The shifting contemporary security environment is characterized by unconventional actors and methods, the influence of non-state actors, and the use of proxies and hybrid warfare techniques. This has not only precipitated changing alliances and positions, but has significantly altered the global security agenda and our understanding of security concepts. In the Middle East, where the security implications of the Arab Uprisings continue to reverberate a decade later, complex factors in the emergence of novel security challenges call for a more nuanced approach that moves beyond conventional narratives. It is here that securitization theory has an important role, offering a comprehensive analysis that takes into account the multiplicity of actors, audiences and interests at play in both the construction of threats, and the legitimization of state responses to them. As a rising regional security actor, and an important player on the global stage, the United Arab Emirates offers a strong case study, in term of its efforts with partners to tackle some of the region’s most pressing threats. In examining the ways in which the UAE’s decision-makers have identified and securitized threats, such as political Islam and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, the book aims to achieve a deeper understanding of regional complexities, while developing securitization theory in a fresh geopolitical context. Traditionally applied to Western contexts, this book aims to situate securitization’s theoretical framework within the transformative security developments to have taken place in the Middle East in recent decades. It offers a detailed examination of the events surrounding the Arab Uprisings, and their far-reaching impact to set the scene for analysis of how securitization theory can help deepen our understanding of the region’s current political, economic and security considerations. Many states in the region are still severely weakened, or are mired in conflict that has brought humanitarian crisis and the collapse of regimes. Continued instability in Yemen, Libya, Syria and Iraq threatens the security of the entire region, as external actors vie for dominance. Meanwhile, the security vacuums created by departing major powers have had perilous effects, allowing space for Islamist extremist elements to regroup and grow. The security threats facing the region have long-term implications, likely to be further complicated by shifting political dynamics and emergent global issues, such as the pandemic and climate change. A robust response requires a move away from traditional security paradigms, as demonstrated by the UAE’s approach, in favor of more comprehensive and proactive strategies to address the array of novel challenges that now define the contemporary security landscape.

This study of citizenship and migration policies in the Gulf shows how temporary residency can become a permanent citizenship status.

This book develops the idea that since decolonisation, regional patterns of security have become more prominent in international politics. The authors combine an operational theory of regional security with an empirical application across the whole of the international system. Individual chapters cover Africa, the Balkans, CIS Europe, East Asia, EU Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, and South Asia. The main focus is on the post-Cold War period, but the history of each regional security complex is traced back to its beginnings. By relating the regional dynamics of security to current debates about the global power structure, the authors unfold a distinctive interpretation of post-Cold War international security, avoiding both the extreme oversimplifications of the unipolar view, and the extreme deterritorialisations of many globalist visions of a new world disorder. Their framework brings out the radical diversity of security dynamics in different parts of the world.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has elaborated its own philosophy of security. Driven by emergencies and increasing risks, both in the region and globally, Emirati authorities have developed a sense of anticipation as well as an agility to react promptly to new threats through the ability to assess the risks in any given situation. War and the avatars of conflict are a constant reality in the Middle East. Transnational threats, including the regional context, the war in Yemen, insecurity in the Levant and tensions with Iran affect the overall stability of the Peninsula and consequently that of the UAE. Owing to the inclusion of the UAE in the networks of globalization, non-traditional security issues are not relegated to the background. Issues such as COVID-19, immigration, cybersecurity and human trafficking need to be addressed domestically as well as globally. This volume offers a comprehensive and multifaceted examination of the traditional and non-traditional security measures present in the UAE that allow the country to remain politically stable in an otherwise volatile region, and aims to offer a comprehensive overview of all forms of security in the UAE.

In recent decades, Saudi Arabia has committed itself to playing the part of mediator in intra-national and international conflicts in the greater Middle East region. Examples include the two Saudi-introduced Arab Peace Initiatives of 1982 and 2002, mediation attempts between Algeria and Morocco in the West Sahara conflict, Iraq and Syria during the Iran-Iraq War and Iran and Iraq towards the end of their military conflict. Saudi Arabian Foreign Relations provides a new insight to current studies on Saudi foreign policy and mediation in international relations. The book offers a detailed analysis of Saudi Arabia’s intermediary role in the intra-state conflicts in Yemen, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and the successes and limitations of each. Additionally, it provides an updated examination of Saudi Arabia’s role towards resolution of the larger Arab-Israeli conflict. Saudi Arabian Foreign Relations contributes to a far deeper understanding of Saudi foreign policy, and therefore will be of great interest to students and scholars of Middle East Politics and International Relations.

This book explores the determinants of Iran's foreign policy towards its GCC neighboring countries. She considers the dimensions of internal and external, as well as identity and nationalism. AL-Saad aims to identify the strategic importance of Iran's nuclear program, the agreement with the major powers in 2015, and its impact on Iran's foreign policy. She then addresses possible future scenarios and implications of Iran's foreign policy towards the GCC region, upon the US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Securitizing Islam shows how views of Muslims have changed in Britain since 9/11, following debates over terrorism, identity and multiculturalism.