DOCSLIB.ORG

From Yemen War to Joint Army? WP Egyptian-Saudi Differences Over Arab Military Cooperation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
From Yemen War to Joint Army? WP Egyptian-Saudi Differences Over Arab Military Cooperation Introduction Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Comments From Yemen War to Joint Army? WP Egyptian-Saudi Differences over Arab Military Cooperation Jessica Noll and Stephan Roll S On 25 March 2015 a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states launched air strikes on Yemen to halt the advance of the Houthi movement. A few days later the summit of the Arab League decided to set up a joint Arab army. Nevertheless, the two most important Arab countries support opposing concepts for military cooperation: Egypt proposes institu- tionalised long-term military cooperation to increase its political weight in the region, while Saudi Arabia prefers ad hoc coalitions precisely in order to avoid long-term dependency on other countries, not least Egypt. However, the two events suggest that states in the region are stepping up military cooperation. Germany and the European Union should treat this development with scepticism. Experience shows that such col- laborations tend to exacerbate rather than resolve regional conflicts. At their summit meeting at the Egyptian of the Saudi military operation against the resort of Sharm al-Sheikh on 28 and 29 Houthi movement in Yemen, there is no March 2015, the members of the Arab direct connection between the two events. League agreed to set up joint armed forces. Consequently the Arab League resolution According to the final declaration of the makes no mention of the Yemen conflict. summit, the force should be capable of In fact, the joint army project is an Egyptian rapid intervention to guarantee the national initiative that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi sovereignty of member states and protect first floated in February 2015 in connection them against territorial threats. The pro- with Egyptian air strikes against the so- posal apparently implies a force of 40,000 called Islamic State in Libya. encompassing all military branches. But But the idea is much older and has been the details remain to be clarified in a series discussed at intervals for decades. After the of meetings of high-ranking military leaders first Arab-Israeli War in 1948/49 the then over the coming four months. seven members of the Arab League signed a collective defence agreement, promising individual and collective aid for any treaty Not a New Idea partner who came under attack, explicitly Although the formation of a joint army was including military support. To date, how- announced only shortly after the beginning ever, the treaty has remained largely inef- Jessica Noll is Research Assistant in SWP’s Middle East and Africa Division. Dr. Stephan Roll is a fellow in the project “Elite change SWP Comments 31 and new social mobilization in the Arab world” realized by the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). The project is funded by the May 2015 German Foreign Office in the framework of the transformation partnerships with the Arab World and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. It cooperates with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Ph.D. grant programs of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung and the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung. 1 fectual, with the League mandating only aid, loans and energy supplies amounting multilateral military missions, for example to more than $23 billion – assistance that in 1976 in Lebanon. has been vital for securing Sisi’s grip on The only serious attempt to date to power. The Gulf leaders were motivated to create a joint army was undertaken several support the military coup by worries that decades ago in the Arabian Peninsula. After a successful Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the out- could lead to similar developments in their break of the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf monar- own states. chies felt their security was endangered and In view of empty state coffers and shrink- founded the Peninsula Shield Force (PSF) ing foreign currency reserves, Egypt will in 1982, whose strength is reported to have remain for the foreseeable future utterly reached 40,000 men. But plans for a joint dependent on financial support from the command structure appear never to have Gulf monarchies to avoid bankruptcy. From been realised. The PSF was deployed in the Cairo’s perspective, setting up a joint army Second Gulf War (1990/91) and since 2011 would be a crucial step to convert one-sided to suppress uprising against the monarchy dependency into mutual benefit. in Bahrain. Saudi Disinterest Egyptian Calculations Although the declaration of intent was Cairo explains its motivation to revive the signed by all twenty-two members of the project of a pan-Arab army with the terrorist Arab League, responses to the Egyptian threat that the region is currently facing. By initiative were mixed. Iraq and Tunisia doing so, the Egyptian government applies expressed scepticism, while