Stepping away from the abyss: a gradual approach towards a new security system in the Persian Gulf

Abstract

A series of incidents have recently brought the Persian Gulf to the brink of war. While all the countries in the region are wary of the catastrophic consequences that a war could have, they appear trapped in a highly risky vicious cycle of mutual suspicion, inflammatory rhetoric and tit-for-tat actions. The region is in dire need of a functional regional security system capable of managing risks, facilitating dialogue and enabling peaceful resolution of conflicts while at the same time favouring the emergence of cooperative order to replace confrontation. To address the shortcomings of the Gulf security environment, this ebook aims to answer several questions and to propose a new approach to exit from the current stalemate. What are the key drivers of the current regional insecurity? What options are there to respond to the unfolding crisis and why have previous efforts to create an effective regional security architecture failed? How can a new regional security-building approach emerge? The eBook proposes a security building continuum approach made of gradual, informal and incremental steps and incorporating non-traditional security instruments as a pathway toward achieving long-term sustainable security in the region.