The Gulf region and how GSN covers it – including recent and archived articles, maps, family trees, and other resources.
Briefings & Reports
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Need an expert briefing to support an investment decision?
GSN’s team of experienced analysts are often called on by governments and their agencies, financial institutions, and energy companies to comment on developments in the Gulf region. Our analysts are available for private briefings (either by telephone or in person) and can produce tailored reports and research on a range of topics and issues. For more information contact Mark Ford. Email:mark@cbi-publishing.com
Politics, succession & risk in Saudi Arabia report
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia is a GSN special report, published in January 2010. The new report analyses Saudi policy on issues including succession, domestic and regional politics, defence, energy and financial trends, and features extensively researched biographical entries on 1,200 Al-Sauds from the ruling family’s main branch, together with profiles of leading cadet branch businessmen, and a range of maps and graphics.
Read more about the report
Islamic Finance Report
Published in June 2009, this GSN report is an essential reference tool for both newcomers, and well-established bankers and practitioners. Read more
Endorsements
"GSN now really is doing something (and at a quality level) that isn't available anywhere else that I know."
Professor Gerd Nonneman director Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (IAIS), University of Exeter
"I have been a genuine admirer for many years. I regard GSN as the only one that focuses properly on Arabia and on Saudi Arabia in particular. That alone makes it very special as no country in the region is less understood in the UK than Saudi Arabia."
Stephen Day, consultant and former British ambassador
"GSN is by far the most professional and well-informed report on the region."
Luc Debieuvre, Bank Audi Saradar
"The website is excellent and adds value to an already very valuable publication"
José Silva Pereira general secretary Partex Oil and Gas
"Gulf States Newsletter provides a fund of information and insights for bankers and investors who are serious about doing business in the Gulf."
Francis Beddington, Banker and Economist
Welcome
For over thirty five years, GSN has been breaking news and providing informed analysis on the people, politics and resources of the Gulf region.
Our information is based on independent research and staff expertise. We are not a web-based aggregator that rehashes wire stories and press releases.
Discover why GSN is so valued by its clients and readers by viewing a selection of our articles and content on GSN’s World.
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HEADLINES
Bahrain opposition under pressure as government gains in confidence, tensions rise on the streets
King Hamad’s administration is seeking to portray the island kingdom as committed to reform despite growing sectarianism and opposition complaints about transparency shortfalls more (opens new window)
Iraq election woes
A ban on 511 candidates and 15 political lists so close to the election has caused widespread alarm and raised sectarian tensions, but a last-minute deal could still contain the fall-out. more (opens new window)
LNG pays off for Qatar
Qatar ‘bet the farm’ on LNG but, more than a decade later, its determination has paid off. more (opens new window)
Five ways to start fixing Yemen
The world is finally paying attention to Yemen, stirred by its link to the ‘underpants bomber’, renewed sightings of Al-Qaeda in southern Arabia and the Al-Houthi bloodshed. A London donor conference and national dialogue in Sanaa are but two of a number of initiatives to reverse a deteriorating situation. The government has committed to start talks on a new International Monetary Fund programme. International support is building for more action against Al-Qaeda within the country and against piracy offshore; this could mean more special forces on the ground (the United States has already decided that its counter-terrorism specialists will spend more time in Yemen) and beefing up the Yemen Coast Guard and other services. These are among the “five key items” that UK foreign secretary David Miliband said were agreed at the 27 January ‘Yemen Meeting’ in London.
Beset by crises on several fronts, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown missed the meeting, as he attempted to preserve power-sharing in another deeply divided polity, Northern Ireland. But US secretary of state Hillary Clinton attended – missing President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union speech to attend talks on Yemen and Afghanistan. Some 20 other foreign ministers also attended. The event was fronted by Miliband, who Whitehall sources said had been left out of the loop when Brown originally promoted his Yemen initiative. more (opens new window)
GSN page on Facebook
GSN now has a page on Facebook. We have posted a number of article excerpts and links to background material on the ‘discussions’ board. Pay us a visit on Facebook to interact with our writers and analysts, add your thoughts and posts and become a fan of GSN.
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia
GSN’s new special report Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia was launched to great acclaim at a 15 January seminar in London hosted and co-organised by Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Senior figures from the banking, insurance and risk sectors joined industry and governmental political risk analysts for a frank roundtable discussion of the issues raised by a report that was recognised by discussants – who included Exeter University Professor Gerd Nonneman, political scientist Neil Partrick, Saudi academic Mai Yamani and Chatham House’s Maha Azzam and Claire Spencer – as a significant piece of research and analysis, which “raised the bar” for those researching the Kingdom.
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia focuses on how King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz has sought to reshape the face of Al-Saud rule during his first five years on the throne through initiatives such as creating the Allegiance Council in 2006 and building national consensus on issues critical for the Kingdom’s future.
The new report analyses Saudi policy on issues including succession, domestic and regional politics, defence, energy and financial trends, and features extensively researched biographical entries on 1,200 Al-Sauds from the ruling family’s main branch, together with profiles of leading cadet branch businessmen, and a range of maps and graphics. Read more about the report
Providing rare insights into the structure and workings of the Saudi elite, this report is essential reading for anyone with a serious academic or business interest in Saudi Arabia.
