Saudi Arabia

The 9/11 attacks reshaped Gulf Arab perceptions of terrorism and Islamism, of each other, and of strategic relations with Tehran and Washington.

Saudi Arabia is positioning itself to build greater interdependence with Russia. If this is a serious strategy, it poses real risks for Saudi Arabia’s defense relationship with the United States.

Though Gulf states have different strategic interests and espouse contrasting ideas on how to achieve their goals, their official responses to the events in Tunisia suggest a preference for stability and security.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pushing to advance their economic interests, but it does not necessarily have to be a zero-sum game.

Why are Saudi and Emirati policymakers committing billions of dollars to developing production capacity for a fuel for which there is almost no existing commercial demand?

Long-standing but underappreciated differences between the UAE and Saudi Arabia are becoming more obvious, but their continuing shared interests remain decisive.

While Saudi leaders promote nascent rapprochement efforts with Iran on the official level, they are allowing an informal aggressive discourse, underpinning continued assertiveness toward Iran and suspicions about its motives.

On July 8, AGSIW hosted a private briefing on the developing OPEC+ dispute and the repercussions for the future of the alliance as well as Saudi-UAE relations.