scholarly journals The Impact of Sectarian Conflict in Syria on Iran-Gulf Relations

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleem A. Salih Al-Dulaimi ◽  
Mohammad Kamal ◽  
Dalal Mahmoud Elsayed
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Open Approach ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Gulf Countries ◽  
Proxy War ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Sectarian Conflict ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States ◽  
The Impact

Iran-Gulf relations are a confusing maze of complexities and contradictions. Iran’s voracious aspirations have been manifest in more than one act and place. The 1979 Revolution created a pervasive atmosphere of anxiety and fear in the Gulf region of that revolution’s ideological expansion into the Gulf states, especially those countries in which Shiites form important parts of their societies. In the Iran-Iraq war 1980, on the other hand, the Arab Gulf states supported Iraq against Iran as it was a proxy war to protect the Arab Gulf states, and Saddam Hussein, nevertheless, ended up occupying Kuwait in 1990. And then the Iranian-Gulf relations took a new turn at the time of both presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, who adopted an open approach to the Gulf countries. However, those relations worsened when Ahmadinejad came to power as he started to export the revolutionary thought to the Gulf countries and extended the Iranian influence to Iraq after 2003, to Syria in the aftermath of the revolution that erupted in Syria in 2011 and to the Gulf Cooperation Council states, especially in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. All this comes at the expense of the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, which is keen to maintain its influential role in the face of Iranian encroachment in Syria, through the support of the Syrian revolution, which seeks to overthrow Iran's ally in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad. Therefore, this study is trying to find an answer to this question: how has sectarian conflict in Syria impacted the Iranian-Gulf relations?

“Wasta” and women’s careers in the Arab Gulf States

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jouharah M. Abalkhail ◽  
Barbara Allan
Keyword(s):  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women's Careers ◽  
Women’S Careers ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States ◽  
Public Organisations ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Women are under-represented in senior positions across the world, and this paper aims to explore the impact of wasta on women’s careers in the Arab Gulf States. This paper has two main objectives: to understand the phenomenon of wasta and how it manifests itself within public organisations in the Gulf region; and to examine how wasta is impacting on women’s career advancement. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 female managers working in public organisations in the Arab Gulf region. Findings The findings indicate that wasta refers to a social network of interpersonal connections, rooted in family and kinship ties, and linked to family affairs as well as work. In addition, the findings demonstrate that, as a result of wasta, social networks in the workplace, in the Arab Gulf Region, include family connections, and this is different to workplace networks in Western societies which are frequently limited to professional contacts and separate from family or friendship networks. In addition, the findings show that wasta may be used to support women’s career progression, providing they have access to appropriate wasta. Furthermore, the findings revealed that women, in the Arab Gulf Region, rely directly on their male family member’s connections, as career facilitators, to gain access to organisational opportunities. Practical implications The paper provides some practical suggestions for helping to overcome the potential negative effects of wasta and to ensure that organisations make the best use of their talent. Hence, this research could potentially inform national policy and organisational policymakers and, in particular, influence recruitment and selection practices to ensure that they are based on competence rather than personal connections. Originality/value The paper is based on empirical work in an under-researched, non-Western context. There is extensive literature on gender and management and leadership in Western cultures, and this paper contributes to the developing body of research on women in the Arab cultures. It provides a better understanding of the phenomenon of wasta, and it highlights the long-term consequences of wasta on employees, particularly women, working in public organisations. Also, it contributes to theory on the culture of organisations by highlighting the often neglected influences of the broader social and cultural systems, including patriarchal practices, on women’s positions in the organisational hierarchy.

scholarly journals Education In The Arab Gulf States and the Arab World

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 172-175
Author(s):  
Zeinab Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States

