The articles which comprise this Special Issue stem from a workshop entitled ‘Conflict Resolution Initiatives in the Gulf and Beyond: Strategies of Engagement and Prospects of Success,’ convened at the Gulf Research Meeting in Cambridge, 9–11 July 2024. The above-named editors of this collection of articles, who were the convenors of the workshop, wish to express their gratitude to the Gulf Research Centre for having enabled the workshop, and the wider meeting, to take place.