The Academic Committee of the Gulf Studies Forum is pleased to announce that it is accepting research proposals for the 13th session of the Forum, with a deadline of Saturday, 14 June 2026. The Forum, organized by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, will be held on 21-22 November 2026.
The Gulf Studies Forum is an annual event organized by the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit at ACRPS. It brings together researchers, academics, and experts from the Gulf region, elsewhere in the Arab world, and beyond to discuss regional, internal, and international issues.
The 13th session will address two main tracks. The first, titled “Gulf Security and the US-Israel War on Iran”, will examine the security and strategic threats the recent war has presented for the Arab Gulf states, ways to address them, and the ability of those states to adapt to the resulting challenges. It will also address the role of existing political and military alliances and their effectiveness in achieving regional security and stability. The confrontation that broke out in February 2026 has prompted a reassessment of the strategic viability of Gulf security arrangements with the United States, raising fundamental questions about the effectiveness of these alliances in providing a robust security umbrella to protect the sovereignty of the Gulf states from threats. This necessitates an analysis of the nature of these alliances and an understanding of how they are likely to evolve in light of the war. The discussion will further examine the most prominent economic threats facing the region as a result of the war, first and foremost disruptions to energy exports and energy security, and the war’s repercussions for food and water security in the Gulf Arab states, along with the resulting need to reassess these energy infrastructure and trade routes. Finally, it will explore the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a joint security and defence framework, and the potential for strengthening its capabilities.
The second track of the forum is entitled “Language Policies in the Arab Gulf Countries: Contexts, Trends, and Content”. This track will examine the centrality of the Arabic language to the Gulf states, and the profound transformations occurring within their linguistic landscapes in the context of growing multilingualism, accelerating globalization, and the ever-increasing presence of English in education, the labour market, and academia. This theme reflects a growing interest in language policy as a central element in building the modern Gulf state, and a fundamental pillar in shaping national identity and reinforcing cultural distinctiveness in societies characterized by broad ethnic and linguistic diversity. This theme will also discuss the policies adopted to manage the relationship between Arabic and foreign languages, the role of legislation and educational and cultural institutions in protecting and developing Arabic, the social inequalities associated with language use, and the transformations brought about by the digital sphere in contemporary linguistic practices. This theme aims to provide a multidisciplinary analytical framework for understanding language policies in the Gulf and anticipating their future trends and cultural, social, and economic implications.
For more information, please refer to this user’s guide.
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