The Gulf Cooperation Council: From Cooperation to Unity?

Abstract

The turmoil in the Arab world and the escalating struggle with Iran has resulted in GCC attempts to inoculate themselves against potential risks and to strengthen their legitimacy. This process includes a Saudiled initiative to transform the organization into a more unified body. Efforts to date have proven unpopular among some of the other Gulf states, who worry about Riyadh’s intentions, suggesting that it may be an overly ambitious endeavor. This in turn punctures the veneer of unity created by the “Arab Spring” and manifested, inter alia, in the shared opposition to Qaddafi and Assad.