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Dr. Sebastian Sons works as senior researcher on Gulf monarchies for the German-based Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO). He holds a Ph.D. from Humboldt University of Berlin with a thesis on media discourses on labor migration from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. He studied Islamic Studies, History, and Political Sciences in Berlin and Damascus. Prior to that, he was trained as journalist in print, TV, and radio media at the Berlin School for Journalists. Among many other articles and analyses on Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf monarchies, he published the book Built on Sand: Saudi Arabia – A problematic Ally (in German) in 2016. In September 2022, his new book, Human rights are not for sale. Why the World Cup in Qatar also has to lead to a new political approach (in German), was released. His fields of interest include Germany’s foreign policy toward the Gulf monarchies; social and political developments in the societies of the Gulf Cooperation Council; South Asian migration to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council; political and economic engagement of the Gulf states in Africa; development policies of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait; as well as sports politics of the Arab Gulf monarchies.
A new momentum: Recalibrating Germany's foreign policy toward the Gulf monarchies
Facing the profound challenge of trying to diversify its energy supply while a destabilizing war rages on in Ukraine, Germany has looked to several Gulf monarchies to forge new energy partnerships. Notwithstanding heated domestic debates over controversial topics such as their human rights record, Berlin should consider a more comprehensive strategic approach toward the Gulf monarchies that encompasses issues beyond energy supply, such as joint efforts in regional integration and development.
