Defence Dilemmas of the GCC States – Threats and Military Build-Up

Authors

  • Robert Czulda University of Lodz, Institute of Political Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.21.04

Keywords:

Persian Gulf, security, GCC, defence, military procurements

Abstract

Although regional states don`t seek war, it cannot be ruled out that an unfavourable development in the international arena could lead to an unintended outbreak of a full-scale conflict, which would either di­rectly or indirectly involve the Arab monarchies. In response to several threats within their proximity, these states have, for years, been pursuing several initiatives aimed at increasing their deterrence potential and inter­operability in case of a crisis. The main goal of this article is to present and assess the GCC’s threat perception, followed by an analysis of the multilat­eral and unilateral responses. The main research question concerns the de­gree to which the GCC states are able to establish a joint and effective military bloc within the Persian Gulf.

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Author Biography

Robert Czulda, University of Lodz, Institute of Political Studies

Is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lodz, Poland. Between 2017 and 2018 he was a Visiting Professor at the Center for International and Se­curity Studies at Maryland (CISSM) under Fulbright Senior Award. Dr. Czulda is an Alum of the Young Leaders Dialogue of the US Department of State (2010–2011), and has lectured at universities in Iran, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Lithuania, Tur­key and Slovakia, as well as the National Cheng-chi University in Taipei. He is a freelance defense journalist and a contributor to IHS Jane’s and “Military Tech­nology.” Dr. Czulda’s area of expertise is international security and defense.

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Published

2018-06-30

How to Cite

Czulda, R. (2018). Defence Dilemmas of the GCC States – Threats and Military Build-Up. International Studies. Interdisciplinary Political and Cultural Journal, 21(1), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.21.04