Joseph Kostiner 
Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region 

The course at hand entitled Cooperation and Conflict in the Gulf Region is part of the module Conflict and Cooperation in International Relations of our B.A. Politics and Organization. Hence its subject is at the core of this module and takes the Persian Gulf region as an example to show how conflicts emerge, int- act and intensify, but also how actors try to tackle these conflicts through inter- tional cooperation and build a security architecture in the Gulf region. The issues addressed theoretically in the other courses of this module are deepened here empirically. We have decided to take the Gulf region as a case in point because of the – tense conflicts which concern not only the countries there but also Europe and the Western hemisphere. Due to its oil reserves the Gulf region has a central position in the world economy, and due to the struggle against Islamism and terrorism the unsolved security issues are in the main focus of International Re- tions.

Table of Content

The Iran-Iraq War.- The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict.- Between the Gulf Wars: Restrained Conflict.- Al-Qa’ida’s Challenge: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the War Against Terrorism, 1992–2005.- Conclusion.

About the author

Joseph Kostiner, Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University.