Sebastian Sons

Background

About Sebastian Sons

Since March 2021, Dr. Sebastian Sons works as a researcher for the German think tank CARPO. From 2019-2021, he was advisor for the Regional Programme “Cooperation with Arab Donors” (CAD) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. He holds a Ph.D. from the Humboldt University Berlin. His thesis deals with media discourses on labor migration from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. He studied Islamic Studies, History and Political Sciences in Berlin and Damascus. Prior to that, he was trained as journalist in print, TV and radio media at the Berlin School for Journalists (Berliner Journalisten-Schule). After finishing his studies, he worked as Head of Research and Editor-in-Chief of the academic magazine Orient at the German Orient-Institute from 2009- 2014 and as a project researcher at the Program Near East and North Africa at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. From 2018-2019, he was Senior Researcher at the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO). As a political analyst, he is consulted by German and international political institutions as well as by international journalists to provide expertise on Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. Among many other articles and analyses on Saudi Arabia, he published the book “Built on Sand: Saudi Arabia – A problematic Ally” (in German) in 2016. He is traveling to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council frequently since 2009. He lived in Amman (Jordan) from 2019-2021 and is now based in Berlin. Fields of interest- social and political developments in the societies of the Gulf Cooperation Council - Foreign policy of Saudi Arabia and social transformation - South-Asian migration to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council - political and economic engagement of the Gulf states in Africa - development policy of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait