Upcoming Event
About the Book:
The Gulf monarchies—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates—play crucial roles in world markets and politics. Their economies, which have traditionally been driven by oil revenues, have simultaneously propelled transformative change and preserved the traditional order. Fossil fuel wealth has underwritten an implicit social contract characterized by generous welfare states, ruler-centric politics, and a heavy state presence in the economy, facilitating stability during tumultuous times. However, as the transition toward renewable energy looms, will the Gulf monarchies be able to adapt?
David B. Roberts offers a definitive guide to continuity and change in the Gulf region. He explores the forces challenging and bolstering the status quo across the political, social, economic, military, and environmental dimensions of security. Roberts examines the six monarchies individually and holistically, considering their recent histories and contemporary concerns. Beneath wide-ranging changes affecting these countries, he pinpoints key dynamics and structures that have persisted over the long term. The book examines key topics such as generational change in leadership, migrant workers, female labor force participation, U.S. military influence, and the multifaceted threat of climate change. Roberts scrutinizes how a move away from the oil-centered economic model could reverberate across the social spectrum, with profound implications for security. Suitable for a range of courses and offering important new insights for experts, this book is an accessible and up-to-date overview of the politics of a key world region.
Featured Speakers: Professor David Des Roches and Dr. David B. Roberts.
Speakers Bio:
Dr. David B. Roberts
Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer, King’s College London
@thegulfblog
David B. Roberts joined the Defence Studies Department in October 2013 and is the theme lead in the School of Security Studies for Regional Security and Development. In addition to these roles at King’s, Dr Roberts is Adjunct Faculty at Science Po’s Paris School of International Affairs, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute Washington. Prior to moving to King’s, Dr Roberts was the Director of the Qatar office of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI Qatar). He obtained his PhD from Durham University.
Dr Roberts’ primary research interest focuses on comparative politics, international relations, security, and defence matters on and around the Arabian Peninsula. Current projects include a monograph putting contemporary changes in the Gulf monarchies into historical perspective, examining how the monarchies develop military capabilities, analyzing the role ontological security concerns play in regional relations, and exploring how concepts of national security are shifting on the Peninsula.
Professor David Des Roches
Associate Professor, Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Gulf International Forum
@DBDesRoches
David Des Roches is currently Associate Professor of at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies. Prior to this, he was the Defense Department director responsible for policy concerning Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Prior to this assignment, he has served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, as senior country director for Pakistan, as NATO operations director, and as deputy director for peacekeeping. His first job in government was as a special assistant for strategy and later as the international law enforcement analyst in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and obtained advanced degrees in Arab Politics from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, in War Studies from Kings College London, and Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. He has also attended the Federal Executive Institute, the German Staff College’s Higher Officer Seminar, the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School, and the US Army Command and General Staff College.