The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies hosted the eleventh Gulf Studies Forum from 30 November to 1 December 2024. Across 14 sessions and two public lectures, participants addressed the topics of “Arab Gulf States and the Palestine Question” and “The Gulf City as a Structure and Social Agent”.
The first track included six sessions that examined Arab Gulf states’ stances from the Palestinian question, the future of US-Gulf relations in light of the war on Gaza, the role of the US in Gulf-Israeli relations, the impacts of Gulf states’ normalization with Israel on the future of the Palestinian question, and popular positions in the Gulf states on the Palestinian question.
The second track included eight sessions that discussed the Gulf city, the similarities and differences between these cities and global cities, the impact of globalization on them, the national building of the city, modernization projects, the problems related to climate change, environmental balance, and sustainability, and urban modernization structures in Gulf cities as a social actor.
The Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi opened the Eleventh Gulf Studies Forum by welcoming attendees and participants, following an introduction by Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit Researcher, Alanoud Al-Khalifa. Al-Khulaifi began his talk by stressing the role of the Arab Center in spreading public awareness of the matters concerning the region, especially the Gulf. He also emphasized the status of the Palestine question as a pivotal issue for Muslim and Arab countries, including those in the Gulf, which attempt to harness its capacities to support Palestinian resilience and efforts to decide their own fate. He noted that the stability and security of the region are intertwined with a just solution to the Palestine question, and, accordingly, making it a moral commitment for the Gulf states.
Al-Khulaifi highlighted the settlement project in Palestine and the continued struggle and steadfastness of the Palestinian people, attesting to the legitimacy of their demands and their right to self-determination. He argued that the solution will manifest in the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. In this context, the Gulf states are firm in their support for the right of Palestinians to establish their state, he insisted, pointing to the cooperation and ties between Gulf citizens and the Palestinians, stemming from their contributions to the development of the region.
Al-Khulaifi discussed the destruction left by Israel’s war on Gaza, later extended to Lebanon, noting that the international community must adhere to a strict position to bring about an end to the genocide, killing, and displacement, and to protect the Palestinian people. He expressed his fears that this tragedy is becoming normalized, while drawing on the popular support worldwide that proves that Israel cannot blind the world from the reality of its crimes.
He stressed that Qatar is working tirelessly to ensure that the Palestinian people can secure their right to a decent life, and alluded to its efforts to facilitate constructive dialogue, as it remains unwavering in its support for Palestinian rights. He highlighted Qatar’s efforts to implement the temporary truce in November 2023, to deliver aid, and transfer patients in critical need for treatment.
He explained that Qatar’s mediation efforts stem from Arab and Islamic values, to pursue justice and fairness, based on its foreign policy prioritizing security and peace and supporting people’s right to self-determination. He also stressed the importance of popular pressure, noting that the effectiveness of international solidarity can outstrip that of armies. Accordingly, a political solution is necessary to restore peace and stability to the Middle East, and work must be done to enable the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, through continued political and development support, and investment in education, health, and the economy.
Proceedings started with the first session of the first track titled “The Attitudes of the Gulf States toward the Palestine Question”, chaired by Ghanim Al-Najjar. Abdulaziz bin Othman bin Saqr analysed the Saudi stance on the Israeli war on Gaza, emphasizing its core demand for Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of an independent state within the pre-1967 borders. Abdullah Al-Ghailani explored Gulf positions on the Palestine question, tracing their evolution from the 1948 Nakba to Al-Aqsa Flood. The session concluded with Sultan Al Khulaifi’s paper on Qatari foreign policy under Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani (1972-1995), addressing the complexities of Qatar’s approach to the Palestine question during this period.
The second session of the first track was chaired by Chaired by Hatem Al-Shanfari and began with Asaad Saleh Al-Shamlan discussing Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan's announcement of the “International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution” during the 2024 UN General Assembly. Sherine Mubarak explored US-Saudi relations from 1933 to 1953, highlighting tensions due to differing views on Palestine. Hossam Elsayed Zaki Shalabi reviewed the Trucial States and Oman’s positions on Palestine from 1917 to 1948, examining their responses to key events like the Balfour Declaration, the Great Palestinian Revolt, the 1947 partition plan, and their role in the 1948 war.
