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August 20, 2009
Must Read
Bill Emmott argues that OPEC's oil price manipulation will prompt the production of green energy vehicles and, subsequently, the end of the age of oil.
See more in Economics, Energy/Environment
January 2009
Other Report
For several years, high oil prices enabled the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to add large sums to their state coffers. Falling oil prices imply that some Gulf countries may need to draw on their depleted funds to cover their import bills. In this Center for Geoeconomic Studies Working Paper, Brad W. Setser and Rachel Ziemba examine the impact of the fall in global equities on the Gulf’s large funds and explore how various oil price scenarios could shape those funds’ future growth.
See more in Middle East, Economics
June 4, 2008
Interview
Youssef Ibrahim, a risk consultant and the former Middle East correspondent for the New York Times, discusses the flood of money lining Persian Gulf coffers.
See more in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, Economics, Society and Culture
June 4, 2008
Backgrounder
Trade between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council has spiked in recent years, with potentially broad economic and geopolitical consequences.
June 4, 2008
Daily Analysis
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states seek to diversify their economies beyond oil, but the project comes laden with risk.
See more in Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Economics, Business & Foreign Policy, Emerging Markets
December 2007
Article
RGE Monitor
With oil at $100, what do we know about how the big oil exporters are managing their petrodollars? In this paper for RGE Monitor, Brad Setser and Rachel Ziemba examine the different GCC funds and estimate that total Gulf investment abroad exceeded $2 trillion in 2007. One surprising conclusion that emerges from their analysis is that the Gulf as a whole has not diversified away from the dollar.
See more in Middle East, Economics
December 27, 2007
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Walter Russell Mead writes that “few subjects matter as much as oil, the Persian Gulf and American foreign policy. But few subjects are less well understood.”
See more in Energy Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 5, 2007
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Max Boot urges the United States to “tell the Gulf Arabs that if they expect the U.S. to stand with them in the future, they need to stand with us publicly, not just privately.”
See more in Iran, Intelligence, Weapons of Mass Destruction
July 30, 2007
Essential Documents
Statement
See more in Egypt, Israel, Foreign Aid
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Nigeria (11/4): John Campbell writes that under the presidency of Umaru Yar'adu, Nigeria is moving away from its corrupt system, on the Huffington Post.
Israel (11/3): Amity Shlaes says that the Israeli military has played a role in Israel's record of innovation, on Bloomberg.com.
Afghanistan (11/2): Walter Russell Mead says it is no surprise the U.S. has made deals with warlords, on the Daily Beast.
Conflict Assessment (11/2): Leslie Gelb on stalled U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, on the Daily Beast.
Terrorism (11/2): Max Boot argues that success in Afghanistan depends on a cohesive counterinsurgency--rather than a counterterrorism--strategy, in Commentary.
Pakistan (11/2): Walter Russell Mead says there’s no doubt that Pakistan is the most dangerous problem in U.S. foreign policy, in the American Interest.
Wars (11/2): Max Boot says the war effort is succeeding in parts of Afghanistan--with time and troops the gains can be consolidated, in the Weekly Standard.
U.S. Strategy (10/30): Micah Zenko says "don't rush the Afghan debate," in the Christian Science Monitor.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
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