Abstract: The Gulf Regional Order is made up of seven Arab countries; they include Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, in addition to one non-Arab state which is Iran. These eight neighboring Arabian Gulf littoral states, make a unique regional political entity in their external ties and interactions with their immediate environment and beyond.

However, despite the vital importance of this region, the outside world knows only quite little about the transformations and successive developments that are currently taking place at all levels within this Gulf Regional Order. This book is an attempt to describe the Gulf Regional Order, the capabilities of its member states, and especially its huge oil and natural resources. Also, the book gives a detailed account of the direct and inherent causes of the recurring conflicts and tensions that took place within the Gulf Regional Order. This region has so far seen three devastating wars during the last thirty years or so; it might as well be on its way towards a fourth one as a result of the growing confrontation between Iran on one side, and the international community on the other side, over the controversial issue of Iranian nuclear program.

As the Gulf Regional Order can not be conceived in a vacuum, and considering the fact that it is at the heart of the contemporary transformation processes taking place at the regional and global levels, the book reviews the interrelationship between the Gulf Regional Order and the Arab Regional Order, which constitutes its wider cultural context. The book contains a detailed look at the relationship between this regional order and the United States of America, which is currently occupying one of its constituent States, while being in a virtual state of confrontation with another, and enjoying more influence than ever in regional Gulf affairs.