The first session of the second track, chaired by Saad Albazei and titled “The City and Nation-Building (1): The Saudi Case” featured three papers. The first paper by Ulrike Freitag focused on the cosmopolitan city of Jeddah to examine the different ways in which people have created affective links with cities and ways of expressing identity in the city through certain types of civic engagement. Alanoud Al-Khalifa’s paper elucidated how the historical narrative of Diriyah is employed to affirm political legitimacy in Saudi Arabia and reinforce the vision of the contemporary nation-state. In the third paper, Rufei Li argued that the urban transformation process of al-Balad, Jeddan, is the outcome of state-building and nation-building processes, which in turn impacted al-Balad significantly regarding its role in Saudi Arabia’s nation-building.
The third session of the first track and second session of the second track were also organized simultaneously. Dania Dhafer chaired the first track, which was organized in collaboration with the Gulf International Forum. Kristian Ulrichsen presented a paper on the potential impact of the 2024 US presidential elections on US policy towards the Gulf. Mohammad Ghanem Al-Rumaihi analysed the challenges in Gulf-US relations following the Gaza war, focusing on the Gulf’s effort to balance East-West relations amid political complexities. Inderjit Parmar discussed the implications of the 2024 US election results, predicting that a second Trump administration would oppose international institutions and escalate tensions with China, potentially destabilizing the Middle East and global energy supplies.
In the second track titled “The City and Nation-Building (2): Khaliji Cases”, chaired by Amal Ghazal, three papers were presented: Sundus Al-Rashid discussed the history of the Kuwait National Museum, beginning with its location in the city and its relationship with surrounding facilities as a cultural and social institution, as well as its national symbolism. Saoud Abdulaziz Al Ahmad, Amnah Abdullah Alshammari, and Betul Uzun examined the strategic use of urban spaces in shaping national identity in Qatar, focusing on Msheireb and Souq Waqif. Djamel Boussaa focused on the role of heritage tourism and its implications for urban regeneration in the context of Doha, Jeddah, and Dubai to demonstrate how the resilient historic urban centres are struggling to survive in a fast global environment.
In the next two sessions, only papers of the second track were presented. In its third session titled “Urban Modernization Structures as a Social Agent”, chaired by Yagoub Al-Kandari, Yasser Mahgoub explored the complex interplay between urban structures and social dynamics in Kuwait City and Doha to show how urban development shapes and is shaped by social processes. Mahdi Laadhari investigated the changes tied to urban and societal development in Kuwaiti society, focusing on the Diwaniya and the modernization process it underwent.
Abdulrahman Albaker chaired the fourth session titled “The Gulf City and Modern Urbanism”, which featured Davide Ponzini, who presented recent plans and mega-projects in Gulf cities and limitations and opportunities to advance planning knowledge, as well as Mustapha Ben-Hamouche, who examined the future of GCC cities through urban planning frameworks, referencing the “Life Cycle of Cities” hypothesis.
The inaugural keynote session in the second day was chaired by Abdulrahman Alebrahim and featured two lectures. The first lecture, presented by Nelida Fuccaro, critically assessed the place of the city in Gulf Studies. While continuing to argue against Gulf exceptionalism and the rigid intellectual and spatial categories that have tended to typecast the region as a “periphery”, she argues for cities as microcosms and vantage points to observe the past, present, and future. The second lecture by Yasser Elsheshtawy explored the transient nature of the Arab Gulf city and whether it can sustain its existence throughout the 21st century. His talk showed how “temporary people” can live in a place that inherently refuses to recognize them as full citizens, highlighting those people’s resilience and defiance against the forces of the hegemonic city.
