[ad_1]
GCC’s diversity can help bring peace to the region
Finally, the 41st summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last week marked the end of a seriously damaging rupture that had divided its members since the summer of 2017. The “solidarity and stability” agreement, announced by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and mediated by Kuwait and the United States, ended the boycott of Qatar and paved the way for the restoration of relations.
What have been described as irreconcilable differences between GCC members reflect a debate with a wide range of opinions on the main challenges facing the Arab and Muslim worlds. They include issues such as political Islam, terrorism, peace with Israel, and relations with Egypt, Turkey, and Iran. All these questions are entangled with the various conflicts and crises in the wider region: Syria, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. Competition between the GCC states in support of opposing factions in these regional conflicts has had disastrous consequences.
These differences can be turned to an advantage if the GCC states cooperate to resolve conflicts in the region. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar collectively have connections that stretch from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Morocco. Its political potential is no less important than its economic and financial power. Furthermore, they are favorably disposed to play a mediating role and have historically been inclined towards promoting stability and conflict resolution.
Power can be projected more effectively by being an indispensable player with a positive role. This type of soft power is more useful and sustainable than members who develop their military hard power. Furthermore, most GCC states do not have the demographic requirements to build strong standing armies and the new generation is less open to the culture of conflict that has dominated the region for the past 60 years.
The GCC states are united by being allies of the United States and their survival depends on American protection rather than their own military capabilities. They are also united in opposition to Iran’s “Axis of Resistance”. A general reorientation towards peace in the region is the best antidote to the axis of resistance and its perpetual war agenda.
Paradoxically, if the states that make up the GCC were more united, their potential role could diminish. Their diversity of opinions and individual relationships with opposing factions places them in a unique position to play a critical role in establishing peace throughout the region. When they compete, they make these conflicts worse, but if they reach a consensus and convince each other to support the same side, they will lose that role. Therefore, it is to their advantage to agree to disagree and turn their problems into opportunities.
A general reorientation towards peace is the best antidote to the axis of resistance and its agenda of perpetual war.
Nadim shehadi
Instead of supporting opposing factions, they can mediate between them. They can only make that positive contribution through cooperation. For example, in the Palestinian context, Qatar has contacts with Hamas and the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have influence with Fatah, but neither of them can solve all the problems on their own. The same is true in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, where they have the power of mediation if they cooperate.
They may also have a broader regional and international role with Turkey and Iran. Oman has a history of mediating between Iran and the US, Qatar assists with the Taliban and Saudi Arabia, especially during the reign of King Abdullah, promoted reconciliation in Lebanon and Syria, and proposed the Arab Peace Initiative to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Such an agenda for regional peace will also enhance the internal security and stability of the GCC by promoting greater tolerance of political dissent within each of the member states. It is natural that, in any society, there is a diversity of opinions, especially on the big issues such as the role of Islam, normalization with Israel, relations with conflict zones and attitudes towards war and peace. Reconciliation and cooperation between the GCC states will help alleviate internal pressures in each of these countries.
In an era when populism and nationalism are on the rise globally, with rejection of multiculturalism and intense refugee and migration crises, the GCC states are evolving in the opposite direction. What initially began as a reliance on foreign labor has evolved into richly cosmopolitan cultures that truly combine elements from various continents, moving toward greater tolerance for diversity in their societies.
For too long, the image of the Middle East has been a negative one of violence, radicalism, fanaticism and wars combined with the extremes of excessive wealth and abject poverty, corruption and dictatorships. This has been changing in the last decade with the emergence of a new globalized generation protesting against that reality and the influence of Iranian-sponsored militias. The era of total dependence on oil wealth is almost over and what is needed is to develop alternatives that rely more on human capital and a peaceful environment, which the GCC can help create far beyond its own borders.
• Nadim Shehadi is the executive director of LAU Headquarters and Academic Center in New York and an associate member of Chatham House in London.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arab News.
