Strategic Assessment

The article explores the new ideological threat to the Gulf Cooperation Council that revolves around Qatar-Saudi rivalry and ideological differences. It examines the roots of the threat and the implications for the region through the example of the Arab uprising. The article argues that the Muslim Brotherhood, in its ideology and organizational operations, has become the core issue that challenges the relations within the GCC. The article explores how this intra-Gulf ideological split has affected the respective approaches to the war in Syria, and then puts the issue in the broader regional context of the Sunni-Shia confrontation, the reduced US involvement in the region, and the greater Arab uprising.