Gulf Research Center participates in RNSSC Meeting in Washington.The Gulf Research Center took part in the Network Directors Meeting of the Regional Network of Strategic Studies Centers(RNSSC) of the National Defense University in Washington DC on September 13. The RNSSC brings together 25 institutions from across the Middle East and South Asia in an effort to expand strategic dialogue and exchange views of common security challenges. Following a keynote address by Joe McMillan, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and an address by Gary Samore of the US National Security Council on nuclear issues affecting the Middle East, Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the GRC, spoke on the impact of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ on the states of the Arabian Peninsula. From a US perspective, it was mentioned that the current change transforming the Arab world certainly represents an opportunity to align their national interests with values guiding their foreign policy. But there are also risks in terms of the possibility of ungoverned spaces resulting out of the present turmoil or in complicating relations with current allies where governments might no longer be so amendable to unquestioned cooperation with the United States. From a Gulf perspective, Dr. Sager countered the notion that Arab Gulf states are counter-revolutionary and are actively trying to undermine the course of events. In fact, these countries have undertaken a number of political reform steps thereby reflecting a more comprehensive understanding of the wider implications of events in the rest of the Arab world. The case of Libya, in which the GCC states took a leading political role, is an example. While for the GCC states there is a still a preference for an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary path towards political transition, there is thus also an acknowledgement of the significance of these recent events.
