The Changing Nature of Threat Perception in GCC States: A Domestic Level Analysis

Abstract

The spirit behind the Arab Uprisings in the Middle East was neither an inter-state balance of power rivalry nor was it a movement coloured by religious ideology. It was a struggle by the disgruntled masses at the domestic level who wanted socio-economic and political freedom. Given the huge financial space available, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have managed to withhold the onslaught of the Arab Spring movements, yet their threat perceptions have also changed significantly. However, their strategy of securitisation and sectarianisation of political issues is not a viable nor sustainable option for the future.