The Gulf Cooperation Council: An Emerging Soft Power Player

Soft power is a concept first explained by accomplished academic Joseph Nye. Soft power is understood as the ability of a political actor to influence other actors to comply with their will “without force or coercion”. In a 2020 report by the British Council, cultural and political institutions, trade, commerce, and diplomacy are important indicators of soft power wielded by a political actor. This Spotlight article outlines how the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is slowly emerging as a crucial soft power player in international politics by analysing developments in the bloc’s commercial, cultural, and diplomatic activities. 

The GCC was founded in 1981. Its Member States are the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the State of Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The GCC is a political union “desiring to effect coordination, cooperation and integration” between the Member States on certain economic, cultural, and legislative goals. The GCC is known for its lucrative crude oil exports, which are the primary source of income for the bloc. However, since the formation of the GCC, non-oil sectors of some GCC countries have become as lucrative as oil-related economic activity. This shift is especially pronounced in Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Close ties to the West in the latter stages of the Cold War and recent escalations with the Islamic Republic of Iran have meant that the GCC has fostered a close military relationship with the United States, which operates numerous military bases within the borders of the GCC. In recent years, the GCC’s military strength has also grown. Globalfirepower’s Middle East Military Strength index ranks Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE within the top ten military forces in the region. However, military prowess and oil-related economic activity are not the only important elements of GCC’s grand strategy. The GCC has increasingly become an important player in the global economy, and the bloc’s commerce strategy has seen it open its doors to tourism, sport, and an array of diplomatic opportunities.

The geographic location of the GCC countries between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea gives the bloc access to some of the world’s most important trading posts including the Strait of Hormuz, the Horn of Africa, and the Red Sea which leads to the Suez Canal. In combination with the increased non-oil commercial trade, international container shipping is a sector in which the GCC countries have been able to catapult themselves into industry-leader status. The UAE, for example, has seen a container port throughput increase of 5 billion TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) between 2009 and 2020. This increase has elevated the UAE’s role as a global trade leader, with Jebel Ali Port taking 11th place amongst the Top 50 Container Ports in 2020, according to the World Shipping Council. Amongst the Top 50 Container Ports are also the ports of Jeddah (KSA) and Salalah (Oman). The bloc’s high trading volume is also complemented by an efficient and transparent customs clearance process. In recent years, the region has also seen an increase in outflows of trade and FDI. The increase in trade and an increasingly diversifying trade portfolio has not only yielded profits for state-owned enterprises, which are amongst the most profitable in the world, but also for private individuals. Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy firm, predicts that the Middle East will create 330,000 new dollar millionaires by 2025.  

The commercial developments and successes of the GCC countries have been accompanied by a substantial investment in and improvement of the bloc’s cultural power. Crucially, four of the six GCC countries – Kuwait, the KSA, Qatar, and the UAE – are members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meaning the bloc has a significant influence on the production and supply of crude oil. Additionally, the GCC hosts a significant deal of global summits including the annual World Government Summit held in Dubai (UAE). Other important cultural events held in the Middle East include Formula 1 and MotoGP Grands Prix in Bahrain, the KSA, Qatar, and the UAE, the upcoming Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Race to Dubai round of the PGA European Tour, and most recently, the World Expo which was also held in Dubai last year. The GCC is also host to 18 universities in the top 1000 public universities around the world, according to Times Higher Education. This is in addition to the private and international universities with headquarters within the bloc.

Relations between the GCC and the West, as mentioned above, are rather friendly. The United States has several military bases and training agreements with the GCC Member States. The European Union (EU) and the GCC have had formal relations since 1988, and the two blocs have a healthy trading relationship, with an FTA being agreed to by both parties in 1990. Despite tensions in recent years, China remains the GCC’s biggest import and export partner. Relations between the GCC and Russia have historically been shaky due to mistrust between both sides over the Chechnya conflicts at the start of the century, and in recent times, differing stances on issues in Syria and Yemen have been sources of disagreement. Despite this, there have been no airspace closures between the GCC Member States and Russia since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the Member States of the GCC have each taken differing stances on the issue but all six Member States have dodged Russia’s ‘unfriendly countries’ list. Regional diplomacy has seen significant changes in the last few years, perhaps the biggest happening being the normalisation of relations with Israel by Bahrain and the UAE in 2020. All in all, the GCC Member States have differing diplomatic interests on an array of geopolitical issues at the regional level but have fairly good relations with the wider international community, even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This apparent neutrality, the bloc’s geopolitical strategic positioning, and the bloc’s wealth of resources and finances mean that the GCC is able to strategically position itself diplomatically to protect Member States’ interests and the wider security of the bloc without having to resort to hard power tactics. 

In summary, the GCC Member States’ ability to employ soft power tactics has grown steadily since the turn of the century. Through the diversification of trade exports and the exploitation of the geopolitical location of the Arabian Peninsula, the bloc has been able to direct and set its commercial agenda with relative autonomy from bigger global powers. The commercial importance of the GCC has increased Member States’ access to important international cultural events as well as generated high-quality institutions of higher education. Whilst the GCC is able to avoid significant crises with the wider international community, differing foreign policies within the bloc and its inability to influence international actors to support Member States’ hard power tactics, as seen in Yemen, perhaps limit the bloc’s soft power capabilities in the short-run. However, the growth of the GCC as a soft power player in the long term should not be underestimated. As international politics delve into a period of uncertainty and instability, access to the GCC’s resources and markets is likely to become more attractive, thus giving the bloc more leverage when dealing with global powers.