Algeria offered a questionable definition of terrorism that only to assist with training and funding. focuses largely on demonising the But the central obstacle is likely to be Saudi moderate Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. disinterest. While expressing no official However, security interests only in part doubts in public, behind the scenes the explain the Egyptian initiative. The real Kingdom made no secret of its opposition. reason for the Sisi administration is to ex- The Saudi intervention in Yemen put a pand Egypt’s regional influence. With well damper on the plan to institutionalise mili- over 400,000 on active service and almost tary cooperation under the auspices of the half a million reservists, Egypt possesses by Arab League before it even began. Instead far the largest armed forces in the region. of seeking an Arab League mandate, Saudi This fact alone would afford it a natural Arabia launched air strikes just days before leading role in any joint army. Egypt could the summit, having successfully formed a position itself as a permanent protector, coalition of nine Arab states under its leader- especially for the Gulf states which – Cairo ship and gained the backing of the United calculates – would regard the joint army States. The military contributions of its coa- as a bulwark in the festering conflict with lition partners are limited, however. Egypt, Iran, as well as for the eventuality of inter- officially also a member of the coalition, nal disorder. only sent four warships to guard the Bab Given Egypt’s economic problems, the al-Mandab strait at the entrance to the Red timing of the initiative is not coincidental. Sea – which is strategically vital for Egypt. Since the military coup in summer 2013 In view of the support it receives from the Cairo has manoeuvred itself into a trouble- Saudi leadership, it is very striking that some dependency on the three Gulf monar- Egypt is not participating directly in the chies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates fighting. (UAE) and Kuwait. Since July 2013 these The reasons for the meagre role of the states have granted the new Egyptian regime Egyptian armed forces are likely to be the SWP Comments 31 May 2015 2 same as those for Saudi disinterest in the thusiasm for the Yemen offensive, the King- joint force initiative. After Salman’s suc- dom might find itself forced after all to cession to the throne following the death of seek Egyptian support. And that might also his brother King Abdullah, Riyadh is plainly boost Egypt’s initiative for a joint army. If reassessing its partnership with Egypt. For Egypt and Saudi Arabia were to agree in the new leadership worries about Iranian principle – as the Arab world’s most popu- hegemonic ambitions and a further streng- lous country and largest economy respec- thening of the (Tehran-allied) Houthi move- tively – that would definitely send a strong ment in Yemen have greater weight than political message. fears of the Muslim Brotherhood. But above But if the Egyptian contribution in all, the Saudis are unlikely to have over- Yemen remains more symbolic in nature, looked the Egyptian calculation behind its for example restricted to joint manoeuvres drive for institutionalisation of military and a limited naval presence, the project of cooperation. The royal family’s willingness an Arab army is likely to end in nothing but to bolster Egypt’s threadbare economy in- talk. The respective security interests, and definitely is probably extremely limited, not least the threat scenarios of the individ- not least because Cairo is not a particularly ual countries, are too different. The Egyp- attractive security partner. tian definition of terrorism in particular is The Egyptian armed forces are at best contested in the region. By no means all the capable of territorial defence in the scope of states there regard the Muslim Brotherhood a conventional war. Besides their ability to as terrorists. respond to asymmetrical threats or conduct Even if the follow-up process initially rapid military interventions is very weak. goes ahead, it is therefore hard to imagine This becomes obvious in the Sinai, where the states involved agreeing to set up a com- the Egyptian army has been trying for years mon military command structure. Numer- to restore the state’s authority – without ous technical obstacles would also have to success. Although the leadership has been be overcome, partly stemming from lack pursuing a comprehensive modernisation of interoperability and from differences in of the armed forces since 2011, its imple- training and equipment. mentation will take years and will not im- prove short-term operational capability. Unlike for example Pakistan, with which Implications for German and Saudi Arabia has conducted close military European Military Cooperation cooperation since the 1970s, Egypt possesses Independently of the question of the pros- no nuclear weapons that could serve pur- pects of greater institutionalisation, it poses of deterrence in the conflict with must be assumed that military cooperation Iran.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Archived Content Information Archivée Dans Le
