scholarly journals Biden Administration Launches Reset in Relations with Saudi Arabia, Withdraws Support for Saudi-Led War in Yemen

2021 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-553
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Washington Post ◽  
Arms Sales ◽  
White House ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
Trump Administration

The Biden administration has undertaken to reset U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, making early moves to break with the Trump administration's policy toward the country on several key fronts. White House officials have shifted the locus of diplomatic contact between the two countries from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who enjoyed a close relationship with the Trump administration, to his father, King Salman. U.S. officials publicly released an intelligence report accusing Prince Mohammed of ordering the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and levied travel sanctions against seventy-six Saudi nationals in the crown prince's orbit. President Biden has also taken steps to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen's civil war, revoking the terrorist designation assigned to the Houthi rebels in the final days of the Trump administration and initiating a review of U.S. arms sales.

Cold War in the Islamic World

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilip Hiro
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
Eighteen Century ◽  
Near Future

For four decades Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have vied for influence in the Muslim world. At the heart of this ongoing Cold War between Riyadh and Tehran lie the Sunni-Shia divide, and the two countries’ diverse histories, socio-economic compositions, and claims to exceptionalism. Saudis present their rivalry with Iran stemming from conflict between Sunnis and Shias. But, according to Iran's ruling clerics, their republic is founded on Islamic precepts whereas Saudis’ dynastic rule lacks legitimacy in Islam. This foundational schism has played out in a geopolitical competition for dominance in the region and beyond: Iran has acquired influence in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, while Saudi Arabia's hyperactive crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, has intervened in the Yemeni civil war against the Tehran-backed Houthis, and tried to destabilize Lebanon and isolate neighboring Qatar.. In his lucid narrative, peppered with penetrating analysis, Dilip Hiro examines the toxic rivalry between the two nations, tracing its roots to the eighteen-century Arabia, and examines whether the current Cold War in the Islamic world is likely to end in the near future.

Multi-front Cold War between Riyadh and Tehran

2019 ◽  
pp. 275-312
Author(s):  
Dilip Hiro
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
Russian President ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
Vladimir Putin

When rebel Houthis, followers of Zaidi Shia code, captured Sanaa in September 2014, and expelled Yemen’s Sunni President Abd Rabbu al Hadi, alarm bells rang in Riyadh. Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman led a coalition of friendly states to intervene in the Yemeni civil war in March 2015. This ignited protest by the Shias in Saudi Arabia. Their indignation intensified when, ignoring international appeals for clemency, the Saudi government executed their revered Ayatollah Nimr al Nimr in January 2016. This led to the severance of diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran. In Iraq, whereas Iran dispatched its trained Shia volunteers to fight Islamic Sate in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), Riyadh lent four jet fighters to the Pentagon in Washington’s anti-ISIS campaign. When Riyadh backed Syrian opposition with cash and weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent air force units to Syria, and shored up Assad’s depleted arms arsenal. With Assad’s recapture of Eastern Aleppo, an opposition stronghold, in December 2016, Iran established superiority over Riyadh in Syria. In July 2015, Iran and six major world powers signed an accord on Tehran’s denuclearization program, titled Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It won universal approval except by Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Major Themes in Mozambigan Foreign Relations, 1975–1977

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49
Author(s):  
William Minter
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Trade Fair ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Washington Post ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China

Mozambique “switched from a pro-Chinese to a pro-Soviet stance during the Angolan civil war,” writes a commentator in the influential U.S. quarterly Foreign Policy of Fall 1977. “Mozambique said to Cool on Soviets, Turn West,” headlines a Washington Post dispatch of December 15, 1977. The Economist’s Foreign Report claims in its advertising to have been the first to describe the ideological infighting within FRELIMO and the swing to Russia. The commentators seemed to have missed Mozambique’s 1977 trade fair in September, at which the People’s Republic of China won first prize for an exhibit corresponding to Mozambique’s needs, but if they had been there one might well have seen headlines proclaiming Mozambique’s shift back to China.

scholarly journals Yemen Crisis after 2015: The Attitudes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (69) ◽  
pp. 717-734
Author(s):  
Seyedmohammad Seyedi Asl ◽  
Hazar Leylanoğlu ◽  
Ataollah Bahremani ◽  
Shalaleh Zabardastalamdari
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
Major Player ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Contradictory Behavior ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Crown Prince

In this study, using the descriptive-analytical method, we discuss the main factors in the formation of the Yemen crisis, as well as the attitudes of the two Arab states and of the two neighboring countries, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in the Yemen crisis. It is concluded that this crisis stems not only from the role of local actors, but also from the role of regional and global actors, who played a decisive role in shaping and exacerbating the Yemen crisis. Regional players in the post-2015 crisis include the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which showed contradictory behavior. Saudi Arabia's targets in its attack on Yemen have a greater military and security dimension. The political and economic objectives of the United Arab Emirates, which is Riyadh's most important ally in this war, have been at a different level from those of Saudi Arabia. This can be seen in Abu Dubai Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed's aspirations to expand his country's influence, to become a major player in the region.

Trump Reverses Certain Steps Toward Normalizing Relations with Cuba

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 1027-1035
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Regime ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Obama Administration ◽  
White House ◽  
Senior Official ◽  
Roll Back ◽  
Trump Administration

In June 2017, President Donald Trump announced a plan to roll back various steps taken by his predecessor toward normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba. A senior official for the administration announced the plan in a White House press briefing:The President vowed to reverse the Obama administration policies toward Cuba that have enriched the Cuban military regime and increased the repression on the island. It is a promise that President Trump made, and it's a promise that President Trump is keeping.With this is a readjustment of the United States policy towards Cuba. And you will see that, going forward, the new policy under the Trump administration, will empower the Cuban people. To reiterate, the new policy going forward does not target the Cuban people, but it does target the repressive members of the Cuban military government.

The Son King

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madawi Al-Rasheed
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
International Community ◽  
Royal Family ◽  
Current Wave ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by regime operatives shocked the international community and tarnished the reputation of the young, reformist Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. This book situates the murder in the context of the duality of reform and repression and challenges common wisdom about the inevitability of the latter. The author dismisses defunct views about the inescapable ‘Oriental Despotism’ as the only pathway to genuine reform in the country. Focusing on the prince’s divisive domestic, social and economic reforms, the author argues that the current wave of unprecedented repression is a function of the prince consolidating his power outside of the traditional consensus of royal family members and influential Saudi groups. But the divisive populist nationalism bin Salman has adopted, together with repressing the diverse critical voices of religious scholars, feminists and professionals, has failed to silence a vibrant young Saudi society and an articulate and connected youth cohort. Due to its repression, Saudi Arabia is now producing asylum seekers and refugees who seek safe havens abroad to pursue their quest for freedom, equality and dignity. While the regime continues to pursue them abroad and punish their families at home, exiled activists are determined to continue the struggle against one of the most repressive monarchies in the Arab world.

Routes to Power

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-112
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Trump Administration

This chapter provides a detailed chronology of MBS and MBZ’s respective ascents. Firstly, their dynastic advantages are considered, along with their apparent early career ambitions and accomplishments. Secondly, their charismatic personalities and their relative youth are discussed, including the erection of charismatic facades by their supporters. Thirdly, their ability to position themselves as proponents of major economic reforms and long-term ‘visions’ during periods of economic crisis are emphasized. Fourthly, their capacity to repair Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s international reputations vis-à-vis the historical funding and support of terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and (in Saudi Arabia’s case) the Islamic State is investigated. Finally, the apparent mentor-mentee relationship between the more established MBZ and the younger MBS is examined, alongside their recent support from the Donald Trump administration.

Arms Sales and the Nuclear Question

2020 ◽  
pp. 121-158
Author(s):  
Clive Jones ◽  
Yoel Guzansky
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Arms Sales ◽  
The Past

The limits of the TSR are explored. While Israel has often withheld opposition of hi-tech US arms sales to the Gulf monarchies it would, in the past, have lobbied Congress to oppose, the chapter emphasizes Israel’s need to retain its qualitative military edge as well as a wider concern over the nuclear programs being developed by the Emirates and potentially Saudi Arabia.

Depth in Staff

2021 ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
Stephen Skowronek ◽  
John A. Dearborn ◽  
Desmond King
Keyword(s):  
Executive Branch ◽  
House Staff ◽  
First Year ◽  
White House ◽  
Flow Of Information ◽  
Trump Administration ◽  
At Will

This chapter considers depth in staff, exploring the role of White House officials tasked to bridge the president’s personal direction with the institutional presidency and the executive branch at large. These staffers are normally part of the presidential party, collectively representing the different wings of the president’s electoral coalition. In the Trump administration, the White House staff jostled for influence and favor throughout the president’s first year. Trump bristled at their efforts to establish regular processes and to control the flow of information. The president saw management of that sort as an impingement on his authority to act on his own instincts and to direct his subordinates at will. Differences over the issue of trade afford a brief, but sharp, illustration of the tension between an institutional presidency and the personal direction of a unitary executive.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document