Look Middle, Look East! The Future of GCC Partnerships

The individual members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have long-term bilateral strategic relations with the superpowers: US, China, Russia, and the EU. Yet these superpowers are currently spending much of their political and financial resources addressing their own domestic and internal dilemmas, leaving fewer of these resources for the GCC. As such, and particularly during the Gulf Crisis, GCC members should foster relations with other stable states in order to ensure continuity in areas such as diplomacy, trade, and even security. I suggest that the relations should be established at the regional organization-to-state level and formalized into long-term strategic partnerships. The GCC is advised to (1) look to middle powers and (2) look east. Specifically, the middle-power countries of South Korea, India, and Japan are all potentially strong allies in the long-term strategic plans of GCC members. By developing strategic partnerships with these three countries, I contend (1) both bilateral and multilateral political, economic, and even security relations may develop; (2) there are shared stakes among GCC members and these middle powers to maintain and increase stability and peace in the GCC region; and (3) the long-term partnerships will provide key allies for tough future GCC negotiations with superpowers.