The recently concluded GCC summit is notable for its emphasis on unity in the face of aggression and destabilisation, and for its heralding of an enhanced role for think tanks. In this regard, it bears much in common with the 1815 Congress of Vienna, which gave birth to a new world order where knowledge was central to geostrategic success.
The past 12 months have witnessed the security order of the Middle East come under pressure. One of the six members of the GCC – the state of Qatar – was twice subjected to unprovoked attacks, while a violent long-range war between Iran and Israel demonstrated the destructive potential of the latest generation of drones, missiles and fighter jets. This was enough for the GCC states to rethink the underpinnings of regional security, with last week's summit in Bahrain offering an opportune moment to co-ordinate worldviews.
The context has much in common with Europe circa 1815, when the continent’s war-weary powers met to launch a new order.
Austria, Britain, France, Prussi
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