    Archived Content Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or record-keeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page. Information archivée dans le Web Information archivée dans le Web à des fins de consultation, de recherche ou de tenue de documents. Cette dernière n’a aucunement été modifiée ni mise à jour depuis sa date de mise en archive. Les pages archivées dans le Web ne sont pas assujetties aux normes qui s’appliquent aux sites Web du gouvernement du Canada. Conformément à la Politique de communication du gouvernement du Canada, vous pouvez demander de recevoir cette information dans tout autre format de rechange à la page « Contactez-nous ». CANADIAN FORCES COLLEGE / COLLÉGE DES FORCES CANADIENNES NSSC 6 / CESN 6 THE STATE OF KUWAIT’S SECURITY POLICY - FACING FUTURE CHALLENGES HEAD-ON - By Colonel Abdullah A. Al-Samdan This paper was written by a student attending the Canadian Forces College in fulfillment of one of the requirements of the Course of Studies. The paper is a scholastic document, and thus contains facts and opinions, which the author alone considered appropriate and correct for the subject. It does not necessarily reflect the policy or the opinion of any agency, including the Government of Kuwait and Canada and the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defence. This paper may not be released, quoted or copied except with the express permission of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defence.
    [Show full text]
  • Omar-Ashour-English.Pdf
    CENTER ON DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT, AND THE RULE OF LAW STANFORD UNIVERSITY BROOKINGS DOHA CENTER - STANFORD PROJECT ON ARAB TRANSITIONS PAPER SERIES Number 3, November 2012 FROM BAD COP TO GOOD COP: THE CHALLENGE OF SECURITY SECTOR REFORM IN EGYPT OMAR ASHOUR PROGRAM ON ARAB REFORM AND DEMOCRACY, CDDRL FROM BAD COP TO GOOD COP: THE CHALLENGE OF SECURITY SECTOR REFORM IN EGYPT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY gence within the police force of a cadre of reform- ist officers is also encouraging and may help shift Successful democratic transitions hinge on the the balance of power within the Ministry of Interi- establishment of effective civilian control of the or. These officers have established reformist orga- armed forces and internal security institutions. The nizations, such as the General Coalition of Police transformation of these institutions from instru- Officers and Officers But Honorable, and begun to ments of brutal repression and regime protection push for SSR themselves. The prospects for imple- to professional, regulated, national services – secu- menting these civil society and internal initiatives, rity sector reform (SSR) – is at the very center of however, remain uncertain; they focus on admira- this effort. In Egypt, as in other transitioning Arab ble ends but are less clear on the means of imple- states and prior cases of democratization, SSR is mentation. They also have to reckon with strong an acutely political process affected by an array of elements within the Ministry of Interior – “al-Ad- different actors and dynamics. In a contested and ly’s men” (in reference to Mubarak’s longstanding unstable post-revolutionary political sphere, the minister) – who remain firmly opposed to reform.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    1 Introduction Dennis Blair The second volume of Military Engagement relates the stories of how democratic civil-military relations developed in five world regions and fourteen individual countries. This introduction pro- vides some background on those who authored these stories and describes the patterns observed and the lessons that can be drawn from them. The Authors The regional summaries were written by a team of coauthors, almost all having both practical experience in armed forces or defense ministries of their countries and subsequent careers with security think tanks. They also contributed ideas and criticisms of the analysis and recommendations in the companion volume. Juan Emilio Cheyre, while chief of staff of the Chilean army, took the final steps to bring his service out of the Pinochet era. Matthew Rhodes is a professor at the Marshall Center in Germany, an insti- tution at the center of military-military relations among countries around the world. Istvan Gyarmati, who participated in the early brainstorming sessions for the handbook, was deputy defense minister of Hungary during the Hungarian armed forces’ transi- tion from its Warsaw Pact organization to meet NATO standards. Muthiah Alagappa, a general in the Malaysian Army, has become the foremost scholar of Asian civil-military relations subsequent to 1 01-2478-0 ch1.indd 1 5/16/13 6:03 PM 2 Dennis Blair his retirement. Tannous Mouawad served as Lebanon’s military attaché to the United States and the chief of Lebanon’s military intelligence service. Martin Rupiya was an officer in the Zimbabwean National Army and now heads a security affairs think tank in South Africa Each of the regional coauthors recruited additional authors to write the indi- vidual case studies; two of them wrote a case study as well.
