Abstract
The revolutions that swept across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 created a new political and security environment for the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). They were called to confront a number of challenges to the stability of some of its member states (Bahrain), as well as the rising instability in their immediate (Yemen) and not so direct (Syria) neighbourhood. Moreover, the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria posed a number of new security and political challenges to all the countries in the region. In this context, the GCC countries had to adapt to this new environment, so did their counterterrorism policies, whose main conceptual and strategic principles were nevertheless established in the previous decade, particularly following the emergence of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the attacks on the Saudi soil in 2003. In the particular case of Saudi Arabia, the response to the 2003 attacks was rather harsh, but it was later accompanied by a broader counterterrorism strategy focused on soft measures to fight against extremism. In this context, Saudi authorities tried to reinforce the narratives of obedience and loyalty to the ruler, embedded in conservative Islamic traditions and also in some streams of Wahhabi thought. However, the exported version of Wahhabism, part of the wider Pan-Islamist policy pursued by the Saudi State since the 1960s, reinforced a more revolutionary narrative, which also posed a threat to the Saudi state. In this sense, IS represents not only a direct security threat for the Saudis but it is also an ideological challenge to its particular version of Wahhabism, which is very closely associated with the establishment of the Saudi Kingdom.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Formally the Cooperation Council for the Arab States (Majlis al-Taʿāwun li-duwal al-Khalīj) but still largely known through its formal name of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Majlis al-Taʿāwun al-Khalījī), the GCC is a regional organisation made by the Arab countries of the Gulf region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its website (the English version) is https://www.gcc-sg.org/eng/index.html.
- 2.
In the beginning, there were hopes that these revolutions were the beginning of a new phase of democratisation and reform in the region. However, apart from the notable exception of Tunisia, these hopes went largely unfulfilled. The amount of works published on the Arab Spring is extremely broad, as such here we will provide only a very few references that can help the reader. See Dalacoura 2012; Joffé 2011; Lynch 2014; Salloukh 2013; Springborg 2011; Zubaida 2012.
- 3.
For a general introduction to the international politics of the Gulf region, see Gause III 2009.
- 4.
The Shia population in Bahrain makes up to about 70% of the overall population of 1.4m people.
- 5.
Although Koch recognises that the GCC took up a number of important steps to further this cooperation – implementation of a GCC customs union, a common market, a common currency, a Gulf Defence Pact, and an agreement on counterterrorism cooperation just to mention a few – at the same time he stressed that these did not follow up the ambitious rhetoric that has characterised the organisation since its emergence.
- 6.
Press Release (‘GCC interior ministers issue Muscat declaration on terrorism’ 2002).
- 7.
For a broad overview on the strategic regional context for Saudi Arabia, see Cordesman 2009.
- 8.
According to Hegghammer, Pan-Islamism was a policy promoted by King Faisal to counterweight Nasser’s secular Arab nationalism. It called for coordination and mutual aid between Muslim countries, and was based upon the concept of ‘Muslim solidarity’ (al-tadamun al-islami). More than an actual unification project similar to other Pan-Islamist ideas and utopias proposed in the past, this was more the definition of a foreign policy doctrine, which had the double aim to build up an alliance against radical Middle Eastern regimes and strengthen the Saudi regime’s religious credentials. For a general overview of the history of Pan-Islamism see: Landau 2015.
- 9.
On 12 May 2003, a triple suicide attack at three compounds in Riyadh – Dorrat Al Jadawel, Al Hamra Oasis Village, and the Vinnell Corporation Compound – killed 35 people, with 160 also wounded. A few months later, on November 8, another bomb exploded just outside the Al-Mohaya compound, killed 17 people, with about 120 people wounded (Hegghammer 2010, pp. 181–185).
- 10.
- 11.
For instance, Charles Allen described the spread of Wahhabism across the Islamic world as the result of the return of pilgrims from Mecca. This allowed this radical and puritan message to take root in many parts of the Islamic world, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, and it also provided fuel for the emergence of the Deobandi movement. See: Allen 2006.
- 12.
This view is shared by Schwartz 2003; Choksy and Choksy 2015. However, other scholars have adopted a more critical approach, questioning this connection and stressing the need for a more comprehensive view to understand the ideology of Al Qaeda. See for instance: Azzam 2003; Gause III 2004; Hellmich 2008.
- 13.
- 14.
References
Abdulla, A. K. (1999). The Gulf cooperation council: Nature, origin, and process. In M. Hudson (Ed.), Middle East dilemma. The politics and economics of Arab integration (pp. 150–170). London: I.B.Tauris.
Alasfoor, R. (2007). The Gulf cooperation council: Its nature and achievements (Lund political studies). Lund: Lund University.
Allen, C. (2006). God’s terrorists. The Wahhabi cult and the hidden roots of modern Jihad. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.
Al-Rasheed, M. (2002). A history of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Azzam, M. (2003). Al-Qaeda: The misunderstood Wahhabi connection and the ideology of violence (Briefing Paper No. 1). London: Chatham House.
Babood, A. (2005). Dynamics and determinants of the GCC states’ Foreign policy, with special reference to the EU. In G. Nonneman (Ed.), Analyzing Middle East Foreign policies, and the relationship with Europe (pp. 145–173). London: Routledge.
Boucek, C. (2008). Saudi Arabia’s ‘Soft’ counterterrorism strategy: Prevention, rehabilitation, and aftercare (Carnegie PAPERS, Middle East Program No. 97). Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Bunzel, C. (2015). From paper state to Caliphate: The ideology of the Islamic state (The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World No. 19). Washington, D.C.: Brookings.
Bunzel, C. (2016). The Kingdom and the caliphate: Duel of the Islamic states. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Byman, D. (2016). ISIS goes global. Foreign Affairs, 95(2), 76–98.
