Policy-Making in the GCC

Mark C. Thompson is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He is also Senior Associate Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh. His publications include Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society (2014) and articles in the Journal of Arabian Studies; Asian Affairs; Middle Eastern Studies; and Diplomacy and Statecraft. Neil Quilliam is Senior Research Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London. He also serves as Director for Strategic Advisory Services at Rapidan Group, an energy consultancy. Quilliam is an expert in international relations of the Middle East and focuses on the Gulf Arab states, Syria and Lebanon. Recent publications include a contribution to the book Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy: Conflict and Cooperation (2016) and an article in the journal East Asia (2015). He advises European governments on foreign policy issues and energy companies with operations in the region.

Introduction and Overview
Mark C. Thompson and Neil Quilliam
PART 1: THE STATE AND E-GOVERNMENT
1Identity and State in the Gulf: The Case of Kuwait
Shafeeq Ghabra
2Saudi Arabia’s Support for International Development
Mehtab Currey, Abdullah Al Shoaibi and Nassir Al Kasabi
3GCC Governments Responding to Public Needs through E-government: Progress and Limitations of Public Administration Reform
Sherif Fawzi Abdel Gawad and Maggie Kamel
4Governance, Participation and ICT: Assessing the Role of E-Government in the State of Qatar
Rhea Abraham
PART 2: CITIZENS: ECONOMY AND LABOUR ISSUES
5Economic Diversification and the Emergence of Inclusive Economic Institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council States
I-Tsung Tsai and Abdullah Kaya
6Youth Employability and its Cultural and Institutional Context: Do Current Institutions and Policies Promote or Prevent Greater Productivity and Positivity within Local Labour Markets Towards the Knowledge-Based Economies of the Future?
David Jones, Radhika Punshi and Gauri Gupta
7A Review and Critique of the Saudisation Metanarrative: Bringing ‘the Citizen’ into Focus
Faisal Kattan
PART 3: INSTITUTIONAL PROCESSES
8Institutional Processes and Gender Issues: The Women’s Cultural and Social Society as an Agent of Change in Kuwaiti Politics
Alanoud Alsharekh
9The Rise and Role of State Philanthropy in the United Arab Emirates
Natasha Ridge and Susan Kippels
10The Role of Private, Non-Government Organisations and New State Institutions in the Gulf in the Development of Civil Society: The Example of Saudi Arabia
Adam Kulach
Bibliography
Contributors
Index