“al Mustaqbal al Arabi’’, dedicated its June 2001 volume on Arab partnerships with a special report on the AGCC. The essays, written by Arab political scientists and discuss the following topics: the AGCC’s political situation, the AGCC’s social aspect with a focus on globalisation, Arabian Gulf bilateral relationships, AGCC partnerships with non-Arab Gulf countries, and finally the ambitions of the AGCC. This volume, provides an insightful look into the AGCC and its future. Since the issue discusses Arab partnerships including the AGCC, it provides and good baisis for comparisons among the existing unions in the Arab world. Furthermore, as these articles were completed after the amicable resolution of the border disputes between Qatar and Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia and Qatar, there was a strong tendency across the articles to indicate that other peaceful means of resolving problems among equals is probable. And other common argument is that within the Arab would the AGCC is the only union which has an economic and political influence. As mentioned the articles focus on the AGCC with each providing a prognosis for the future. Useful are the additional reports on AGCC meetings held during those years- thus balancing the theoretical articles with the practicality on the ground Source: “al Mustaqbal al Arabi’’, June 2001, vol. 268, Centre for Arab Unity, Beirut

In his paper Bjorn Moller presents the security issues facing the Arabian Gulf countries. The extensive research, published by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies, it provides the underlying security concerns that formed some of the initial propellers to establish the AGCC. Moller presents an extensive introduction to the region as a whole and the AGCC in particularly identifying the main actors in the security equation including the USA, UK, France, Turkey, Egypt and Syria. Interestingly enough the author describes the AGCC as "anarchic" which takes up different facets depending on the level of development in the respective country. This is taken up in much detail in the article. The author highlights arms amassment and the shifting balance of power as the major security concern in the region. He goes on b providing a breakdown of the main actors in this respect including the GCC and the USA role. Although believing in the need for a common security structure, the author concludes with the need for a “restructuring “ of the defence policy in the GACC. Source: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies publications

Turki al Hamad is a well renowned Saudi author and critic. His article questiions whether the GCC is a "coherent alliance". Providing a historial background of the monarchies in the region, he goes next and dicusses the formation of the GCC and the perceived external and internal threats. The article is insightful in that, al Hamad lists sugesstions for improvements in the GCC policies. The reccomondations include: elimination of internal problems, inclusion of Yemen in the alliance, and ensuring collective work. Source:  Middle East  Forum (online)

Written as part of   Mediterranean Studies and the Turkish-Iranian World, this paper by Fred Halliday provides a rich resource on the historical dynamics that influenced the AGCC countries.

The author gives a historical glimpse of Arab-Persian relationships in the 18th and19th century. This is followed by the formative years of the 1950s and 1960s which  introduced other international actors in the arena who would later have major impacts in the 21st century- the pax Anglicana and pax Americana.

The historical thread weaved in the paper, is an indicator that the AGCC countries and their partnerships do not exist in a vacuum. On the contrary, as  Halliday shows, there is the historical evolution to be considered along with the strategic position and proximity of Iran and Pakistan.

The aim of presenting this reading at this stage of the portal, is to provide some brief background on the Arab Gulf countries. This will help shape the concept developed in the future baskets.
Source: Center for International Studies and Reserach online

Held on 3rd March 2003, in Doha, Qatar, the most recent EU-AGCC Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting may be heralded as 'brave'. Set in the shadow of the a potential of outbreak of war in the region, the official communiqué was led by the Foreign Ministers of respective countries holding the EU Presidency (Greece) and AGCC Presidency (Qatar). At this meeting it was agreed that the EU opens its Delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Since trade is high on the agenda for both parties, paragraph four outlines underlined the need for stronger co-operation in this field, particularly in light of the Granada 2002 meetings. On the regional Agenda the predominant topic was Iraq, followed by the Middle East; situation and finally Iran. The Communiqué concludes with general agreements on global concerns of terrorism, Human Rights and lastly Weapons of Mass Destruction. Source: European Union official website