English abstract
The stability and security of the Arabian Gulf is essential to the global community and
of strategic interest to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 2004, the
Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) was launched as a partnership between NATO
and the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to increase cooperation and
enhance global and regional security. However, as the ICI approaches its 20th
anniversary, recent global and regional geopolitical shifts have introduced new
dynamics and challenges to the future of the partnership. The Russian invasion of
Ukraine has rejuvenated NATO’s focus on European security and the recent effort to
restore diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, facilitated by China,
presents the potential for a seismic shift in regional geopolitics with improving
relations between the two regional rivals. Furthermore, the recent addition of Iran,
Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Brazil, Russia, India, China,
and South Africa (BRICS) framework demonstrates a willingness of GCC nations to
pursue non-Western alternatives. Therefore, NATO finds itself competing against
Chinese and Russian advances into the Arabian Gulf region while regional security
threats to the GCC involving Iran potentially decrease. Along with these geopolitical
events, this research explored the historical, military, and economic factors that
influenced the development of the partnership between NATO and the nations of the
GCC. This research leveraged Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) and a
qualitative method to analyze the existing literature, official documents, and interviews
with experts in the field to understand the factors influencing the topic and develop
useful policy recommendations. This analysis argues that economic development is
an emergent referent object for the nations of the GCC and that focusing NATO’s
regional efforts on security cooperation to enhance economic prosperity provides an
advantageous pathway to address the recent geopolitical changes and maintain
NATO’s relevance in the regional security framework. This research aspires to serve
as a foundational document providing essential information, knowledge, and
perspective for individuals seeking to understand the region and the partnership
between NATO and the nations of the GCC.
