Involvement of the Gulf Cooperation Council States in Kosovo: development assistance, soft power, and neofundamentalism

ABSTRACT The development assistance activities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have prompted debates and scrutiny of how the Gulf countries use assistance or aid for religious soft power goals, which has a potentially destabilizing effect on local religious communities. This article explores how the Gulf states provide development assistance and their potential motivations. Using Kosovo as a case to describe the techniques used in the field by the GCC charities and development agencies, the article finds that GCC agencies/charities’ activities in Kosovo are negligible in classical development sectors such as the transport, institutional, and social spheres; however, they are very active in promoting and financially supporting religious education, other religious activities, and the reconstruction of religious infrastructure. The article discusses the effects of the assistance on the local Muslim community and how the state reacted to the possible threats this assistance poses.