The struggle of the Gulf goes Global: Nation Branding and Globalization
The Gulf Cooperation Council is made up of Middle Eastern states interested in interconnection, integration, and coordination. These countries have developed a regional coalition because they share some similarities. First, they are gas and oil producers. Second, they share the Khaleeji identity. Third, they share a similar language and religion. Finally, each state has a monarchy. Despite their similarities, the Gulf nations have used nation branding strategies to develop identities that give them a competitive advantage as global actors. This paper examines the nation branding strategies employed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Moreover, it explores the rise of GCC countries as influential and powerful global actors are taking place at a time the globalized world is becoming a multi-polar system with diffused power influenced by the overlapping layers of global, regional, and national governance. Further, the U.S.A, which had been viewed as a world leader, has engaged in isolationism and nationalism during the Coronavirus pandemic. As a result, GCC states have become involved in global issues due to the void left by the lack of leadership from the U.S.A. GCC countries share a Gulf identity but have engaged in individual nation branding strategies to enhance their influence and power as global actors.
The GCC States and Globalization
The GCC has been developed based on the similarities shared by Middle Eastern states share and the Khaleeji identity. Despite their similarities, GCC states have been involved in global issues as individual national governments rather than as the GCC. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have developed national branding strategies that set them apart from one another. Moreover, each of these states has deepened their involvement in energy governance, climate change politics, and global financial architecture reforms, among other global issues.
Factors that Led to the Rise of Gulf State as Global Actors
Several structural changes in global trade patterns and the economic order have resulted in new opportunities for GCC states. GCC countries have the financial resources and hydrocarbon reserves that have attracted West Asia. As a result, the region has experienced rapid internationalization.
Partnership Development.
The Gulf States have developed partnerships that have elevated their status as global actors. According to Hanieh (2018, p. 1), in 2016, a partnership venture between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud and Masayoshi Son revealed the role GCC countries like Saudi Arabia are currently playing in the world’s global financial markets.
The Gulf States have developed partnerships with other nations. These partnerships have enabled the Gulf nations to have access to new markets for their energy products. Ulrichsen (2013, p. 2) notes that in 2009 America’s importation of Saudi Arabia’s oil dropped by fifty percent due to the economic and financial repression. At the same time, China’s demands for energy products from Saudi Arabia surged. The economic and political links between the Gulf States and Eurasia countries is based on food security, maritime security concerns, and energy interdependence.
Global Events
According to Ulrichsen (2013, p.6), the positioning and profile of Gulf countries within the global system were enhanced by several factors: First, America’s pivot to Asia policy as implemented by the Obama administration. Second, revenues accrued to the Gulf States during the oil boom that begun in 2002 and ended in 2008. Finally, the systemic flaws of American economic development strategies that were revealed by the 2007 economic and financial crisis. Due to the involvement of GCC countries in reshaping the institutional architecture of global governance, policymakers in the region became increasingly away from the GCC’s pivotal position during the rebalancing of global political and economic power.
The Gulf States and Global Governance
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and other Gulf nations have taken control of the world’s assets worth quite a lot of trillion of dollars. Hanieh (2018, p. 2) documents that GCC states have access to large financial surpluses due to their oil wealth, which has enabled them to make several private and state investment. The Gulf’s massive natural gas and oil reserves are critical to industrial production and transport in the world (Hanieh, 2018, p. 2). As a result, the circulation of natural gas liquids and crude oil from the GCC has not only made the region a pivotal focus of global politics; it has made GCC important players in every aspect of global governance.
In the past decade, GCC states have projected greater leverage in reshaping international attitudes toward wealth investment by sovereign states (Ulrichsen, 2013, p. 10). After the financial crash of 2008, the Gulf injected short-term liquidity into American and European markets.
According to Ulrichsen (2013, p. 10), there were reports that the Bush administration requested Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia for three hundred billion dollars to bail out the American automobile industry. Further, one-third of emergency funds available to European governments were from Gulf States’ sovereign wealth fund. The involvement of Gulf countries in global issues has led to the State-led efforts to brand themselves as leaders’ global governances and leaders in shaping global discussions.
Nation Branding
In order to shape their integration into the international system, GCC countries have embarked on national branding strategies. According to Peterson (2006, p.745), a brand is the idea customers have about a product. Thus, a state brand is an idea the world has about a country. According to Peterson (2006, p. 745), nation branding is a concept derived from cultural branding. Nations incorporate brand management practices in the development of a unique identity.
Nation branding is essential because it gives a country a distinct set of traits that differentiates it from other nations. Anholt (2007, p.16) suggests a successful state brand is equivalent to a competitive identity that creates a spirit of unwavering nationalism despite the presence of historical, territorial, political, economic, linguistic, ethnic, social, and cultural differences within the country. Nation branding is an important resource that enables states to obtain a competitive advantage in the international marketplace.
