Geoffrey F. Gresh
The United States must now confront a new and
emerging dynamic as most Gulf Cooperation Council countries have begun
to increasingly diversify their political, economic, and security
partnerships to include China. For Gulf Arab monarchies, the choice of
security or economic partner is made more complicated by increased
domestic and regional instability stemming in part from Iraq, Syria, and
Iran. Understanding the shifting economic and political alliances is
vitally important for understanding the future of regional security and
politics. This article examines Gulf Arab national security—particularly
through the case of Saudi Arabia—and how the Gulf monarchies have
increasingly bolstered their economic and political partnerships with
China in recent years due in part to widespread anti-U.S.
sentiment and the threat of domestic upheaval. It looks specifically at
how Gulf national security can be shaped by internal versus external
threats and what this means for the future of regional security.