Education In The Arab Gulf States And The Arab World: An AnnotatedBibliography is divided into six parts. Each part contains between one toten chapters according to the topic. In the preface, the author mentions thatshe includes all references found in US libraries and the Libraryof Congress and does not include references from Arab countries. Shealso mentions that she was "selective" in her choices of what to includeand what not. For example, literature from the social sciences thatcontained a lot of stereotyping and biased information about Islam, Arabsand Arab society in general was excluded. Unpublished works alsowere not included. The author then describes her method of listing thebibliography: when there was literature available on the Arab world ingeneral, she included that, and then she would list the seven Gulf States inalphabetical order. If there were no references for a country, then thecountry is not mentioned and she jumps to the next country in that order.Part One contains only one chapter, which is the introduction. ElSannbarypresents an historical overview of the Gulf States, which is herfocus: Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UnitedArab Emirates. A map of the region is presented on page four. She surveysthe history and the present conditions of the seven states economically,politically and educationally. The rest of the chapter includes a one-pagesummary on all the topics, which are mainly the chapters that follow.Part Two comes under the heading "General Background andResources", and consists of three chapters. Chapter Two, "Context ofEducation", contains 165 entries. It starts with the Arab World (entry 1-52)followed by Bahrain (52-60), Iraq (61-76), Kuwait (77-95), Oman (96-102), Qatar (103-108), Saudi Arabia (109-154), and the United ArabEmirates, (155-165). This is the system followed throughout the wholebook. When there is no literature available on a country, it is notmentioned. Chapter Three, "Bibliographies and References", starts withgeneral references (166- 215), and then is followed by Iraq (216), Kuwait(217), Oman (218-2190, Qatar (220-223), United Arab Emirates (224)and finally educational references (225-259). Chapter Four, "Religion andEducation," lists 120 entries (260-380) ...

scholarly journals ‘Globalizing the Local, Localizing the Global’: Writing Space in the Arab Gulf Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
El Mehdi Ait Oukhzame
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The World ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Writing

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are taking the lead in the urbanization boom that is drastically transforming the spatial fabric of the Arab Gulf region. Embedded in the ambitious urban development projects launched by the UAE and Qatar is an endeavour to ‘bring the world to the Arab Gulf region’. To this end, these two states are engaged in a process of collecting and borrowing antique objects and canonized artefacts, as well as reproducing and duplicating some internationally celebrated architectural sites and spaces. While some consider these projects to be ‘part of strategies to prepare for the post-oil era’, others hold that ‘Arab Gulf States aim to strengthen or … creatively (re)construct identitarian patterns’.1 It can be argued that Arab Gulf cities should be looked at as ‘political actors’ due to ‘the functions they fulfill as spatial command posts for globalized capitalism’.2 The production and organization of social space, in this sense, cannot be seen as a ‘dead’ or passive category with no influence over various dimensions of lived experience, including thought, politics and economy. Juxtaposing the UAE’s and Qatar’s urbanization projects with the nineteenth-century phenomenon of world exhibitions and fairs, this article takes the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Villaggio Mall as case studies to investigate the modalities of knowledge generated through processes of cultural and spatial (re)production and the impact of the latter on the construction of personhood and lived experience in the Arab Gulf region.

scholarly journals Measuring Parental Involvement in Dual-Earner Qatari Families

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noora Lari ◽  
Noor Al-Emadi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
Dual Earner ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States

AbstractParental involvement in dual-earner families is a subject that has been widely studied in the literature in Western contexts. Less attention, however, has been allocated to the challenges that dual-earner families encounter in raising children in Arab Gulf states. This paper study aims to address the following questions: To what extent are dual-earner families involved in their children’s lives? What are the gender differences in parental involvement? This paper employed the 2017 survey data of working Qatari males and females to measure their parental involvement and engagement in family time and childcare. The results highlighted parental factors, work characteristics and social supports as key factors determining the degree of parental involvement. The results also showed the gender differences in parental involvement scores, which comprise several factors, including work demands and time spent with children. Taken together, our findings provide insights allowing suggestions for mechanisms that could generate foundational parental welfare policies for dual-earner families in Qatar and the wider Arab Gulf Region as a whole. Further contributions to this research domain could include studies encompassing a wider scope of geographical locations within the Arab Gulf states using robust experimental investigations.

The Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre: A Resource for the Study of Folklore and Traditional Culture

1989 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Martin Varisco
Keyword(s):  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States ◽  
Al Arabiya ◽  
Support Of Research ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Oil Wealth ◽  
The Impact

While the literature on folklore and traditional culture of the Middle East is quite extensive overall, relatively little has appeared on the Arabian Gulf. Unfortunately, this region has undergone rapid socioeconomic change stimulated by the impact of oil wealth. Much of the traditional way of life in the Gulf, as in the case of pearl diving, has disappeared except in the memories of the older generation. In late 1983 an institution was formed as an initiative of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) to document and preserve the folklore of the region. This is the Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre (Markaz al-Turāth al-Sha‘bī li-Duwal al-Khalīj al-Arabīya), located in Doha, Qatar. The center is housed in a complex of five buildings with facilities in support of research projects, documentation, and archives, and a library on the folklore of the region. Several major conferences and a number of small workshops have been sponsored here on issues related to the collection of folklore in the Gulf. The center publishes books in Arabic and English, as well as a quarterly journal, Al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘bīya (MS). This article provides an introduction to the AGSFC as the primary resource for research on the folklore of the Arabian Gulf.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing Childhood and Adolescent Obesity in the Arab Gulf States: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Alaa E. Alaa E. Badawi ◽  
Hamda M. Almansoori ◽  
Reem A. Alnuaimi ◽  
Fares M. Howari
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Adolescent Overweight ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States

BACKGROUND: About one third of the population in the Arab Gulf States are overweight and obese. Among children and adolescents, however, the prevalence of obesity is at rates higher than those reported worldwide. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to systematically review and evaluate factors related to and affecting childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity in the Arab Gulf States. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive and systematic search in PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE(R), Embase and Embase Classic to identify studies reporting on the risk factors of overweight and obesity in children and adolescent in the study region. RESULTS: We examined 22 studies and identified 12 reports to be included into this systematic review. The reviewed studies were from six Arab gulf States (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar) and examined 9,723 children. Approximately 30 different risk factors were identified from the selected studies. These were generally falling under six main risk factors including unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, family-related factors, (particularly mother physical activities and food habits), child feeding practices during infancy, child sleeping pattern and low intake of or deficiency in micronutrients important for growth. CONCLUSION: This study further establishes several of the universal-and regional-specific risk factors that influence the increased prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity in the Arab Gulf States. Consideration of these risk factors is critical for developing effective policies and practices that address this public health concern to curb and reverse the rise in its prevalence within the Gulf Region.

The impact of board gender diversity on corporate social responsibility in the Arab Gulf states

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 577-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman Issa ◽  
Hong-Xing Fang
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Arab Gulf ◽  
Arab Gulf States ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of board gender diversity on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the Arab Gulf states. Also, this research further aims to explore whether the impact of board gender diversity varies across the Arab Gulf states. Design/methodology/approach Ordinary least squares regression is used in this study to test the impact of board gender diversity on the level of CSR disclosure. Manual content analysis is used to evaluate the extent of CSR disclosure in annual reports, stand-alone CSR reports, sustainability reports and website sections to examine the relationship between the extent of CSR reporting and board gender diversity. This study uses the global reporting initiative (GRI) fourth version reporting guidelines to design and define the classifications of CSR reporting checklist. Findings The findings show that there is a statistically significant relationship between the number of female directors and the level of CSR disclosure. The results show that board gender diversity is positively associated with the level of CSR reporting in two countries, namely, Bahrain and Kuwait. Also, the findings reveal that there is a weak positive relationship between the presence of women on the boards and CSR reporting index in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Originality/value This study attempts to fill the gap in the literature, in that no similar study covers the Arab Gulf countries as one economic unit. The study is unique in that it focuses on oil-rich countries. This study is, to the best of this researcher’s knowledge, the first to explore the impact of women’s boards on the extent of CSR reporting, as well as investigating the possible variation of board gender diversity impact on the extent of CSR reporting in the Arabian Gulf region.

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