(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The 11th Annual Gulf Studies Forum, held by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha from November 30 to December 1, 2024, came underway in Doha on Saturday November 30.
This round is organized into two tracks, the first is“Arab Gulf States and the Palestine Question” and the second is“The Gulf City as a Structure and Social Agent”. Researchers from the Gulf, other Arab states, and beyond will present a total of 40 research papers across 14 sessions and a keynote.
The forum began with opening remarks from His Excellency, Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Qatar Minister of State, introduced by Alanoud Al-Khalifa, researcher at the ACRPS Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit.
His Excellency noted the pioneering role of the Arab Center in raising public awareness about issues of concern to the Arab region, in particular the Gulf.
Dr Khulaifi stressed that the Gulf States and other Arab and Islamic countries will remain focused on the Palestine question.
These countries seek to harness all their capabilities to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their just efforts to achieve self-determination.
The stability and security of the region are closely linked to a just solution to the Palestine question.
He pointed to the pivotal role played by the State of Qatar in promoting dialogue and peacemaking and stressed the importance of mediation as a principal tool for resolving conflicts.
He went on to review Qatar's efforts in resolving regional and international conflicts, including its mediation in humanitarian issues; such as supporting families affected by conflicts.
He called for transforming the ideas emerging from the forum into practical steps to enhance stability and sustainable peace in the region.
He also spoke about Qatar's efforts regarding the Palestine question, stressing the need to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinians in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution.
Arab Gulf States' Stances toward the Palestine Question
Proceedings started with the first session of the first track titled“The Attitudes of the Gulf States toward the Palestine Question”, chaired by Ghanim Al-Najjar. Abdulaziz bin Othman bin Saqr analysed the Saudi stance on the Israeli war on Gaza, emphasizing its core demand for Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of an independent state within the pre-1967 borders. Abdullah Al-Ghailani explored Gulf positions on the Palestine question, tracing their evolution from the 1948 Nakba to Al-Aqsa Flood.
The session concluded with Sultan Al Khulaifi's paper on Qatari foreign policy under Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani (1972-1995), addressing the complexities of Qatar's approach to the Palestine question during this period.
Trends regarding the Palestine Question and Nation-Building in Saudi Arabia
The second session of the first track was chaired by Chaired by Hatem Al-Shanfari and began with Asaad Saleh Al-Shamlan discussing Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan's announcement of the“International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution” during the 2024 UN General Assembly.
Sherine Mubarak explored US-Saudi relations from 1933 to 1953, highlighting tensions due to differing views on Palestine.
Hossam Elsayed Zaki Shalabi reviewed the Trucial States and Oman's positions on Palestine from 1917 to 1948, examining their responses to key events like the Balfour Declaration, the Great Palestinian Revolt, the 1947 partition plan, and their role in the 1948 war.
The first session of the second track, chaired by Saad Albazei and titled“The City and Nation-Building (1): The Saudi Case” featured three papers. The first paper by Ulrike Freitag focused on the cosmopolitan city of Jeddah to examine the different ways in which people have created affective links with cities and ways of expressing identity in the city through certain types of civic engagement.
Alanoud Al-Khalifa's paper elucidated how the historical narrative of Diriyah is employed to affirm political legitimacy in Saudi Arabia and reinforce the vision of the contemporary nation-state. In the third paper, Rufei Li argued that the urban transformation process of al-Balad, Jeddan, is the outcome of state-building and nation-building processes, which in turn impacted al-Balad significantly regarding its role in Saudi Arabia's nation-building.
The Role of the US in the War on Gaza, and Nation-Building in Gulf Cities
The third session of the first track and second session of the second track were also organized simultaneously.
Dania Dhafer chaired the first track, which was organized in collaboration with the Gulf International Forum.
Kristian Ulrichsen presented a paper on the potential impact of the 2024 US presidential elections on US policy towards the Gulf.
Mohammad Ghanem Al-Rumaihi analysed the challenges in Gulf-US relations following the Gaza war, focusing on the Gulf's effort to balance East-West relations amid political complexities.
Inderjit Parmar discussed the implications of the 2024 US election results, predicting that a second Trump administration would oppose international institutions and escalate tensions with China, potentially destabilizing the Middle East and global energy supplies.
In the second track titled“The City and Nation-Building (2): Khaliji Cases”, chaired by Amal Ghazal, three papers were presented: Sundus Al-Rashid discussed the history of the Kuwait National Museum, beginning with its location in the city and its relationship with surrounding facilities as a cultural and social institution, as well as its national symbolism.
Saoud Abdulaziz Al Ahmad, Amnah Abdullah Alshammari, and Betul Uzun examined the strategic use of urban spaces in shaping national identity in Qatar, focusing on Msheireb and Souq Waqif.
Djamel Boussaa focused on the role of heritage tourism and its implications for urban regeneration in the context of Doha, Jeddah, and Dubai to demonstrate how the resilient historic urban centres are struggling to survive in a fast global environment.
Modern Urbanism in the Gulf
In the next two sessions, only papers of the second track were presented.
In its third session titled“Urban Modernization Structures as a Social Agent”, chaired by Yagoub Al-Kandari, Yasser Mahgoub explored the complex interplay between urban structures and social dynamics in Kuwait City and Doha to show how urban development shapes and is shaped by social processes.
Mahdi Laadhari investigated the changes tied to urban and societal development in Kuwaiti society, focusing on the Diwaniya and the modernization process it underwent.
Abdulrahman Albaker chaired the fourth session titled“The Gulf City and Modern Urbanism”, which featured Davide Ponzini, who presented recent plans and mega-projects in Gulf cities and limitations and opportunities to advance planning knowledge, as well as Mustapha Ben-Hamouche, who examined the future of GCC cities through urban planning frameworks, referencing the“Life Cycle of Cities” hypothesis.
The forum's events continue until Sunday, December 1, as outlined in the agenda.
Day 2 will feature three sessions on the forum's first track, and four sessions and a keynote on the forum's second track.
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