THE NEW RULERS IN THE GULF AND THEIR QUEST FOR GLOBAL INFLUENCE
Gudrun Harrer in conversation with Sebastian Sons
THE NEW RULERS IN THE GULF AND THEIR QUEST FOR GLOBAL INFLUENCE
A turning point in the Gulf: thanks to their oil and gas wealth, the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman have succeeded in exerting increasing influence worldwide - in politics, business and sport. Their ambitious rulers are competing for power and uncompromisingly pursuing their own political and economic interests. This increasingly dominant role of authoritarian monarchies poses fundamental challenges for the international community. At the same time, the Gulf monarchies are pursuing an independent policy towards the West and intensifying cooperation with authoritarian powers such as China and Russia. They disregard human rights, but are also pushing for social and economic change. In particular, Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent escalation of violence in the Middle East is also putting pressure on the Gulf states and forcing them to adapt their political strategies.
Sebastian Sons works as a senior researcher at the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO). Between 2019 and 2021, he was employed as a consultant in the regional project „Cooperation with Arab Donors“ of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Jordan. He completed his PhD on „Everyday Presence, Public Absence: Practices, Strategies and Content among Pakistani Media Actors on Labour Migration to Saudi Arabia“ at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He has been researching the Arab Gulf monarchies for over 15 years. Sons‘ most recent publication was published in 2023 and is entitled „The new rulers in the Gulf and their quest for global influence“.
Gudrun Harrer, Senior Editor, Der Standard; Lecturer for Modern History and Politics of the Near and Middle East at the University of Vienna and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna