{"id":257,"date":"2023-08-26T15:39:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T15:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/?post_type=workshop&p=257"},"modified":"2024-08-30T13:31:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T13:31:37","slug":"defense-and-security-2024","status":"publish","type":"workshop","link":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/workshop\/defense-and-security-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense and Security (2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadening Gulf Security: New Perspectives and Persistent Challenges<\/em><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Workshop Concept\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

This workshop endeavors to integrate holistic conceptions of security, such as the Copenhagen School’s multi-dimensional security framework (in which \u201csecurity\u201d includes environmental, economic, and social dimensions), with the more traditional military and diplomatic understanding of security. The Gulf region serves as an ideal subject for a discussion of a multifaceted security paradigm due to the precarious state of its nations and security environment, fledgling national and regional institutions, the ambitious aspirations of local leaders, enduring historical divisions, the interests of global superpowers, its burgeoning youth demographic, and the pervasive subsidy-based rentier politics throughout the area.<\/p>\n

The discourse around security has evolved beyond a narrow focus on military might to encompass elements like national culture, local ecosystems, and social issues. In the context of the Gulf states, the interplay between “soft power” and “hard power” assumes a critical role because every facet of modern power is in a sense an aspect of the state\u2019s security apparatus. These range from the economic clout of public investment funds to the influence and fame garnered by hosting international sports and cultural events, from the necessity of securing national food supplies and supply chains to investment in advanced military equipment.<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, the Gulf nations are attempting to address a wide set of goals: reclaiming\u00a0 arid deserts for agricultural production, transitioning from extractive to knowledge-based economies, establishing a global presence in sports and entertainment, building world-class universities, developing top-tier militaries in societies with only recent historical precedent for national institutions, reducing the dominance of the U.S. dollar in global trade, and establishing themselves as global media hubs\u2014all while retaining traditional structures of government.<\/p>\n

Of course, this ambitious agenda faces formidable challenges. At the same time that oil and gas sales have made the Gulf rich, they have substantially contributed to climate change, which threatens to render Gulf cities uninhabitable in the near future. The region is also experiencing significant brain drain, as talented youth seek opportunities elsewhere, and both low- and high-skilled foreign labor remains a stubborn obstacle to organic growth across all sectors of the Gulf states\u2019 economies. For some states, traditional security threats loom large. Modern cities such as Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have faced missile attacks as part of conflicts involving Iranian-supported nonstate actors with growing military capabilities.<\/p>\n

Making sense of these challenges and devising strategies to address them is a necessary task long overdue in the field of Gulf Studies. There is a clear link between these elements of security, but a comprehensive examination has been hindered by academic specialization, security concerns, and the nascent state of Gulf studies, which sometimes oscillates between policy critique and uncritical praise.<\/p>\n

This workshop aims to attract papers with topics on:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Various dimensions of security, seamlessly integrating discussions of both traditional and innovative security strategies;<\/li>\n
  • A holistic understanding of security that urges consideration of other facets of security that may impact their specific areas of research and writing, (i.e. water security, food security, climate change related threats);<\/li>\n
  • Study particular conceptions of security outside the \u201cnormal\u201d definition, e.g. economic security, energy security, societal security;<\/li>\n
  • Consolidate and juxtapose the security strategies employed by Gulf states, considering both intra-GCC nuances and broader regional tactics;<\/li>\n
  • Analyze the roles that various Gulf officials, both at the national leadership level and below, have played in bringing about changing security environment in the region;<\/li>\n
  • Examine any identifiable trends of \u201cde-securitization,\u201d or the de-emphasis of the security aspects of an issue (and its return to the realm of \u201cregular\u201d statecraft).<\/li>\n
  • Assess the influence of non-state entities on national security, considering factors such as economic initiatives, defense policies, and societal unity.<\/li>\n
  • Scrutinize evolving maritime challenges in the Gulf’s adjacent waters, and formulate strategies to mitigate burgeoning threats to ports, energy infrastructure and vital economic sectors.<\/li>\n
  • Explore the dynamic shifts in governance and international defense collaborations, and their implications on Gulf states’ military doctrines and defense blueprints.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Click below to register and attend the workshop as a listening participant or to learn more about presenters and paper titles:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Broadening Gulf Security: New Perspectives and Persistent Challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":573,"template":"","workshop_theme":[],"class_list":["post-257","workshop","type-workshop","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workshop\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workshop"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/workshop"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"workshop_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workshop_theme?post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}