ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the role, purpose, and scope of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in terms of the ambitions contained in its charter but also the various communiques that accompanied its foundation. It also outlines of the structures of the Council and how they have developed since the organization's foundation. Linking together the way in which the organization began with its structures and framework subsequently enables an examination of the evolution of the role of the GCC and the frameworks. Like the Arab League and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the GCC is structured to ensure that decision-making power remains with the states, and more specifically with the rulers themselves. The organization is made up of three central bodies, the Supreme Council (SC), the Ministerial Council (MC) and the Secretariat General, although the GCC Charter makes it clear that each of these central bodies has the right to establish such sub-agencies as they consider necessary.
