Algeria-GCC Relations: Geopolitics, Energy, Security (Webinar)

This webinar was co-organised with the Society for Algerian Studies. Historically Algeria has had its ups and downs with the Gulf states. During the Arab Spring, Algeria was at odds with the assertive and proactive approach from GCC states, most notably in Libya, where Algeria opposed interventions and involvement from Qatar and the UAE. In line with its commitment to non-interventionism, the country also rejected involvement in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in 2015. More recently, Algiers remained neutral throughout the intra-GCC rift, an easier accomplishment due to the lack of economic engagement and personalised ties it has with the monarchies, when compared with its neighbours. During this webinar, speakers explored this historical background, and took stock of the geo-political and economic relations between Algeria and the countries of the GCC. Arslan Chikhaoui is Chairman of Nord Sud Ventures, a consultancy company established in Algeria in 1993. He is a member of the Defense and Security Forum Advisory Board, the World Economic Forum Expert Council and the UNSCR 1540 Civil Forum. Arslan is a visiting lecturer at both the Algerian Staff Academy and Algerian Civil Defense Academy. He is active in various Track II task forces such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Security in the Mediterranean Region, the Maghreb and Sahel, WMD Free Zone in MENA, and Security Sector Reform (SSR) in North Africa. He has served as Senior Advisor to the Algerian Institute for Strategy Studies (1991-1994) and as Senior Coordinator of the Development Aid and Cooperation Programs for Algeria (1982-1990). He contributed to the report Algérie, Perspective 2005 (Algeria: Forecast 2005) carried out in 1991/92, and has been involved in the development of the Algerian non-hydrocarbon export policy and the restructuring and privatization policies of Algerian SOCs. Fatiha Dazi-Héni is a Middle East researcher specializing on the GCC monarchies at L’Institut de recherche stratégique de l'École militaire (IRSEM). Fatiha also lectures at Sciences Po Lille where she teaches history and socio-political developments in the Arabian Peninsula. Fatiha is author of L’Arabie saoudite en 100 questions (Tallandier, 2020). She is also a contributor to the Arab Reform Initative's e-book A Way Out of the Inferno? Rebuilding Security in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Yemen (2017) and to Yahyia Zubir’s edited book The Politics of Algeria Domestic issues and International Relations (Routledge, 2019). She recently published, The New Saudi Leadership and its Impact on Regional Policy (The International Spectator, Italian Journal of International Affairs, Nov 2021). Sebastian Sons is a researcher at the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO-Bonn). Previously, he served as an advisor for the Regional Programme “Cooperation with Arab Donors” (CAD) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). As a political analyst, he is consulted by German and international political institutions as well as by international journalists to provide expertise on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Among many other articles and analyses on Saudi Arabia, he published the book Built on Sand: Saudi Arabia – A Problematic Ally (in German) in 2016. He also conducted a study with the title A new “Pivot to the Maghreb” or “more of the same”? The transformative shift of the Gulf engagement in North Africa in 2021. Sebastian holds a Ph.D. from the Humboldt University Berlin with a thesis on media discourses on labor migration from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.