Research

It has been a decade since the United States (US) led the invasion of Iraq. Subsequent years of war and conflict have left Baghdad one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Nonetheless, Iraqi oil is still a very profitable business. Iraq has the world's fifth largest proven reserves of oil combined with some of the world's lowest production costs. This doesn't even take into consideration that some experts believe that Iraq's unexplored regions could contain even more oil wealth than imagined (perhaps up to as much as 100 billion barrels' worth). The lure of such potential oil wealth helps explain why oil companies and private military companies wish to remain in Iraq. It also explains why Iraq is taking whatever steps it can toward providing its own hydrocarbon security forces. One of the most recent steps Iraq has announced in the oil patch has been the creation of an Iraqi oil police. This state unit was created in response to frequent armed attacks on Iraq's hydrocarbon sector. The oil police's sole mission is to protect oil and gas fields. Within this context two observations can be made. First, the creation of a state unit specifically for the protection of oil and gas interests is an important symbolic act. It sends a message to the oil firms returning to Iraq that while Iraq is open for business, the state itself is taking a hands-on approach in protecting its most lucrative state-asset namely oil. Second, and perhaps more relevant, the creation of a police rather than military unit has its own significance. Unlike its more aggressive counterpart, a police force can be regarded as a civilian extension of state control. It exists to maintain order, protect, and if necessary enforce laws. It does not exist to openly wage warfare or otherwise actively engage in combat. The advent of Iraq's oil police is an important step to limit the activities of what many consider 'foreign military firms' whose actions have not been without controversy in Iraq during the past decade of conflict. Firms like Blackwater (now known as Academi) have been accused of behaving with open aggression against Iraqis, and quite infamously in one case, were indicted in the slaying of civilians. Taking this questionable history into account, the creation of an oil police may complement Iraq's 2012 ban on the use of private military companies (PMCs) by oil subcontractors. However, there continues to be much pressure on Iraq's new protection unit as they struggle to become an efficient state security arm amid the prospect of further oil exploration. Future oil operations will require larger infrastructure that will need to be guarded, and the oil police are already struggling with present-day challenges. The oil police's 25,000 members are not enough to adequately defend up to 4,300 miles of gas and oil pipelines. Although that figure is being augmented by Iraq's army personnel, it is important that the oil police become an independent security unit known for its civil rather than military nature. Such efforts to ensure the existence of civilian hydrocarbon peacekeepers, separate from their military counterpart,

This paper provides an overview of private military companies and their regulatory challenges under International Law. The paper then examines how the Doctrine of Superior Responsibility may be used to create a legal chain of command and accountability that treats companies and their managers as bearing equal culpability (and punishment) for crimes committed by their staff as that of military commanders directly responsible for crimes committed by their troops.

Since the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq, the private military sector has seen the largest growth of profit for decades. As Iraq continues to be the focal point of private military clients, staff and related actors, the recurring issue of legitimacy must be addressed. While many texts focus only on existing or proposed legislation, this book analyses the public perception of private military companies (PMCs) and, of wider significance, how their use by states affects how the general public perceives state legitimacy of monopolizing force. Furthermore, this book provides a timely overview of how the energy sector and PMCs are challenging the established sovereignty of politically fragmented oil states, illustrating how energy firms may become as culpable as states in their partnerships with the private military sector and subsequent political ramifications

This paper analyses the political theory of Realism within an ethical framework. By using Hitler's expansionist Lebensraum as a case study, the paper explores to what extent Realism advocates an ethical approach to state survival and limits a state's use of force.

This paper analyses the numerous Palestinian population of Jordan and the increasing Syrian refugee flow post-Arab Spring. The ability of Palestinians and Syrians to claim historical and political links to Jordan may threaten Jordanian unity amid Arab displacement and continuing political uncertainty

Article analysing how Oman's Sultan Qaboos used oil funds amid civil war to unite modern Oman under his personalised rule, tying all key governing sectors to himself. Through such paternalism Qaboos stabilised Oman but with no children has left the nation in a precarious political position with regards to succession.

The Qatar blockade is the latest aggression in Qatar-Saudi rivalry. Ironically, the blockade has strengthened support for Qatar’s Emir Tamim al-Thani, playing into Qatar’s nationalism through resistance, from the Ottomans to the British and now the GCC, Qatar’s membership notwithstanding. Qatar’s rise through LNG accelerated amid a nineties oil-slump for the Saudis, in which Riyadh’s influence began to wean as US military bases appeared across the Gulf. By 2001, US Central Command in the Gulf (CENTCOM) had even relocated operations from Riyadh to Doha. Coupled with Al Jazeera’s reporting of the Arab Spring and the fall of Gulf monarch allies, the blockade is Saudi Arabia’s attempt to teach its little brother a lesson and force it back into a Saudi-dominant GCC. With the move fragmenting the region, however, the only winners are Iran and Turkey, whose respective military deployments and food aid for Qatar have gained them a new foothold in the Gulf

Kuwait's mediation of the Qatar crisis is symbolically rooted in the desire to avoid another Gulf depression. Understanding the Souk al-Manakh stock market scandal in Kuwait can elucidate how Kuwait views its mediation role at a time when Kuwait wishes to open its stock market to foreign investment.

Sultan Qaboos created a paternal nationalism as the founder of modern Oman , the only GCC state with an open policy toward Tehran and a stable state with limited oil reserves. After Qaboos' death, can new Sultan Haitham bin Tareq maintain Qaboos' legacy and stability while creating his own and will he address domestic challenges that under Qaboos saw Oman's brush with the Arab Spring?

It has been a decade since the United States (US) led the invasion of Iraq. Subsequent years of war and conflict have left Baghdad one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Nonetheless, Iraqi oil is still a very profitable business. Iraq has the world's fifth largest proven reserves of oil combined with some of the world's lowest production costs. This doesn't even take into consideration that some experts believe that Iraq's unexplored regions could contain even more oil wealth than imagined (perhaps up to as much as 100 billion barrels’ worth). The lure of such potential oil wealth helps explain why oil companies and private military companies wish to remain in Iraq. It also explains why Iraq is taking whatever steps it can toward providing its own hydrocarbon security forces.

This book analyzes non-democratic legitimacy during the Arab Spring. During this historic event, monarchs and presidents were forced to defend their rule, whether through Islam, the cultural image of paternalism or the cash flow of welfare. Can Arab leaders still justify apolitical reigns? Are monarchies more respected than republicans or are they too under threat? The author traces the history of apolitical rule in the Arab world, from Islamic roots to the role of Arab leaders in merging religion with socio-economic benefits and cosmetic liberalization. Finally, analysis of speeches given by leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain in response to the Arab Spring are considered. When protesters took to the streets with their slogans, the regimes talked back. This work discusses the weight of their words and why some leaders survived unrest while others were overthrown.