The Persian Gulf Monarchies and the Arab Spring

The impact of changes in the geopolitical landscape at the global and regional levels on the development and transformation of such an important region of the Arab world as the Persian Gulf is analyzed. It is noted that the transformation processes of this region were primarily influenced by the US intervention in Iraq in 2003 and the “Arab spring” of 2010-2011. Over the past two decades, Iran has become the main rival of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. The tough and uncompromising confrontation with Iran mainly determines the peculiarities and aspirations of the foreign policy of these countries, the development of their integration formats and the emergence of new alliances. It isindicated that under the influence of the events of the “Arab spring” and the need to confront Iran, a “revolution from above” is unfolding in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf today, and large-scale reforms have begun. The prospects for creating a new military-political project “Middle East Strategic Alliance”, the possibilities and risks of normalizing relations between the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and Israel are analyzed

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Links between Domestic and Regional Security

The Changing Security Dynamics of the Persian Gulf ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190877385.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 23-42

Author(s):

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

Keyword(s):

Identity Politics ◽

Persian Gulf ◽

Oil Prices ◽

Regional Security ◽

Fiscal Stress ◽

Policy Responses ◽

The Us ◽

Other World ◽

The Persian Gulf ◽

The Arab Spring

This chapter examines the myriad linkages between domestic and regional security and how these are evolving across the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf noticeably did not share in the evolution of security structures that took place in other world regions such as Eastern Europe or Latin America during the 1980s and 1990s. Instead, the fallout from the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 and policy responses to the Arab Spring in 2011 led to the growth of what Kristian Coates Ulrichsen labels a “geopolitical straitjacket” that contributed to the rise of sectarian identity politics and the emergence of the dangerous new threat from ISIS. Coates Ulrichsen details the policy dilemmas that ISIS presents to policymakers in GCC states who face the additional pressure of having to take sensitive decisions against the backdrop of a potentially prolonged period of low oil prices and fiscal stress.

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Conflicts in the Middle East: prospects for escalation in the context of general regional instability in the 2020s

Pathways to Peace and Security ◽

10.20542/2307-1494-2021-1-120-132 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 120-132

Author(s):

A. Malashenko

Keyword(s):

Middle East ◽

Arab Spring ◽

Middle Eastern ◽

The United States ◽

Key Factors ◽

Significant Extent ◽

Gulf States ◽

The Persian Gulf ◽

The Arab Spring ◽

Made In

The article analyses Middle Eastern conflicts in the early 2020s. The main focus is on the situation in Syria, Libya, and Yemen, three Middle Eastern conflicts that are progressing, with no solution in sight. These conflicts motivated by social, economic and political reasons became a progression of those protests that have started in 2011 and have been called “The Arab Spring”. These “revolutions” have been promoted by Islamist movements and groups whose activity became one of key factors of perpetual tensions in the region. So far, attempts by conflict parties to find consensual solutions have remained rather unsuccessful. Positive resolution of actual and potential conflicts in the Greater Middle East to a significant extent still depends on external regional and non-regional actors, such as Russia, Turkey, Iran, and the United States. However, each actor involved in these conflicts and in conflict management pursues its own goals. These actors try to retain their positions and influence in these Middle Eastern countries and in the region as a whole. According to the forecast made in the article, more conflicts in the region may be foreseen (in Iraq, the Persian Gulf states etc.) that could form the next wave of the “Arab Spring”.

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The Gulf Region

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198743538.013.32 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Talmiz Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Persian Gulf ◽

First Century ◽

Regional Security ◽

Gulf Region ◽

Community Based ◽

High Stakes ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

The Persian Gulf ◽

The Arab Spring ◽

Indian Foreign Policy

India’s traditional focus on economic and community-based ties with the Persian Gulf has been complemented in the twenty-first century with a dramatic upswing in political, defence, security, energy, and economic linkages with the countries of the region. Developments in the Gulf after the Arab Spring—centred around the Saudi–Iran divide on sectarian and strategic bases, competition for space and influence among various Islamist groups, and challenges to the traditional domestic structures within GCC countries—have created considerable turbulence in the regional security scenario. Given its high stakes in the region, Indian foreign policy faces a new imperative: defining and realizing a new security architecture in the Persian Gulf that would embrace all players, regional and extra-regional, in association with other major Asian powers which share India’s interests in Gulf stability.

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Arábia Saudita e Irã: rivalidade e disputa pela hegemonia no Golfo Pérsico

ÎANDÉ : Ciências e Humanidades ◽

10.36942/iande.v2i1.44 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 72-84

Author(s):

Beatriz Pidone Costa

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Persian Gulf ◽

Arab Spring ◽

Domestic Policy ◽

Iranian Revolution ◽

The Arab Spring ◽

Legitimacy Crisis ◽

New Strategies

Resumo O sectarismo religioso, considerado como um dos principais motivos que levaram à disputa entre Arábia Saudita e Irã, é utilizado como instrumento político por esses Estados em prol de seus interesses. As relações entre ambos tiveram um início cooperativo, porém, após a Revolução Iraniana de 1979, passaram apenas a se deteriorar. O embate entre os países islâmicos se acirrou, impulsionado pelas intervenções americanas na região; pela Primavera Árabe; e pela crise de legitimidade dos governos islâmicos. Atualmente, sem perspectivas de reatamento, as relações diplomáticas entre os países encontram-se rompidas. Enquanto o Irã vem ganhando espaço e influência, apesar de sérios problemas internos; a Arábia Saudita, mesmo com força regional e novas estratégias para sua política externa e interna, se vê prejudicada e enfraquecida. Palavras-chave: Arábia Saudita; Irã; Golfo Pérsico; rivalidade; hegemonia. Abstract Religious sectarianism, considered one of the main reasons that led to the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran, is used as a political instrument by these states for their interests. The relations between them had a cooperative beginning, but after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, they only deteriorated. The clash between Islamist countries has stirred up, boosted by US interventions in the region; by the Arab Spring; and by the legitimacy crisis of Islamic governments. Currently, with no prospect of reattachment, the diplomatic ties of both countries remain severed. While Iran has been gaining space and influence, despite serious internal problems; Saudi Arabia, even with regional strength and new strategies for its foreign and domestic policy, feels undermined and weakened. Keywords: Saudi Arabia; Iran; Persian Gulf; rivalry; hegemony.

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Introduction

The Changing Security Dynamics of the Persian Gulf ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190877385.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

Keyword(s):

United Arab Emirates ◽

Persian Gulf ◽

Regional Level ◽

Threat Perception ◽

New Approach ◽

Sudden Rise ◽

New Challenges ◽

The Persian Gulf ◽

The Arab Spring

This introductory chapter explores the changing complexion of security agendas in the Persian Gulf in the turbulent aftermath of the Arab Spring in 2011 and the twin shocks of the oil price collapse and sudden rise of ISIS in 2014. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen argues that new sources of insecurity emerged at the national, regional, and international levels after 2011 for the countries of the Persian Gulf. Domestic developments in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran’s partial rapprochement with world powers interfered with the balance of power and threat perception in the Gulf and contributed to the internationalization of the Yemen war in 2015 and greater volatility in decision-making. A muscular new approach to policymaking at the regional level emerged just as officials grappled with new challenges domestically as oil prices fell and greater unpredictability internationally with the election of Donald Trump in 2016.

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