This chapter examines ways in which national concerns and priorities are shaping international schooling in different contexts across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It will argue that deglobalizing impulses on education systems are as important in explaining the expansion of international schooling in the region as interpretations rooted in the pressures of globalization (Bailey and Gibson, J Res Int Educ 23(1):3–18, 2024). Global neoliberal economic pressures and the expansion of a global middle class have been posited as explanations of the increased demand for, and supply of, international schools (Kim, How global capital is remaking international education: the emergence of transnational education corporations. Springer, Singapore, 2019; Meyer, The global imaginary of international school communities. Springer, Singapore, 2021). However, by drawing on data collected from the author’s study of international schooling in the region, as well as national statistical information on international schooling and economic and social trends, this chapter challenges such meta-narratives seeking to explain the growth of international schooling across diverse contexts by providing complementary explanations. The chapter builds on theses of deglobalization in education, specifically studies which have argued for more nuanced accounts of international schooling in specific national contexts (Elerian and Solomou, J Res Int Educ 22(1):55–69, 2023; Poole and Bunnell, J Res Int Educ 22(1):3–19, 2023; Wu and Koh, Br J Educ Stud 71(2):149–168, 2022). The chapter examines how the national economic, cultural, social, and political contexts of the six GCC countries have influenced their engagement with international schooling, arguing that this should be seen as a national or regional phenomenon rather than a global trend. The chapter concludes by connecting this discussion to global geopolitical trends and their implications for international schooling worldwide.