Sudan has been at the center of the diverging interests of wealthy Gulf states for many years. Having been close allies of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had longstanding business, military and political interests in the country...
The Gulf Cooperation Council's al-Ula summit in January was a historic moment in relations between Gulf Arab states. Antonino Occhiuto of Gulf State Analytics discusses the factors that led to the lifting of the blockade on Qatar and geopolitical implications for the wider region.
Like many Arab and African countries, Tunisia has faced pressures as a consequence of the three-year-long Gulf crisis.
Since 2017, the blockade of Qatar has continued to have a profound impact on the country. Transportation routes have been disrupted, supply chains have been altered, and family and friends remain separated. In response, the Gulf state has deployed various legal mechanisms to resolve the ongoing...
Three years have passed since Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates imposed a blockade on Qatar. This dispute began with the hacking of the Qatar News Agency in order to make Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani appear to be making highly controversial remarks.
Northern Yemen has become one of the latest theaters where tensions stemming from the Gulf crisis have reignited. In October, Yemen‘s UN-recognized government condemned Qatar for allegedly financing Houthi-produced textbooks that foment sectarianism.
Since 2011, geopolitical influence in the Middle East has shifted toward wealthy Gulf states. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar's ambitious foreign policy agendas have shaped the region, as has the division between them.
In the face of an embargo, Qatar has challenged Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In June 2017, a group of countries led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates formed a diplomatic and economic blockade against the state of Qatar. Yet rather than bringing Qatar to its knees, the crisis has...
The rush to buy English football clubs is, at least in part, the latest round in the Gulf crisis. The bitter rift between Qatar and its Saudi and Emirati-led detractors could spill onto the pitches of English football. A flurry of reports suggest that the Gulf rivals are seeking to buy big-name...
The latest arena for the Qatar crisis is over in the Palestinian Territories. Dug in for the long haul in its dispute with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Qatar is emerging as a key player in preventing tension between Israel and Hamas from spinning out of control. Doha’s increasing...
None of what is known about the murky world of Russian hackers is conclusive, let alone produces a smoking gun. But what role does the Gulf play? The covert Qatari-Emirati cyberwar that helped spark the Qatar crisis may have just gotten murkier with the indictment of 12 Russian agents by US...
The hardening of Middle Eastern fault lines is likely to make it difficult for China to remain aloof. Subtle shifts in Chinese energy imports suggest that Beijing may be able to exert influence in the Middle East in alternative ways that do not involve military or overt economic pressure. The...
Qatari conservatism is likely what Prince Mohammed would like to achieve, even if that is something he is unlikely to admit. There’s a cutting-off-the-nose-to-spite-the-face aspect to a Saudi plan of turning Qatar into an island. In the latest episode of the Qatar crisis, Riyadh intends to dig...
The existential threat that Iran poses to Saudi Arabia goes far beyond the fact that the Islamic republic challenges Saudi monarchical rule. Hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran is about lots of things, especially over who will have the upper hand in a swath of land stretching from Central...
The Qatar crisis, even without Turkey joining the fray, was putting fragile peace arrangements in the Horn of Africa at risk. The Qatar crisis has expanded to the Horn Africa, potentially fueling simmering regional conflicts. Renewed fears of heightened tension in the Horn — a region...
