'Gulf citizenship' is a powerful idea that can bolster GCC states' national identities

Emiratis and Omanis perform a traditional dance at Expo 2020 Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

The Gulf Co-operation Council member states recently agreed to jointly introduce a special part on Gulf citizenship into their educational curriculums. This timely and far-sighted step will improve the bloc’s internal cohesion, ultimately contributing to the six countries’ security and economic prosperity.

The 1980s and 1990s were a time of great economic and political integration in the EU. They witnessed the launch of the common market, allowing EU citizens to freely move throughout the bloc while guaranteeing equal status to the citizens of the country they decide to settle in. In 1999, the single currency – the euro – was formally launched, creating a unified monetary system for 300 million Europeans.

During this era of European amalgamation, I was growing up in the UK – the EU’s reluctant adopted child. Owing to its unique history and island geography, the UK always retained a schizophrenic relationship towards the continent, with the public simultaneously being anxious about committing to the EU and fearing being left out. Overall, however, the sentiment was definitely Eurosceptic compared to the UK’s long-standing French and German rivals across the Channel, ultimately spawning the Brexit referendum decision in 2016.

I clearly remember visiting the EU capital, Brussels, in December 1999 to experience the millennium transition. At that time, even though the procedural elements of European integration were very advanced, Brussels was still very much a Belgian city, full of Belgians speaking French. This helped reinforce my British-inspired impression that the EU project was very much a top-down affair, with ordinary citizens a long way from developing a European identity.

Almost 20 years later, I returned to Brussels, this time as a resident of Bahrain who had conducted a lot of research on integration within both the EU and the GCC. I was pleasantly surprised to see a European identity everywhere I walked: the city had transformed into a home for people from every corner of the now enlarged bloc, and every group of people I encountered seemed to be speaking a different one of Europe’s main tongues. The bank notes in my wallet were covered in European-themed images celebrating the continent’s history.

While the EU’s capital city is not necessarily representative of the rest of the Union, it was evident to me that imbuing children with a set of European values – and teaching them to be proud of European history – played a central role in the development of European identity.

As the EU has demonstrated, cultivating a bloc-level identity need not come at the expense of a national one

In 2025, while the EU continues to face significant challenges of internal cohesion, on the whole, it is in a much better position economically and militarily than it would have been had each country continued to go it alone. The chastening speech delivered by US Vice President JD Vance in Munich earlier this year has further assured Europeans that they need to stick together, amplifying the value of educational curriculums that emphasise the notion of a European identity.

For this reason, the GCC’s decision to integrate a Gulf identity into their educational curriculums is a sage one. The evolving geopolitical constellation is creating a pressing need for the six countries to further strengthen their ties. As the EU example shows, it is critical that the top-down procedural steps be mirrored by a change in the mindset of ordinary citizens.

Moreover, as the EU has demonstrated, cultivating a bloc-level identity need not come at the expense of a national one – in fact, it can reinforce the national identity. Germans today are proud to be both German and European, in the same way that Bahrainis are proud to be citizens of Bahrain and the Gulf. Educational reforms are an accelerant in this regard.

Having a unified perspective throughout the population about what it means to be a Gulf citizen plays an important supporting role in striving for higher levels of economic and security co-operation between the six GCC member states. Reforming educational curriculums is the natural first step.