Currently, the popularity of U.S.A policies, culture, services, and products is declining, resulting in a vacuum in the international marketplace (Anholt 2007, p.20). For countries like the Gulf States, which are interested in building competitive advantage as global actors, America’s isolationism provides room for expansion beyond the region and into the international sphere. Through national branding, GCC countries are able to attract investors, tourists, and a skilled workforce.
Nation Branding Strategies by Different GCC Countries
National branding has become vital to the Gulf States’ national vision. According to Zeineddine (2017, p.212), nation branding, as practiced by Gulf countries, is defined by soft power. Therefore, they focus on attracting nations and citizens to their countries due to the attractiveness of their policies, political ideals, and culture.
Just like commercial branding, nation-branding strategies incorporate marketing techniques applied in intelligent ways to help a nation achieve its economic goals. GCC countries like Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have developed a robust and strategic nation branding system that has boosted the countries identity across the world. Economic diversification is one way through which GCC States have been able to develop distinct characteristics that differentiate one Gulf State from another. Due to globalization, the different GCC states have incorporated western values in the development of modern cities and economic programs.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s main feature is the abundant oil reserves that fuel the world’s economies. On a national level, 80% – 90% of Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Production depends either indirectly or directly on oil resources (Magri and Perteghella, 2018, p. 15). Saudi Arabia is a rentier state where resources are distributed through subsidies, employment, and public services to its citizenry.
Compared to other nations where citizens contribute to their state by paying taxes. In Saudi Arabia, citizens are eligible for income. Thus, through the commercialization of natural resources, which are managed by the government, the citizens become recipients of wealth (Magri and Perteghella, 2018, p. 15). In order to secure Saudi Arabia’s survival in a post-oil world, Saudi Arabia developed a Vision 2030 plan that focuses on investing in other industries other than oil.
Megacities in the Gulf region are a representation of how globalization has changed the region. Like other GCC states, Saudi Arabia’s nation branding is rooted in the development of petro-modern capitalist cities. According to Saif (2017) plans to develop the first capitalist city in the world worth more than five hundred billion dollars in underway in Saudi Arabia. The city known as NEOM is part of Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030 and a project that will transform the country into a financial, tourist, and logistical hub.
Aly (2019, p. 99) argues that the development of NEOM is a form of nation branding known as city branding. City branding through the development of cities like NEOM is meant to rebrand Saudi Arabia’s brand identity and endorse the Crown prince’s position of power.
NEOM is described as a futurist city with excellent social and economic activities. As a pioneer of future cities, Saudi Arabia intends to develop sectors such as biotech, water, and energy within NEOM (Aly, 2019, p. 102). Branding Saudi Arabia has a hub for capitalist cities that enables Saudi Arabia to attract investors and transnational citizens interested in an idyllic way of life and opportunities offered by the futurist city.
United Arab Emirates
The Gulf region is characterized by nations interested in building an identity that sets it apart from other GCC countries. The United Arab Emirates has focused on maximizing their visibility internationally by becoming a world leader in specialized fields. According to Ulrichsen (2010, p.8), in the UAE, Abu Dhabi has specialized in governance and renewable energy research with the development of the Masdar Initiative. In addition, the city has become the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy. Dubai, on the other hand, has become a leader in magnificent mega-projects and economic diversification (Ulrichsen 2010, p.8). Just like Saudi Arabia, which has diversified into other sectors, the UAE has invested in the tourism industry.
The UAE’s competitive identity is linked to Dubai’s branding. According to Zeineddine (2017, p.213), the UAE began implementing its branding strategy in the 1980s by positioning and promoting the nation as a global financial gateway. Initially, the Dubai project was reinforced by oil revenue, but over time, it developed into a major economic sector as Dubai transitioned from a sleepy desert village to a glamorous megacity (Zeineddine, 2017, p.213).
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the Middle East became part of the world’s emerging new travel destinations. According to Zaidan (2016, p. 2), the United Arabs Emirate’s nation branding has incorporated modern luxurious travel experiences as one of its features. Dubai is branded as a city with opportunities for shopping tourism all year round. There are different shopping, fashion, and entertainment festivals such as the Summer Surprises and Shopping Festival in Dubai that provides tourists with opportunities to combine entertainment and shopping (Zaidan, 2016, p. 10). The UAE has invested in state of the art mega building projects. As a result, Dubai has contemporary malls and shopping centers.
Qatar
Qatar is a small sovereign state in the Gulf region, with one of the largest gas reserves in the world (Peterson, 2006, p. 723). Since Qatar is a small country, nation branding has played a major role in the development of the country’s competitive identity. Apart from being known for its immense natural gas reserves, Qatar has implemented policies that were deliberately designed to maintain the country’s economic systems while managing a blockade initiated by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The blockade is a major crisis that pushed Qatar towards developing a partnership with Asian countries. According to Chak (2020), the UAE and Saudi Arabia imposed a blockade on Qatar claiming the nation funded terrorism, used Al Jazeera to destabilize the Gulf region, and had continued to maintain relations with Iran.
