ASSESSMENTS

Prospects of a GCC Confederation

Mar 8, 2012 | 19:55 GMT

Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in Riyadh on Dec. 19, 2011

-/AFP/Getty Images

Summary

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said March 6 that it would like to transform from a regional cooperative bloc into a confederation. Riyadh and its GCC allies feel threatened by Arab unrest and a rising Iran, and see the creation of a closer union as an appropriate countermeasure. But given the differences between the GCC member states and their interests, a confederation is unlikely to materialize.

A Gulf Cooperation Council confederation, though unlikely, would change the region's geopolitical makeup....

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