Choksy, C. E., & Choksy, J. K. (2015, June). The Saudi connection: Wahhabism and global Jihad. Retrieved 6 April 2016, from http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/saudi-connection-wahhabism-and-global-jihad.
Coates Ulrichen, K. (2014). Bahrain’s uprising. Domestic implications and regional and international perspectives. In F. A. Gerges (Ed.), The new Middle East. Protest and revolution in the Arab world (pp. 332–350). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Commins, D. (2006). The Wahhabi mission and Saudi Arabia. London: I.B. Tauris.
Cordesman, A. (2009). Saudi Arabia. National security in a troubled region. Santa Barbara: Praeger.
Dalacoura, K. (2012). The 2011 uprisings in the Arab Middle East: Political change and geopolitical implications. International Affairs, 88(1), 63–79.
Depetris Chauvin, N. M. (2010). The rise of the Gulf: Saudi Arabia as a global player. International Reports of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 5/2010, 44–58.
Gause III, F. G. (2004). Saudi Arabia and the war on terrorism. In A. Garfinkle (Ed.), A practical guide to winning the war on terrorism (pp. 89–102). Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press Publication.
Gause III, F. G. (2009). The international relations of the Persian Gulf. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
GCC – Security Cooperation. (n.d.). Retrieved 7 April 2016, from https://www.gcc-sg.org/eng/index142e.html.
GCC interior ministers issue Muscat declaration on terrorism. (2002, October 8). Retrieved 7 April 2016, from https://www.saudiembassy.net/archive/2002/news/Page128.aspx.
Hegghammer, T. (2010). Jihad in Saudi Arabia. Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hellmich, C. (2008). Creating the ideology of Al Qaeda: From hypocrites to Salafi-Jihadists. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 31(2), 111–124.
Holbrook, D. (2015). Al-Qaeda and the rise of ISIS. Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 57(2), 93–104.
In Saudi Arabia, Sunni Militancy Claims Another Victim. (2016, April 5). Retrieved 6 April 2016, from https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/saudi-arabia-sunni-militancy-claims-another-victim.
International Crisis Group. (2016). Exploiting disorder: Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (Crisis Group Special Report). Brussels.
Islamic State says it is behind killing of Saudi policeman. (2016, April 5). Retrieved 6 April 2016, from http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9e547cbbb2af4089948b3b687b7dc491/islamic-state-says-it-behind-killing-saudi-policeman.
Joffé, G. (2011). The Arab spring in North Africa: Origins and prospects. The Journal of North African Studies, 16(4), 507–532.
Jones, C. (1995). Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War: The internal-External security dilemma. International Relations, 12, 31–51.
Jones, S. G. (2013). Syria’s Growing Jihad. Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 55(4), 53–72.
Kamrava, M. (2012). The Arab spring and the Saudi-Led counterrevolution. Orbis, 97, 96–104.
Koch, C. (2009, December 13). What About GCC Itself? – Khaleej Times. Retrieved 6 April 2016, from http://www.khaleejtimes.com/editorials-columns/what-about-gcc-itself.
Landau, J. M. (2015). Pan-Islam: History and politics. London: Routledge.
Lister, C. (2016). The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic state and the evolution of an insurgency. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lynch, M. (2014). The Arab uprisings explained. New contentious politics in the Middle East. New York: Columbia University Press.
Meijer, R. (Ed.). (2012). Counterterrorism strategies in Indonesia, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’.
Plotkin Boghardt, L. (2014, June 23). Saudi Funding of ISIS. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/saudi-funding-of-isis.
Ramazani, R. K. (1988). The Gulf cooperation council: Record and analysis. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Riedel, B. (2015, December 28). Saudi Arabia’s mounting security challenges. Retrieved 6 April 2016, from http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/saudi-yemen-security-salman-houthi-gulf.html.
Ryan, C. (2015, Winter). Regional responses to the rise of ISIS. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from http://www.merip.org/mer/mer276/regional-responses-rise-isis.
Salloukh, B. F. (2013). The Arab uprisings and the geopolitics of the Middle East. The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs, 48(2), 32–46.
Saudi Arabia forms Muslim ‘anti-terrorism’ coalition. (2015, December 15). Retrieved 8 April 2016, from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/saudi-arabia-forms-muslim-anti-terrorism-coalition-151215035914865.html.
Schwartz, S. (2003, February 27). Saudi Arabia and the rise of the Wahhabi threat. Retrieved 6 April 2016, from http://www.meforum.org/535/saudi-arabia-and-the-rise-of-the-wahhabi-threat.
Springborg, R. (2011). The political economy of the Arab spring. Mediterranean Politics, 16(3), 427–433.
Suleiman Ali, A. (2014, March 10). Saudi terrorism list raises question about Islamic Front. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/03/saudi-terrorism-list-syria-spark-new-conflicts.html.
Turner, J. (2015). Strategic differences: Al Qaeda’s split with the Islamic state of Iraq and al-Sham. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 26(2), 208–225.
Vassiliev, A. (2013). The history of Saudi Arabia. London: SAQI.
Windrem, R. (2014, September 21). Who’s funding ISIS? Wealthy Gulf ‘Angel Investors,’ Officials Say. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/whos-funding-isis-wealthy-gulf-angel-investors-officials-say-n208006.
Zubaida, S. (2012). The ‘Arab Spring’ in the historical perspectives of Middle East politics. Economy and Society, 41(4), 568–579.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cristiani, D. (2017). The Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia and a Turbulent Region: Evolving Counterterrorism Strategies. In: Romaniuk, S., Grice, F., Irrera, D., Webb, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Counterterrorism Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55769-8_38
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55769-8_38
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55768-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55769-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)