    [Show full text]
  • GCC's DEFENSE COOPERATION
    OCTOBER 2014 GCC’s DEFENSE COOPERATION: MOVING TOWARDS UNITY By Brahim Saidy Dr. Brahim Saidy is an Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Qatar University. Before he joined Qatar University, he served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in International Relations at University of Ottawa and Laval University in Canada. He has also taught at the University of Québec in Montréal (UQAM), and the University of Sherbrooke. During the summer of 2014, Dr. Saidy was a visiting scholar at FPRI, during which time he wrote the E-Book GCC’s Unified Military Command: Severe Challenges Ahead. This E-Note is the Executive Summary. For more than 30 years, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has attempted to establish a collective defense regime to protect its six members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This ambition was expressed through a number of initiatives, beginning with the foundation of the Peninsula Shield force in 1982 and culminating in the establishment of a Unified Military Command in 2013. This latter decision represents an important reform and could be considered a crucial step in the evolution of the GCC towards deep regional integration, especially on the military side. A Unified Military Command can benefit from the various weapons systems in the Gulf, and create a new generation of Gulf officers, who take advantage of the broad similarities of the military systems and experiences of the GCC countries. In the light of the historical background of the GCC’s defense cooperation, this article aims to analyze the strategic opportunities that could be generated by the foundation of the unified military command and to explain the political challenges that could hamper the GCC countries’ attempt to evolve towards a real military alliance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Armed Forces in the Arab Uprisings
    The Role of Armed Forces in the Arab Uprisings 9 Derek Lutterbeck I. Introduction1 As popular uprisings, demanding greater political freedoms and in several countries even regime change, swept across much of the Arab world, a crucial role has been played by the armed forces of these countries in confronting the pro-reform movements. Practically all Arab countries can be described as military-based regimes, where the armed forces have been at the core of the political system, even though the status and role of the military has varied significantly from one country to the next. Moreover, powerful military forces, as well as a robust security apparatus more generally, have been seen by many, as one, if not the main, obstacle to political reform and democratization in the region.2 However, military forces have responded quite differently across the region to pro-democracy movements, ranging from openness to protest movements, to internal fracturing, to firm support for the regime in power. These different responses, in turn, have been crucial in determining the outcome of the popular uprisings, and whether authoritarian leaders were eventually overthrown. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role the armed forces have played in six Middle Eastern countries, which have 1 A more extensive study on this topic has been published as Lutterbeck, Derek, 2011: Arab Uprisings and Armed forces: between openness and resistance. DCAF SSR Paper 2. 2 See, e.g., Cook, Steven A., 2007: Ruling But Not Governing. The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria and Turkey (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2007); Bellin, Eva, 2004: “The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • GCC Policies Toward the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and Yemen: Ally-Adversary Dilemmas by Fred H
    II. Analysis Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabia, preside over the ‘Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival 2016’ in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 4 December 2016. GCC Policies Toward the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and Yemen: Ally-Adversary Dilemmas by Fred H. Lawson tudies of the foreign policies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries usually ignore import- S ant initiatives that have been undertaken with regard to the Bab al-Mandab region, an area encom- passing the southern end of the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and Yemen. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have become actively involved in this pivotal geopolitical space over the past decade, and their relations with one another exhibit a marked shift from mutual complementarity to recip- rocal friction. Escalating rivalry and mistrust among these three governments can usefully be explained by what Glenn Snyder calls “the alliance security dilemma.”1 Shift to sustained intervention Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have been drawn into Bab al-Mandab by three overlapping develop- ments. First, the rise in world food prices that began in the 2000s incentivized GCC states to ramp up investment in agricultural land—Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi all turned to Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as prospective breadbaskets.2 Doha pushed matters furthest by proposing to construct a massive canal in central Sudan that would have siphoned off more than one percent of the Nile River’s total annual downstream flow to create additional farmland.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the Gulf Crisis on Developing Countries
