Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region

The course at hand entitled Cooperation and Conflict in the Gulf Region is part of the module Conflict and Cooperation in International Relations of our B.A. Politics and Organization. Hence its subject is at the core of this module and takes the Persian Gulf region as an example to show how conflicts emerge, int- act and intensify, but also how actors try to tackle these conflicts through inter- tional cooperation and build a security architecture in the Gulf region. The issues addressed theoretically in the other courses of this module are deepened here empirically. We have decided to take the Gulf region as a case in point because of the - tense conflicts which concern not only the countries there but also Europe and the Western hemisphere. Due to its oil reserves the Gulf region has a central position in the world economy, and due to the struggle against Islamism and terrorism the unsolved security issues are in the main focus of International Re- tions.

The course at hand entitled Cooperation and Conflict in the Gulf Region is part of the module Conflict and Cooperation in International Relations of our B.A. Politics and Organization. Hence its subject is at the core of this module and takes the Persian Gulf region as an example to show how conflicts emerge, int- act and intensify, but also how actors try to tackle these conflicts through inter- tional cooperation and build a security architecture in the Gulf region. The issues addressed theoretically in the other courses of this module are deepened here empirically. We have decided to take the Gulf region as a case in point because of the - tense conflicts which concern not only the countries there but also Europe and the Western hemisphere. Due to its oil reserves the Gulf region has a central position in the world economy, and due to the struggle against Islamism and terrorism the unsolved security issues are in the main focus of International Re- tions.

This book analyzes four main episodes of conflict and defense which have affected the region during the last three decades: the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), which effected the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) from a close, neighborly distance; the Iraq-Kuwait war (1990-1991), which constituted an attempt to invade the GCC and eliminate one of its member states, Kuwait. And the subsequent attempts to reestahblish a regional inter-state stability in the Gulf (during the mid-1990s, approximately), and the war of Islamic terrorism (notably al-Qa'ida) against Saudi Arabia (leading up to 2005). Each episode was driven by inimical interests and evolved as a distabilizintg influence on the Gulf states. At the same time, each conflict resulted in a paradoxical combination rivalry and cooperation among the GCC states themselves. A perpetual sequence of conflict and cooperation thus developed.

The Iran-Iraq War - The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict - Between the Gulf Wars: Restrained Conflict - Al–Qa’ida’s Challenge: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the War Against Terrorism, 1992–2005 - Conclusion