Visiting Fellow
The Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region, European relations with the Gulf countries
Italian and English (fluent), French, Spanish and Arabic (conversational)
Cinzia Bianco is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, where she is working on political, security and economic developments in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region and relations with Europe. Additionally, she is an adjunct associate professor for the Master in Mediterranean Cooperation and Security at the Luiss School of Government. Previously, Bianco was a senior analyst at Gulf State Analytics, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and a research fellow for the European Commission’s project on EU-GCC relations ‘Sharaka’ between 2013 and 2014.
She holds an MA degree in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies from King’s College London and a PhD in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, where she worked on threat perceptions in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after the 2011 Arab uprisings. She is the author of “The Gulf monarchies after the Arab Spring: threats and security” (Manchester University Press, 2024)
Gulf monarchies’ refusal to side with the US and Europe against Russia is not about Russia. It is about a transactional approach to protecting national interests and avoiding the costs of strategic alignment
Heightened conflict in Ukraine could have serious consequences for European interests in the Middle East and North Africa. It could further disrupt energy supplies, exacerbate food insecurity, and help states in the region gain leverage over the US and Europe
If the EU is to achieve its climate and geopolitical goals, it will need to substantially increase its engagement with Gulf states on the European Green Deal
As countries across the Middle East pause to take stock of recent conflicts, Europeans need to do more to support dialogue
How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?
Instead of using the UAE to push back against Turkey or vice versa, Europe should develop its own strategy on their rivalry
Europeans should resist the temptation to exploit the strain in the US-Saudi relationship for short-term, narrow, and self-interested gains
The arrival of the Biden administration in Washington, and the perception of US disengagement from the region, offers an opportunity for Europeans to help de-escalate tensions between GCC states and Iran
Victory for Joe Biden is likely to bring three big policy shifts in the region, opening new possibilities and challenges for Europeans
The new, still-unsteady leaders of Kuwait and Oman cannot afford to take the same risks as their predecessors. They will need Europe’s support if they are to maintain their independence
Saudi-Iran diplomacy offers a rare path to prevent deepening conflict in the Middle East and support regional stability. Europeans should see this diplomacy as a chance to address their core interests, and not just as Iran’s attempt to bypass Western pressure
Saudi Arabia has become a middle power with outsize influence on global issues. To protect their interests, Europeans need a new approach to working with Riyadh which recognises the kingdom’s priorities
Europeans should view COP28 as a catalyst to upgrade their energy relations with the Gulf states to long-term cooperation on the green transition and decarbonisation
European policymakers should back climate diplomacy to help improve relations between Iran and Gulf monarchies
If the EU is to achieve its climate and geopolitical goals, it will need to substantially increase its engagement with Gulf states on the European Green Deal
Instead of using the UAE to push back against Turkey or vice versa, Europe should develop its own strategy on their rivalry
The arrival of the Biden administration in Washington, and the perception of US disengagement from the region, offers an opportunity for Europeans to help de-escalate tensions between GCC states and Iran
Europeans can shift the balance of power in the Gulf in their favour by approaching the Gulf through flexible new frameworks
As the Houthis attack Saudi ships and infrastructure, Riyadh faces an increasingly difficult choice: absorb the blows to stay out of the Iran war or retaliate and risk a dangerous escalation
The Iran war has exposed the limits of an economic corridor built for peacetime. Europeans should rethink the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor for a region where trade routes are now strategic targets
Iran’s attacks on the Gulf have convinced Abu Dhabi that accommodation with Tehran has failed. Leaving OPEC reflects the UAE’s turn towards strategic autonomy, harder security alliances and a regional order less constrained by old consensuses
The war on Iran marks a turning point in the security calculus of the Gulf monarchies. Strategic hedging has failed—and Europeans could become just the reliable partners the monarchies need
US and Israeli strikes on Iran have plunged the Middle East into wider war. Retaliation, regional entanglements and disrupted trade make one outcome clear: no side will achieve an easy victory
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are experiencing a fracture in their diplomatic relationship. Europeans need to understand the potential impact on their economic and political interests
Recent changes in US policy have brought the US and Gulf states together again on AI—creating new openings for European decision-makers
El-Fasher in North Darfur is now the epicentre of the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe. Europe’s options are limited, but there are still ways to hold the responsible accountable
The Israeli attacks on Doha, and America’s support of them, has caused Gulf leaders to majorly rethink their security. This could lead to a new Gulf-led security format
From trade, to Ukraine, to Middle East conflicts, the EU and the GCC should finally grip the possibility of enhancing their relations at this month’s major summit
This new ECFR mapping project identifies the spillover effects of the Gaza war in countries across the Middle East
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria
Mark Leonard is joined by Ellie Geranmayeh, Jeremy Shapiro, and Cinzia Bianco to discuss the escalation following a massive joint US–Israeli military operation against Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure
Cinzia Bianco welcomes Yasmeen Al-Eryani and Maysaa Shuja al-Deen to unpack the recent developments around Yemen and what they mean for Europe
Mark Leonard welcomes Cinzia Bianco, Agathe Demarais, and Camille Lons to discuss the geoeconomics of the Gulf
Mark Leonard welcomes Cinzia Bianco and Theodore Murphy to discuss the crisis in the Red Sea and its escalation potential
Cinzia Bianco speaks to Dania Thafer and Elham Fakhro about the regional reverberations of the war in Gaza, particularly from the perspective of key Arab Gulf monarchies such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Cinzia Bianco and Hugh Lovatt to discuss the role of the Persian Gulf in the ongoing conflict in Gaza
Mark Leonard welcomes Julien Barnes-Dacey, Cinzia Bianco and Andrew Small, to talk about the new Saudi – Iran deal
On location at the Doha Forum 2022, Mark Leonard and his guests discuss Western energy sanctions on Russia and why is there a reluctance in the Gulf states and the West to cooperate on energy supplies
How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?
Listen on Mixcloud The ECFR Rome office organized a virtual gathering, moderated by the Head of ECFR Rome…
La chiusura dello Stretto di Hormuz ha posto l’Europa di fronte a una doppia sfida: ripensare la transizione energetica in un contesto di forte incertezza sugli idrocarburi e sviluppare nuove rotte di connettività per ridurre la vulnerabilità a shock geopolitici. Tra i temi al centro del confronto: l’elettrificazione come pilastro necessario ma non sufficiente,…
Cinzia Bianco, Mats Engström and Anthony Dworkin were in conversation with Susi Dennison to hear how Europe can best meet its energy security interests all the while preserving its credibility as a climate superpower
Cinzia Bianco on the role Oman would like to play in the Strait of Hormuz
Cinzia Bianco on rethinking IMEC in light of the Hormuz crisis and the new balance of power in the Gulf
Cinzia Bianco on the shifting geopolitical order in the Gulf region
Cinzia Bianco states that a decades-old Gulf order is changing amid UEA’s announced exit from OPEC
Cinzia Bianco on UAE ties with the US, Israel and Iran
