The fourth in this series, the Contemporary Archive of the Islamic World (CAIW), draws on the resources of Cambridge-based World of Information. The discovery of substantial oil and gas deposits, changed Qatar and its people beyond recognition.

The third in a new series, the Contemporary Archive of the Islamic World (CAIW), this title draws on the resources of Cambridge-based World of Information, which since 1975 has followed the politics and economics of the region. Kuwait’s documented history begins in the mid-19th Century. Its location established it as an important entrepôt at the head of the Arabian Gulf. Notionally under Ottoman rule, it became a de facto protectorate of Great Britain. The discovery of oil changed Kuwait beyond recognition. It gained full independence in 1971 and was long considered the most developed state in the Gulf. Coveted by Iraq, it was invaded in 1990. It also played a part in the2003 invasion of Iraq.

The post-Arab Spring collapse of decades-old regimes inaugurated a decade of re-shaping for the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa region. A multipolar disorder ensued, solidified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Amid general bewilderment, the small monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent the decade between 2011 and 2022 trying to re-shape regional equilibria as protagonists. This book applies an original theoretical framework to unpack the threat perceptions and strategic calculus driving the behaviour of these new impactful regional players. Six chapters look at the six GCC monarchies individually. The author challenges commonly held narratives and goes beyond attention-grabbing headlines and thus provides reading keys to the past, present and future of policy-making in the Gulf monarchies, middle powers destined to play an oversized role in the new multipolar world.

The volume has a twofold purpose: first, to question main presuppositions and perceptions regarding religion and international politics in the Middle East and, second, to reflect on the role(s) of religion in the regional order. The first part deals with the contribution of religion to a post-Western turn in International Relations in the Middle East and beyond. It discusses the postsecular conceptual framework in order to expand their approaches to the analysis of the Middle East and addresses the search for religion’s “suitable place” within International Relations, taking as a starting point the social changes in the world and the postulated "Mesopotamian turn" in International Relations. The second part focuses on the role of state-like non-state actors. ISIS challenged the international order because, contrary to revolutionary states in the past, it negates the foundations of the Westphalian system. At the same time, the rise of ISIS had a tremendous impact on the jihadi (sub) system. The third part studies the impact of religion on foreign and security policy (Israel, UAE, UK, and Saudi Arabia). It explores how religion has been shaping each stage of the decision-making process, the position that religion holds in perceptions of stability in the post-2011 era, and the politics of ‘‘moderate Islam’’, arguing that even though ‘’moderate Islam’’ has been devised for creating ‘’soft power’’, it serves ‘’sharp power’’ as well.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, launching an economic blockade by land, air and sea. The self-proclaimed 'Anti-Terror Quartet' offered maximalist demands: thirteen 'conditions' recalling Austria-Hungary's 1914 ultimatum to Serbia. They may even have intended military action. Well into its second year, the standoff in the Gulf has no realistic end in sight. With the Bahraini and Emirati criminalisation of expressing support for Qatar, and the Saudi labelling of detainees as 'traitors' for their alleged Qatari links, bitterness has been stoked between deeply interconnected peoples. The adviser to the Saudi crown prince advocating a moat to physically separate Qatar from the Arabian Peninsula illustrates the ongoing intensity--and irrationality--of the crisis. Most reporting and analysis of these developments has focused on questions of regional geopolitics, and framed the standoff in terms of its impact on (largely) Western interests. Lost in this thicket of commentary is consideration of how the Qatari leadership and population have responded to the blockade. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup draws closer, the ongoing Qatar crisis becomes increasingly important to understand. Ulrichsen offers an authoritative study of this international standoff, from both sides.

The first volume of its kind to address concepts and theories of what constitutes a 'Middle Power' in the Middle East.