Debate: Will the downfall of Assad reignite Gulf Arab divisions?

The sudden downfall of Bashar Al-Assad threatens to reignite competition in Syria between Gulf Cooperation Council member states (GCC). After years of estrangement with Damascus, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had since 2019 led an effort to normalize Arab relations with Assad. This culminated in Syria’s reintegration into the Arab League in 2023, backed by Saudi Arabia. Throughout that process, Qatar remained a holdout, refusing to engage with Assad. 

As forces backed by Qatar and Turkey are now in charge in Damascus, are we on a path of renewed tension among Gulf Arab states? Amwaj.media invited three experts to share their views.

• Eyad Alrefai, Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.
  
  
• Anna Jacobs, Non-Resident Fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
  
  
• Dania Thafer, Executive Director at the Gulf International Forum in Washington.