In the first track, the fourth session on the Gulf and Palestine Question, chaired by Abdul Hadi Alajmi, addressed "The Repercussions of Gulf Normalization with Israel on the Future of the Palestine Question." Abdullah Baabood explored the shifts in Gulf states' positions towards Palestine over the past two decades, highlighting the impact of the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Arab peace process, the Palestinian divide, and the Arab Spring Nouf Abdulatife Aljassar analyzed the US role in consolidating the Abraham Accords with the GCC countries under Presidents Trump and Biden. Finally, Dana El Kurd examined the effects of Arab-Israeli normalization on authoritarianism in Arab countries, arguing that if the root causes of the conflict are not addressed, normalization could facilitate authoritarian practices, using the GCC as a case study.
In the parallel track on “The Gulf City: Modernization and Dystopia”, chaired by Abdulla Mohammed Al Sulaiti, Baqer Al Najjar described the case of new Gulf cities that emerged because of the growing consumer behaviour patterns of a significant segment of the population. Federico Cugurullo examined the genesis and development of The Line as an incubator of modernization, noting how the aspirations of this project are genealogically based on a Western cyberpunk imaginary.
Next sessions were run in parallel tracks. In the Palestine track, "The Positions of the Arab Gulf States on the War on Gaza and its Repercussions", Dhafer Al Ajmi discussed the Gulf States' political, diplomatic, and humanitarian support for Gaza, which has helped unify Arab and Islamic positions. Naji Abi-Aad analysed the impact of the war on Gaza on Middle East energy security, highlighting a shift toward pipeline reliance and predicting a long-term decline in global dependence on Middle Eastern energy. Khalid Hamad Abaalzamat presented the results of a survey of 1,300 Gulf citizens, indicating widespread support for Qatar's mediation role and its media coverage of the Gaza conflict.
Meanwhile, the parallel session, “The Gulf City: Globality and Globalism” was chaired by Said Al-Hashimi. Mehran Kamrava examined how globalization has helped the emergence of regional cities as important regional hub and critical nodes in global networks. Safa Sobh Sababheh explored the factors contributing to the growth of Saudi eastern coastal cities and the challenges they face, aiming to guide policies for sustainable development in these areas. Simona Azzali revealed the limitations of contemporary urbanism in the region by unpacking the paradox of increasing land prices and the resulting lack of affordable housing, hyper-vacancy rates, and overcrowding in the Gulf cities.
The sixth session of the Palestine track, “Popular and Official Attitudes in the Gulf States toward the Palestine Question” was chaired by Ibtihal Al-Khatib. Nasser Saif Alsaadi and Saif Adi Al-Maskari reviewed Omani popular and official positions on the Palestinian cause from the Nakba to Camp David, including opposition ideologies, concluding that public awareness in Oman was early and strong, especially in the 1970s. Reham Amro examined Kuwaiti political awareness towards Palestine (1929-1975), highlighting Kuwaiti solidarity through media coverage. Yara Nassar discussed the emergence of the Palestinian liberation movements in the Gulf (1956-1965), focusing on the founding of Fatah in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, whose founders benefited from the support of Gulf communities.
Three papers participated in the parallel track titled “Climate Change and Environmental Balance in the Gulf City”, chaired by Hasan Madan. Nabil Khaldoun Grissa addressed the historical roots of urbanization in the area and the foundations of settlement, particularly the direct relationship with the geographical environment and social and cultural specificities. Arshad Mahmood investigated whether Gulf smart cities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are resilient enough to counterbalance climate change challenges, focusing on urban planning and policy implications, followed by Alaa AlShehabi and Noor Alshaikh, who conducted archival research to understand the colonial logic of placing oil refineries in the middle of Bahraini villages and the environmental and political impacts on the residents of the villages.
A final session for the day two was titled “The Gulf City: Toward a Sustainable Future”, chaired by Haider Saeed and organized for the second track alone. Ali A Alraouf introduced a range of strategies and tools that develop Gulf cities as urban contexts for all in a safe, fair, and sustainable manner. Alawi Almshahur and Ghassan Al-Qalhati discussed the history of the modern Gulf city, its transformations, and the temporary character that results from its demographic composition and reliance on foreign labour.
Gulf Studies Forum
