ABSTRACT
The clustering and resurgence of authoritarian rule that can be detected in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the last years has been considerably shaped by Saudi Arabia acting as an authoritarian gravity center (AGC). This study, which covers the period between 2001 and 2015, provides an empirical analysis of for what reasons and in what way Saudi Arabia influences and attracts its neighborhood. Findings of this qualitative research, which is based on fieldwork conducted in Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, and Manama, conclude that Saudi Arabia’s behavior has significantly changed over time and that its gravitational power varies along the motives, the executed mechanisms, and the target states (TSs). It, however, also asserts that the concept of AGC is not a one-way street, and reciprocal pathways of diffusion are possible.
