearl fishers that once lacked electricity, running water or modern communications. The region’s modern day projection of a visionary cutting- edge, 21st  century urban environment masks however the fact that some things have not changed.

Gulf states continue to be ruled by the same families, generation after generation. The families have become what an Emirati regime critic, Yousif Khalifa al-Yousif, termed “an institution of entitlement.”1 Alongside autocrats, the region also remains home to holy warriors and modern-day pirates. The principle of governance that what is good for business is good for the village-turned-nation still guides rulers who rank among the region’s foremost businessmen.

If, however, the region’s physical transformation speaks to an almost unitary vision of modernity, its politics tell a very different story, one of deep-seated social conservatism despite concessions in some states to cultural attributes of expatriate communities, resistance to political change, and a clinging to the status quo at whatever price.