The fourth Gulf Studies Forum will run in Doha from December 2-4, 2017. This year's discussion will be devoted to the theme of "The Gulf Crisis: Regional and International Dynamics and the Role of the Media". The Academic Committee received 120 applications to participate in the Forum, 35 of which were approved. The committee further commissioned papers from a range of other academics from across the region and beyond.

Three keynote speakers will present lectures on each of the three days of the event, including HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar; Bertrand Badie, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the Paris Institute of Political Studies; and Alexander Stille, Professor of Journalism at Columbia School of Journalism.

The three-day meeting will tackle the Gulf Crisis in two parallel sets of proceedings. The first will unpack the media treatment of the crisis, in terms of ethics, news coverage, and the shaping of public opinion. These sessions will take in social media. The second will focus on the regional and international political treatment of the crisis, covering the economic and legal repercussions as well as the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Attendance will be open to the public, and simultaneous translation will be provided between Arabic and English throughout.

To read the concept paper for the 2017 Gulf Studies Forum, please click here.