Research Library

Recent developments in the oil kingdoms of the Middle East demonstrate that rentier governments are engaging their citizens with energy policymaking in ways that do not follow rentier state theory, writes fellow Jim Krane.

Who speaks for Islam and who holds religious authority in the Middle East? These questions strike at the heart of the relationship between religion and politics in the Muslim world, for whoever can legitimately claim religious authority has an opportunity to shape the extent to which religion is politicized in the region. Our study examines this issue by identifying the channels of influence between religious leaders who claim to hold Islamic authority and individual Muslims across the region. The findings depict a complex religious space in the Middle East that reflects its citizens’ nuanced approach toward religion and the religion-politics relationship.

A newly released study from the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University includes a contribution from fellow Jim Krane on subsidy reform and tax increases in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia’s massive hydrocarbon endowment and ownership of Islamic holy sites have created a unique political economy. In this research paper, energy fellow Jim Krane explores established policy practices and assesses Saudi Arabia’s emerging strategy for future participation in the oil business.

In separate papers, two Baker Institute fellows — one Palestinian, the other Israeli — provide their perspectives on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This report highlights the results from an expert survey carried out as part of a two-year research project on pluralism and inclusion in the post-Arab Spring regional landscape, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The survey generated policy-relevant responses that provide nuanced insight into key public policy challenges in Gulf countries that — Bahrain apart —did not experience significant political upheaval after 2011 but nevertheless could see economic (un)sustainability develop into major determinants of political (in)stability in the years ahead.

This paper presents a simple dynamic growth model of investment, consumption, passive military spending, and active military spending for an oil-exporting country. It argues that under conditions of significant geopolitical strife, a country might engage in a military conflict of limited scope and extent to drive up oil prices and revenues.

A set of common interests (if not values) has emerged in Israel and the GCC states in the turbulent aftermath of the 2011 Arab uprisings and the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement. Framing both is a sense of bewilderment felt equally in Jerusalem and in GCC capitals at U.S. policies in the Middle East under the Obama administration. While it remains unlikely that direct diplomatic relations will be established between Israel and GCC states in the near future, regional realignments are expanding the scope for unofficial contact and tangible cooperation in numerous policy spheres.

This paper discusses the shortcomings of the narrow Egypt and Saudi Arabia Visions 2030 and argues for a comprehensive framework for regional economic integration, wherein each country’s vision is harmonized with those of its neighbors.

This paper analyzes the political and economic implications of the various measures Gulf States have taken in response to the fall in oil prices and government revenues and offers recommendations for sustainable economic reforms.