    Overseas Development lostitute Briefing Paper March 1991 THE IMPACT OF THE GULF CRISIS ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The economic repercussions of the Gulf crisis have been widespread. Apart from the impact on the Gulf states Box 1: Impact of Gulf Crisis themselves, the resulting economic disruptions over the past (where impact > 1% of GNP) seven months have affected many countries. In response to requests for a consistent set of estimates of the impact on less Impact of the Gulf crisis developed countries, ODI undertook a study both to assess the Oil CostI Non-oil effects and to consider the response by the international Country (B eneftt) Cost Total Cost community. US$7n US$m. US$m %GNP This Briefing Paper, finalised on the day the war ended, Low income draws on the findings of this study. Two conclusions stand Middle p:ast out. First, the large number and wide range of developing Yemen (570) 1400 830 10.4% countries that have been severely affected by the crisis-. Second, South Asia while there has been a considerable response to the crisis, the Bangladesh 130 115 245 1.4% distribution of assistance has been highly selective. Some Pakistan coimtries have been almost over-compensated while others 560 295 855 2.4% have received little help. Sri Lanka 140 125 265 4.0% Sub-Saharan Africa Effect on developing countries Beiiin 40 40 2.2% The Gulf crisis has had both global and specific effects on Chad 25 25 2.5%. developing countries. The crisis, in particular the period of Ethiopia 115 115 2.0% higher oil prices, has adversely affected world growth and Ghana 50 50 1,0% hence growth in developing countries.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background the Yemen Civil War Is
    CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The Yemen civil war is currently in its fifth year, but tensions within the country have existed for many years. The conflict in Yemen has been labelled as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world by the United Nations (UN) and is categorized as a man-made phenomenon. According to the UN, 80% of the population of Yemen need humanitarian assistance, with 2/3 of its population considered to be food insecure while 1/3 of its population is suffering from extreme levels of hunger and most districts in Yemen at risk of famine. As the conditions in Yemen continue to deteriorate, the world’s largest cholera outbreak occurred in Yemen in 2017 with a reported one million infected.1 Prior to the conflict itself, Yemen has been among the poorest countries in the Arab Peninsula. However, that is contradictory considering the natural resources that Yemen possess, such as minerals and oil, and its strategical location of being adjacent to the Red Sea.2 Yemen has a large natural reserve of natural gasses and minerals, with over 490 billion cubic meters as of 2010. These minerals include the likes of silver, gold, zinc, cobalt and nickel. The conflict in Yemen is a result of a civil war between the Houthi, with the help of Former President Saleh, and the Yemen government that is represented by 1 UNOCHA. “Yemen.” Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019, 2019. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2019_Yemen_HNO_FINAL.pdf. 2 Sophy Owuor, “What Are The Major Natural Resources Of Yemen?” WorldAtlas, February 19, 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Institutional Change and the Egyptian Presence in Yemen 1962-19671
    1 Importing the Revolution: Institutional change and the Egyptian presence in Yemen 1962-19671 Joshua Rogers Accepted version. Published 2018 in Marc Owen Jones, Ross Porter and Marc Valeri (eds.): Gulfization of the Arab World. Berlin, London: Gerlach, pp. 113-133. Abstract Between 1962 and 1967, Egypt launched a large-scale military intervention to support the government of the newly formed Yemen Arab Republic. Some 70,000 Egyptian military personnel and hundreds of civilian advisors were deployed with the stated aim to ‘modernize Yemeni institutions’ and ‘bring Yemen out of the Middle Ages.’ This article tells the story of this significant top-down and externally-driven transformation, focusing on changes in the military and formal government administration in the Yemen Arab Republic and drawing on hitherto unavailable Egyptian archival material. Highlighting both the significant ambiguity in the Egyptian state-building project itself, as well as the unintended consequences that ensued as Egyptian plans collided with existing power structures; it traces the impact of Egyptian intervention on new state institutions, their modes of functioning, and the articulation of these ‘modern’ institutions, particularly the military and new central ministries, with established tribal and village-based power structures. 1. Introduction On the night of 26 September 1962, a column of T-34 tanks trundled through the streets of Sana‗a and surrounded the palace of the new Imam of Yemen, Mu ammad al-Badr,2 who had succeeded his father Imam ‘ mad (r.1948-62) only one week earlier. Opening fire shortly before midnight, the Yemeni Free Officers announced the ‗26 September Revolution‘ on Radio Sana‗a and declared the formation of a new state: the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR).
