• Regional power dynamics and rivalries
• Influence of external actors
• Regional Security Complex Theory
Seminar questions (small group discussion):
• Apply the Regional Security Complex Theory to analyze the security dynamics of the Gulf region. How do overlapping security complexes and identity considerations influence regional stability?
• Discuss the role of non-state actors, such as militias and transnational organizations, in shaping the security complex of the Gulf region.
– references:
Required readings:
• Barry Buzan and Ole Waever, Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press), 2003, pp. 40-93.
• Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, The Rise and Decline of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in Mehran Kamrava, Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics (London; New York: Routledge, 2020), pp. 416-431.
• Houchang Hassan-Yari, “The United States and the Persian Gulf: the art of surviving in stormy waters”, in Mehran Kamrava, Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics (London; New York: Routledge, 2020), pp. 457-473.