by Scott Weiner

Article originally published on Washington Post’s blog, Monkey Cage.

The recent drop in oil prices has impacted economies across the Middle East. In particular, governments in the Arab Gulf have been affected by projected budget shortfalls. A spate of articles have analyzed what these changes mean for “The Gulf” without taking into account the differences between countries in the region. The Gulf is a quickly emerging center of regional importance, and the interests of its countries affect politics from Syria to the Egypt to Libya. For the foreign policy leader of the future, a working knowledge of differences in the region is crucial for maintaining awareness of politics not only in the Gulf but across the region.

Scott Weiner, Chair of YPFP’s Middle East Discussion Group, returned recently from the Gulf region. His full article on the differences between Gulf countries’ responses to the oil price drop can be found at the Monkey Cage blog, hosted by the Washington Post.