Mohammad Yaghi is an independent researcher with expertise in Middle East politics and the internal and foreign relations of the Gulf States. His research covers Palestinian political institutions, social and Islamic movements, sectarianism in Arab media, and the politics of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. Currently, his work focuses on social transformation in Saudi Arabia, the evolving role of women in the Gulf workforce, Gulf States’ security, Saudi Arabia– China relations, and the ideological transformation of the Houthi movement. His work has been published in Middle East Law and Governance, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics and has contributed to outlets like Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Carnegie. He writes a weekly column for Al-Ayyam newspaper.Hanaa Almoaibed is a scholar specializing in education, youth and women’s issues in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, with research interests in work, education/ skills, and sustainability. She is Visiting Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Research Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Additionally, she serves as a council member for the British Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. She is active in the think- tank sector as Consulting Fellow at Chatham House in London and Non- resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. She holds a PhD from University College London (UCL) and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.Silvia Colombo is Researcher and Faculty Advisor in the Research Division of the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome. She is also Associate Fellow at the International Affairs Institute (IAI), where she formerly led the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme. Her research focuses on contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), EU and US foreign policies, and NATO’s role in the region’s conflicts. Her work also examines relations between the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Her recent publications include ‘Morocco’s Domestic Crisis of (Derailed) Democratisation’ (The Journal of North African Studies, 2023), ‘The Unrealized Potential of Cooperative Security in the Arab Gulf’ (NDC Policy Brief, 2022), and Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa: Egypt and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2018).

• Preface Introduction: Foreign aid of Gulf States: continuity and change 1. 9/11 and branding the Gulf States’ foreign aid 2. The changing role of Gulf-based non-state actors in foreign aid 3. The politics of Gulf foreign aid: from survival and solidarity to political and military influence 4. Continuity and change in Saudi Arabia’s development and humanitarian aid 5. Saudi Arabia’s foreign aid: the singularity of Yemen as a case study 6. The evolution of the Gulf states as humanitarian donors 7. Exploring the preference for bilateral aid: Gulf oil states’ aid to Yemen 8. Gulf responses to Syrian refugee arrivals in Lebanon: narratives of legitimisation 9. Qatar and the UAE in the Syrian early recovery: top-down strategies of foreign aid

Mohammad Yaghi is an independent researcher with expertise in Middle East politics and the internal and foreign relations of the Gulf States. His research covers Palestinian political institutions, social and Islamic movements, sectarianism in Arab media, and the politics of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. Currently, his work focuses on social transformation in Saudi Arabia, the evolving role of women in the Gulf workforce, Gulf States’ security, Saudi Arabia– China relations, and the ideological transformation of the Houthi movement. His work has been published in Middle East Law and Governance, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics and has contributed to outlets like Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Carnegie. He writes a weekly column for Al-Ayyam newspaper.Hanaa Almoaibed is a scholar specializing in education, youth and women’s issues in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, with research interests in work, education/ skills, and sustainability. She is Visiting Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Research Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Additionally, she serves as a council member for the British Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. She is active in the think- tank sector as Consulting Fellow at Chatham House in London and Non- resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. She holds a PhD from University College London (UCL) and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.Silvia Colombo is Researcher and Faculty Advisor in the Research Division of the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome. She is also Associate Fellow at the International Affairs Institute (IAI), where she formerly led the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme. Her research focuses on contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), EU and US foreign policies, and NATO’s role in the region’s conflicts. Her work also examines relations between the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Her recent publications include ‘Morocco’s Domestic Crisis of (Derailed) Democratisation’ (The Journal of North African Studies, 2023), ‘The Unrealized Potential of Cooperative Security in the Arab Gulf’ (NDC Policy Brief, 2022), and Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa: Egypt and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2018).

• Preface Introduction: Foreign aid of Gulf States: continuity and change 1. 9/11 and branding the Gulf States’ foreign aid 2. The changing role of Gulf-based non-state actors in foreign aid 3. The politics of Gulf foreign aid: from survival and solidarity to political and military influence 4. Continuity and change in Saudi Arabia’s development and humanitarian aid 5. Saudi Arabia’s foreign aid: the singularity of Yemen as a case study 6. The evolution of the Gulf states as humanitarian donors 7. Exploring the preference for bilateral aid: Gulf oil states’ aid to Yemen 8. Gulf responses to Syrian refugee arrivals in Lebanon: narratives of legitimisation 9. Qatar and the UAE in the Syrian early recovery: top-down strategies of foreign aid

Mohammad Yaghi is an independent researcher with expertise in Middle East politics and the internal and foreign relations of the Gulf States. His research covers Palestinian political institutions, social and Islamic movements, sectarianism in Arab media, and the politics of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. Currently, his work focuses on social transformation in Saudi Arabia, the evolving role of women in the Gulf workforce, Gulf States’ security, Saudi Arabia– China relations, and the ideological transformation of the Houthi movement. His work has been published in Middle East Law and Governance, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics and has contributed to outlets like Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Carnegie. He writes a weekly column for Al-Ayyam newspaper.Hanaa Almoaibed is a scholar specializing in education, youth and women’s issues in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, with research interests in work, education/ skills, and sustainability. She is Visiting Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Research Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Additionally, she serves as a council member for the British Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. She is active in the think- tank sector as Consulting Fellow at Chatham House in London and Non- resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. She holds a PhD from University College London (UCL) and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.Silvia Colombo is Researcher and Faculty Advisor in the Research Division of the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome. She is also Associate Fellow at the International Affairs Institute (IAI), where she formerly led the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme. Her research focuses on contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), EU and US foreign policies, and NATO’s role in the region’s conflicts. Her work also examines relations between the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Her recent publications include ‘Morocco’s Domestic Crisis of (Derailed) Democratisation’ (The Journal of North African Studies, 2023), ‘The Unrealized Potential of Cooperative Security in the Arab Gulf’ (NDC Policy Brief, 2022), and Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa: Egypt and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2018).

• Preface Introduction: Foreign aid of Gulf States: continuity and change 1. 9/11 and branding the Gulf States’ foreign aid 2. The changing role of Gulf-based non-state actors in foreign aid 3. The politics of Gulf foreign aid: from survival and solidarity to political and military influence 4. Continuity and change in Saudi Arabia’s development and humanitarian aid 5. Saudi Arabia’s foreign aid: the singularity of Yemen as a case study 6. The evolution of the Gulf states as humanitarian donors 7. Exploring the preference for bilateral aid: Gulf oil states’ aid to Yemen 8. Gulf responses to Syrian refugee arrivals in Lebanon: narratives of legitimisation 9. Qatar and the UAE in the Syrian early recovery: top-down strategies of foreign aid