Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states seek to diversify their economies beyond oil, but the project comes laden with risk.

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.

Ed Husain hosts Bernard Haykel in a discussion of the convergences and divergences in Gulf governments' policies toward the Arab Spring, both domestically and regionally.

With oil supplies tight, regions most vulnerable to oil supply disruptions present a significant economic concern, particularly threats to the Strait of Hormuz and unrest in Nigeria, explains this Backgrounder.

Trade between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council has spiked in recent years, with potentially broad economic and geopolitical consequences.

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.

This BBC News profile discusses the history of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

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.

Congressional Research Service report that provides information about the current perspectives and policies of Iraq’s neighbors; analyzes potential regional responses to continued insurgency, wider sectarian or ethnic violence, and long-term stabilization; discusses shared concerns and U.S. long-term regional interests; and reviews U.S. policy options for responding to various contingencies.

Captain Bradley S. Russell, USN and Max Boot argue that Iran must realize that by initiating direct hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, it risks American retaliation against their covert nuclear-weapons program.

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.”

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.”

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.