    [Show full text]
  • Rising to Iran's Challenge
    RISING TO IRAN’S CHALLENGE GCC Military Capability and U.S. Security Cooperation Michael Knights Policy Focus 127 | June 2013 THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY RISING TO IRAN’S CHALLENGE GCC Military Capability and U.S. Security Cooperation Michael Knights Policy Focus 127 | June 2013 All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2013 by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Published in 2013 in the United States of America by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036. Cover photo: UAE, Italian, Bahraini, and U.S. armed forces sight in on a mock target while performing a Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure demonstration at the Port of Zayed area in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as part of Exercise Leading Edge 13, January 2013. Leading Edge 13 military-to-military engagements are intended to sharpen capabilities among nations in an effort to foster relationships and build regional security. (USMC photo/MSgt. Salvatore Cardella) CONTENTS The Author v Acknowledgments vii Executive Summary ix 1 | Introduction 1 2 | SWOT Analysis of the Gulf Militaries 7 3 | Key Missions for GCC Allies 23 4 | Implications for U.S. Security Cooperation 37 THE AUTHOR MICHAEL KNIGHTS is a Lafer fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, and the Gulf states.
    [Show full text]
  • The Outlook for Arab Gulf Cooperation
    The Outlook for Arab Gulf Cooperation Jeffrey Martini, Becca Wasser, Dalia Dassa Kaye, Daniel Egel, Cordaye Ogletree C O R P O R A T I O N For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR1429 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-9307-3 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2016 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover image: Mideast Saudi Arabia GCC summit, 2015 (photo by Saudi Arabian Press Agency via AP). Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface This report explores the factors that bind and divide the six Gulf Coop- eration Council (GCC) states and considers the implications of GCC cohesion for the region over the next ten years.
    [Show full text]
  • Arab Uprisings and Armed Forces: Between Openness and Resistance
    SSR PAPER 2 Arab Uprisings and Armed Forces: Between Openness and Resistance Derek Lutterbeck DCAF DCAF a centre for security, development and the rule of law SSR PAPER 2 Arab Uprisings and Armed Forces Between Openness and Resistance Derek Lutterbeck DCAF The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) is an international foundation whose mission is to assist the international community in pursuing good governance and reform of the security sector. The Centre develops and promotes norms and standards, conducts tailored policy research, identifies good practices and recommendations to promote democratic security sector governance, and provides in‐country advisory support and practical assistance programmes. SSR Papers is a flagship DCAF publication series intended to contribute innovative thinking on important themes and approaches relating to security sector reform (SSR) in the broader context of security sector governance (SSG). Papers provide original and provocative analysis on topics that are directly linked to the challenges of a governance‐driven security sector reform agenda. SSR Papers are intended for researchers, policy‐makers and practitioners involved in this field. ISBN 978‐92‐9222‐180‐5 © 2011 The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces EDITORS Alan Bryden & Heiner Hänggi PRODUCTION Yury Korobovsky COPY EDITOR Cherry Ekins COVER IMAGE © Suhaib Salem/Reuters The views expressed are those of the author(s) alone and do not in any way reflect the views of the institutions referred to or
    [Show full text]