Chak (2020) describes the Qatar blockade as the effect of post-colonialism where the Saudi-quartet are subservient to American hegemony, while Qatar and Iran refused to submit to the U.S.A. The blockade influenced Qatar’s decision to develop partnerships with new regional players such as Russia and China (Wallerstein, 2009).
Qatar has become a member of several international organizations, become a venue for the world sporting circuit, hosted several major international conferences, and agreed to host America’s central command regional headquarters (Peterson, 2006, p.732). Due to the strategies Qatar has employed in recent times, the state has redefined its reputation and image.
The GCC during a Global Pandemic
According to Diwan (2020), countries in the Gulf region had experienced other forms of Coronavirus epidemics. These include the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012. As a result, they had experiences, technological capacity, and ample resources to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
Krieg (2020) argues that the Saudi-led blockade prepared Qatar for the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the blockade, Qatar had learned how to localize supplies, build strategic reserves, and diversify the supply chain. The system Qatar developed in response to the blockade has become essential in responding to the social crisis caused by the Coronavirus crisis.
Gulf countries are at close proximity to Iran, one of the hotspots of Covid-19 outside China, GCC states have had an estimated 17,000 cases and 122 deaths (Diwan, 2020). Despite having lower cases compared to Europe and North America, there are expectations that the economic impact of the pandemic will be devastating in the Gulf region.
Islam during the Coronavirus Pandemic
GCC’s Khaleeji identity is a Gulf identity that is rooted in the commonalities that the different states share. Gulf nations practice Islam, produce oil, and have monarchies that can be traced backed to the pre-colonial era. Moreover, national interests drive the cooperation in GCC. Despite the desire to project a common identity, GCC States have registered sharp differences in their pursuit of a competitive identity. Each nation has carved out a niche that sets one Gulf country apart from another.
The differences between Islamic nations have become pronounced with their responses to the Coronavirus pandemic. Islamic countries such as Iran have halted Friday prayers, and Kuwait banned mass gatherings while Pakistan had not banned congregational prayers.
There have been debates regarding Islamic practices during the COVID-19 crisis (Khan, 2020). Although Islam and Islamic practices are an essential part of the Gulf identity and way of life, most Gulf governments have discouraged mass gathering during prayers in an attempt to lessen the spread of the Coronavirus.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis
Gulf countries are heavily dependent on the oil industry. The other Gulf States have invested in economic diversification programs; their investment is in industries such as tourism, which has been equally affected by the lockdowns and travel bans initiated by national governments in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus. Consequently, the national ambitions that have been central to developing the competitive identities of each Gulf country are at peril.
The Coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on every aspect of life. According to Diwan (2020), the Gulf region has been affected by the decline in crude oil prices from fifty-one dollars to twenty-one dollars in March. Saudi Arabia responded to the decline by accelerating oil production to ensure they had enough revenue to uphold Aramco’s value while accumulating funds to finance Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic diversification projects. The Coronavirus epidemic threatens the viability of the current projects that are meant to provide Gulf nations with competitive identities that will have enhance their influence and power as global actors in a globalized world.
Implications of the COVID-19 Crisis
Gulf countries have concerns about the current and the aftermath impact of the pandemic. According to Telci (2020, p. 10), the UAE and Saudi Arabia will have to scale down their regional policy ambitions due to the decline of their economic potential. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has engaged in various armed conflicts in MENA countries such as Yemen, where the nation spent an estimated four hundred million dollars. Thus, Saudi Arabia’s involvement in MENA is an expensive venture.
As the economic constraints caused by the COVID-19 outbreak take hold, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and the other GCC states will have to re-evaluate their foreign policies. According to the UN News (2020), there has been a ceasefire in Yemen in an attempt to minimize the devastating impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, international summits held in the UAE have been postponed. The Coronavirus outbreak has had an impact on GCC’s foreign policies. It has halted the exacerbating disputes between states and the adventurism that has characterized the region in recent times.
Conclusion
The emergence of GCC states as global actors have been influenced by the rise of oil prices, which has given the oil-producing countries oil wealth, which has ensured they are in a pivot position globally. In their quest to secure a competitive advantage in the world, GCC States have engaged in nation branding strategies, which has changed the world’s perception of the Gulf States. Due to nation branding, Gulf countries have developed westernized modern megacities, which have been known for as financial and tourist hubs. Moreover, Gulf-Asia partnerships enabled the Gulf countries to widen their partnerships beyond the partnerships they had forged with European countries and the U.S.A. The rise of the Gulf countries as global actors has been heavily financed by oil revenue. Nevertheless, they have become essential actors in global governance. During the financial recession, Gulf countries took part in the redesign of the world’s financial architecture. In recent times, the COVID-19 crisis has revealed the differences within the Gulf States regarding Islam. Moreover, it has demonstrated that there could be a downward trajectory in the GCC States’ economic growth. Consequently, COVID-19 will have an impact on the GCC States’ influence on global governance.
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