National identity trumps sectarian identity among the Shi’a populations of the Arab Gulf, stated J.E. Peterson, an expert on the history and politics of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states who is affiliated with the University of Arizona. He analyzed the current state of the Gulf Shi’a for the third session of the CSIS Gulf Roundtable on July 12, 2007. As a result of their diversity within the region, economic stake in the status quo, and superseding national identity, Peterson argued that Shi’a communities pose less of a threat to the Gulf’s monarchies than is commonly perceived.
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