Böcker av Nikolay Kozhanov

The book considers the impact of COVID-19 on the GCC member states through the prism of challenges faced by their hydrocarbon sector. Yet, the publication¿s discourse is not solely focused on the problems experienced by the oil and gas industries of the GCC member states after the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Instead, the contributors will analyze how these challenges and subsequent response to them affected other aspects of the GCC socio-economic and political development, from direct impact of the COVID on the energy sector of the GCC to socio-economic consequences of the oil market crisis for the region and its potential fallouts for the international relations of the Gulf. Nikolay Kozhanov is a Research Associate Professor at the Gulf Studies Center of Qatar University. He is also a Non-Resident Scholar at the Program on Economics and Energy at the Middle East Institute. His research interests are focused on the geopolitics of the Gulf hydrocarbons, Russian foreign policy in the Middle East as well as Iran¿s economy and international relations. Karen E. Young is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Program on Economics and Energy at the Middle East Institute. She was a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), focused on the political economy of the Middle East and states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. She regularly teaches at the Foreign Service Institute at the US Department of State, and has taught at George Washington University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Jalal Qanas is an assistant professor in the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University. During 2013-2017, he was Teaching Assistant in Economics for Undergraduate and Postgraduate students at the University of Leeds. He also taught a summer course in the Economics of Brexit at Oxford University. Before joining Qatar University, Jalal was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of West London. Qanas¿ research interests are mainly in macroeconomic policies, monetary economics, central banking and political economy of the Persian Gulf.

This book is the first to offer a comprehensive survey of Moscow's foreign policy interests in Syria. The author considers the Kremlin's diplomacy on Syria within the broader system of Russian foreign policy in the Middle East; he analyses the influence of Russian domestic dimensions on Moscow's approaches to the subject; and he considers how Moscow's priorities in Syria have evolved during the last five years and what factors influenced this evolution. Key factors considered include: Russian presence in the Middle East before and after the fall of the Soviet Union; The challenge of the Arab Spring; Why it was so important to save Assad; How serious is the jihadist threat for Russia; Russian military involvement in the Syrian conflict: what will be the outcome?; Significance of Moscow's military intervention in the wider Middle East context.

What are the ideological motives behind Iran's foreign policy? This new study examines Tehran's twin desires to protect national interests and to project real power. Factors determining Iran's foreign policy include: -Potential economic leader of the Middle East region -Key player in the oil and gas market -Centre of resistance against global Western domination -US and Israel policy -Syria as the bridge to Lebanon and Palestine There is a strong focus on primary sources, as well as interviews with EU, Russian and Middle East experts, supported by field trips to Iran, Turkey and GCC countries. Political, economic, religious and cultural aspects of Iran's influence abroad are covered. The final chapter covers most recent events and implications of Trump's rejection of the JCPOA.