Adaptation of the Persian Gulf Monarchies to Global Trends: Experience for Ukraine

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15407/uhj2025.06.137

Keywords:

Persian Gulf, Arabian monarchies, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC), global trends, adaptation to global trends, strategic planning, energy diplomacy, second track diplomacy.

Abstract

The purpose is to study and generalize the experience of the Persian Gulf monarchies in adapting to global trends based on the analysis of their key strategies and to determine the potential of this experience for Ukraine in the conditions of war and post-war recovery. Methodology. General scientific methods of comparison, systematization, and generalization are used. Historical and political science methods are used to study the history of the region, the evolution of political regimes, and their influence on modern international relations and world politics. Scientific novelty. For the first  time, the experience of the Arabian monarchies in adapting to global trends is highlighted as a model for Ukraine, in particular, the strategy of diversifying relations, informal diplomacy, and technological breakthrough; the specifics of their balancing between geopolitical centers are revealed; the  application of these approaches to strengthening Ukrainian energy security and countering hybrid threats is analyzed. Main results. It is argued that the Persian Gulf monarchies, as centers of power of a new type, are successfully adapting to global trends, combining strategic planning, economic reforms, social programs, and flexible diplomacy to maintain stability and strengthen influence, considering foreign policy as a tool for implementing national interests, the main of which are economic. At the global level, taking into account the scale and pace of their technological development and political influence as a result of adaptation to global trends, the Arabian monarchies have found themselves at the center of international politics and economic relations, claiming to be among the leading countries influencing the course of the world political process. They demonstrate skill in diversifying partnerships, avoiding dependence on one pole, active use of second-track diplomacy with the involvement of non-governmental organizations, business and think tanks, as well as in technological positioning as financial, investment, and transport hubs. This experience offers Ukraine practical tools for global integration, investment attraction, peacekeeping initiatives, and strategic planning, contributing to strengthening its positions in the regional and global context.

References

Saudu Vision 2030. URL: https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en

We the UAE 2031. URL: https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/strategies-initiatives-and-awards/strategies-plans-and-visions/innovation-and-future-shaping/we-the-uae-2031-vision

The principles of the 50. URL: https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/uae-in-the-future/the-principles-of-the-50

Document on Human Fraternity. URL: https://www.forhumanfraternity.org/document-on-human-fraternity/

Full text of the Abraham Accords and agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates / Bahrain. URL: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/15/politics/israel-uae-abraham-accords-documents/index.html

Ministry of foreign affairs of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of foreign affairs. URL: https://www.mofa.gov.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx

Abrahamic Family House. URL: https://www.abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae/about-us

(2025). Congressional research service. The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy. URL: https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RS/PDF/RS21852/RS21852.154.pdf

The world Factbook. Explore all countries - United Arab Emirates. URL: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-arab-emirates/

The official site of Gulf Cooperation Council. URL: https://www.gcc-sg.org/ar-sa/Pages/default.aspx

Implications of Russia's Activities in the Middle East and North Africa Region for U.S. Strategy and Interests. URL: https://nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/op541221_implications_russia.pdf

League of Arab States. URL: https://www.arableagueonline.org

Koppel, O. & Parkhomchuk, O. (2021). Megatrends of the world politics. Economic Annals-XXI. 192 (7-8(2)): 4-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V192-01

Koppel, O.A. (2020). Hlobalni trendy svitovoi polityky. Rehionalni studii. 20: 109-114. [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2663-6170/2020.20.18

Koppel, O.A. & Parkhomchuk, O.S. (2022). Hlobalna polityka: retrospektyvnyi i prohnostychnyi dyskurs. Aktualni problemy filosofii i sotsiolohii. 39: 142-146. [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/apfs.v039.2022.24

Koppel, O.A. & Parkhomchuk, O.S. (2022). Mehatrendy hlobalnoho rozvytku. Visnyk KNU imeni Tarasa Shevchenka. Mizhnarodni vidnosyny. 56, 1: 10-15. [in Ukrainian].

Quandt, W. (1981). Saudi Arabia in the 1980's. Foreign Policy, Security and Oil. Washington.

Gause, F. (2015). Understanding the Gulf States. Democracy: A Journal of Ideas.

Gause, F. (2019). Should We Stay or Should we Go? The United States and the Middle East. Survival Journal. 61 (5): 7-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00396338.2019.1662114

Gause, F. (2023). The Kingdom and the power. How to salvage the US-Saudi relationship. Foreign Affairs. January/February.

Al-Suwaidi, J. (2018). United Arab Emirates Society in the Twenty-First Century: Issues and Challenges in a Changing World. United Arab Emirates.

Al-Suwaidi, K. The UAE After the Arab Spring : Strateg y for Survival. URL: https://dokumen.pub/the-uae-after-the-arab-spring-strategy-for-surviv-al-9780755648030-9780755648061-9780755648047.html

Al-Ketbi, E. (2021). The UAE Power-Building Model and Foreign Policy Shifts, Emirates Policy Center. Abu Dhabi.

Koppel, O.A. & Parkhomchuk, O.S. (2024). Vplyv rekonfihuratsii blyzkoskhidnoi pidsystemy na mizhnarodni vidnosyny (bezpekovyi aspekt). Skhidnyi svit. 1: 119-131. [in Ukrainian].

Fedianin, V. (2021). Avraamovi uhody yak znakova podiia zovnishnoi polityky Obiednanykh Arabskykh Emirativ. Hrani. 24, 7-8: 87-97. [in Ukrainian].

Halliday, F. (2017). The Middle East in International Relations. Power, Politics, and Ideology. Cambridge University Press.

Halliday, F. (1975). Arabia without Sultans. London: Penguin Books.

Halliday, F. (1973). Iran: Dictatorship and development. London: Penguin Books.

Halliday, F. (1974). Arabia Without Sultans. London: Penguin Books.

Halliday, F. (1990). Revolution and foreign policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511622366

Cordesman, A. (1984). The Gulf and the Search for Strategic Stability: Saudi Arabia, the Military Balance in the Gulf, and Trends in the Arab-Israeli Military Balance. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.

Cordesman, A. (1987). Western Strategic Interests in Saudi Arabia. London.

Cordesman, A. (1988). The Gulf and the West. Westview Press, Colorado.

Cordesman, A. (1997). US Forces in the Middle East: Resources and Capabilities. Westview Press, Colorado.

Cordesman, A. Iran and the May 12th Deadline: Finding Winning Compromises. URL: https://www.csis.org/analysis/iran-and-may-12th-deadline-finding-winning-compromises

Ramazani, R. (1975). Iran's Foreign Policy. Carlottesville: Univ. press of Virginia.

Ramazani, R. (1975). Revolutionary Iran. Carlottesville: Univ. press of Virginia.

Ramazani, R. (1975). The Gulf Cooperation Council. Carlottesville: Univ. press of Virginia.

Koppel, O. (1998). Perska zatoka: problema bezpeky v 80-ti - 90-ti rr. Kyiv. [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-0136(98)00179-4

Petiur, R.K. (2007). Rehion Blyzkoho ta Serednoho Skhodu v zovnishnii politytsi Ukrainy (Extended abstract of Candidate's thesis in political science). Kyiv. [in Ukrainian].

Subkh, M.A. (2015). Transformatsiini protsesy v krainakh Rady spivrobitnytstva arabskykh derzhav Zatoky v umovakh hlobalizatsii (2001-2010) (Ph D thesis in history). Kyiv. [in Ukrainian].

Koppel, O.A. & Fedianin, V.O. (2022). The foreign policy strategy of the UAE in the context of Ukrainian-Emirati relations. Global Journals of Human-Social Science. 22.

Koppel, O. & Karvatskyi, D. (2024). Osoblyvosti vzaiemodii Ukrainy z monarkhiiamy Perskoi zatoky u konteksti posylennia bezpekovykh vyklykiv. Actual Problems of International Relations. 159. [in Ukrainian].

Novytska, N. (2023). Monarkhii Perskoi zatoky u borotbi za Afryku: myrni ta humanitarni initsiatyvy, bezpeka i investytsii. Mizhnarodni vidnosyny. Seriia Politychni nauky. 20. [in Ukrainian].

Fedianin, V. (2022). Vidnosyny Ukraina - OAE u period pislia "Arabskoi vesny". Politykus. 1: 158-168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-9616.2022-1.26 [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-9616.2022-1.26

Fedianin V. (2022). Pozytsiia OAE po vidnoshenniu do povnomasshtabnoi ahresii Rosiiskoi Federatsii proty Ukrainy. Politykus. 2: 109-117. [in Ukrainian].

Perepelytsia, H. & Novytska, N. (2022). Vplyv ahresii RF proty Ukrainy na bezpekove stanovyshche derzhav Perskoi zatoky. Ukraina dyplomatychna. 23: 306-314. [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37837/2707-7683-2022-18

Ulrichsen, K.C. (2016). The Gulf States in International Political Economy. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385611

Davidson, C.M. (2013). After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies. Oxford University Press.

Davidson, C.M. (2010). The Persian Gulf and Pacific Asia: From Indifference to Interdependence. Hurst Publishers.

Kamrava, M. (2011). The International Politics of the Persian Gulf. Syracuse University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1j1ntkn

Bianco, C. (2016). The Fight for Survival: Threat Perceptions in the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council after the Arab Uprisings (Ph D Thesis). University of Exeter.

Bianco, C. & Stansfield, G. (2018). The Intra-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Crisis: An Historical Perspective. Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik Commentary.

Abrahamic Family House. URL: https://www.abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae/about-us

Kamrava, M. (Ed.). (2020). Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429201981

Ukraina provela naibilshu zustrich iz pryvatnym sektorom Saudivskoi Aravii z pochatku povnomasshtabnoho vtorhnennia. URL: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/news/ukraina-provela-naibilshu-zustrich-iz-pryvatnym-sektorom-saudivskoi-aravii-z-pochatku-povnomasshtabnoho-vtorhnennia [in Ukrainian].

(24.09.2025). Ukraina ta Obiednani Arabski Emiraty (OAE) uklaly uhodu pro vseosiazhne ekonomichne partnerstvo. Uriadovyi kurier. URL: https://ukurier.gov.ua/uk/news/ukrayina-ta-obyednani-arabski-emirati-oae-uklali-u/ [in Ukrainian].

Published

2025-12-12

How to Cite

Koppel, O., & Parkhomchuk, O. (2025). Adaptation of the Persian Gulf Monarchies to Global Trends: Experience for Ukraine. Ukrainian Historical Journal, (6), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.15407/uhj2025.06.137

Issue

Section

WORLD HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS