The End of the Middle East’s Unipolar Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-306
Author(s):  
Seyed Hossein Mousavian ◽  
Salman Ameri
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Issues

Abstract This Policy Insight article argues that a growing security partnership between Russia, Iran, China, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria (rictis) will push the Middle East into an era of bipolarity. The paper demonstrates that rictis has significant convergence on regional security issues, and that these interests are distinct from those held by the American Security Camp, a collection of states that include the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. The paper also argues that rictis has military and energy advantages that allow it to confront the American Camp’s regional dominance. Our analysis demonstrates how rictis might help deter unilateralism and democratize regional decision-making.

11. Foreign Policymaking in the Middle East: Complex Realism

2019 ◽  
pp. 249-270
Author(s):  
Raymond Hinnebusch ◽  
Anoushiravan Ehteshami
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The United States ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Relative Power ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Key Events

This chapter studies foreign policymaking by regional states in the Middle East based on a ‘complex realist’ approach. This acknowledges the weight of realist arguments but highlights other factors such as the level of dependency on the United States, processes of democratization, and the role of leadership in informing states' foreign policy choices. To illustrate this approach, the chapter examines decision-making by four leading states — Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and Egypt — in relation to the key events and crises of the last decade: the 2003 Iraq War; the 2006 Hezbollah War; and the post-2014 War with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS). The cases indicate that, as realists expect, states' foreign policies chiefly respond to threats and opportunities, as determined by their relative power positions.

Turkey’s foreign policy priorities in the Middle East and Afghanistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10-3) ◽  
pp. 228-237
Author(s):  
Marina Shpakovskaya ◽  
Oleg Barnashov ◽  
Arian Mohammad Hassan Shershah ◽  
Asadullah Noori ◽  
Mosa Ziauddin Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The United States ◽  
Turkish Foreign Policy ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
East Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
Middle East Region

The article discusses the features and main approaches of Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East. Particular attention is paid to the history of the development of Turkish-American relations. The causes of the contradictions between Turkey and the United States on the security issues of the Middle East region are analyzed. At the same time, the commonality of the approaches of both countries in countering radical terrorism in the territories adjacent to Turkey is noted. The article also discusses the priority areas of Turkish foreign policy, new approaches and technologies in the first decade of the XXI century.

Promoting Undergraduate Research at MESA

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-161
Author(s):  
Jeff VanDenBerg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Research Workshop ◽  
Middle East Studies ◽  
Professional Context

In November 2017, the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) sponsored the fourth annual Undergraduate Research Workshop in Washington, D.C. Organized by MESA's Committee for Undergraduate Middle East Studies, the workshop provides an opportunity for talented undergraduate students to present their scholarship in a professional context. Participants are selected through a competitive application process, and, since the program's inception have come from universities in Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, France, and across the United States.

The Battle for Syria

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Phillips
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The United States ◽  
External Factors ◽  
International Dimension ◽  
Regional Order ◽  
Regional Factors

This book provides an analysis of the crucial but underexplored roles the United States and other nations have played in shaping Syria's ongoing civil war. Most accounts of Syria's brutal, long-lasting civil war focus on a domestic contest that began in 2011 and only later drew foreign nations into the escalating violence. The book argues instead that the international dimension was never secondary but that Syria's war was, from the very start, profoundly influenced by regional factors, particularly the vacuum created by a perceived decline of U.S. power in the Middle East. This precipitated a new regional order in which six external protagonists — the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar — have violently competed for influence, with Syria a key battleground. Drawing on a plethora of original interviews, the book constructs a new narrative of Syria's war. Without absolving the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime, the book untangles the key external factors which explain the acceleration and endurance of the conflict, including the West's strategy against ISIS. It concludes with some insights on Syria and the region's future.

Iran is set to become a formidable cyber actor

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cyber Warfare ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Primary Target ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Sector

Subject Iran's cyber capabilities. Significance Tehran has invested in its technology sector in recent years to become one of the world’s most cyber-capable nations. Though perhaps not on the same level as China and Russia, it is not far behind. Iranian hackers have carried out successful attacks in a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United States. Impacts Saudi Arabia is Iran’s primary target for cyber operations, followed by Saudi supporters such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Iran will augment its own cyber warfare capabilities through proxies such as the 'Syrian Electronic Army'. US reversals over the nuclear deal may lead Iran to unleash a new wave of cyberattacks against US interests.

scholarly journals US – Iran Proxy War in Middle East Under Trump Administration

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-48
Author(s):  
Hino Samuel Jose ◽  
Laode Muhamad Fathun
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Regional Interest ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Proxy War ◽  
Political Security

The heated bilateral relation between Iran and the United States has brought the middle east into another level of problem. The divided geopolitical and regional interest of both countries has led to several and many multidimensional issues, ranging from political, security, and even to economic ones. This article discussed the Iran – US tension on their proxy conflict in the Middle East. This article employs the Regional Security Complex Theory to construct the events related to both states’ proxy conflicts. The polarized region for sure has drawn another line that seems to be more complexed for both countries to achieve mutual understanding and continued peacebuilding. The US withdrawal from JCPOA, killing of Soleimani, and Saudi Arabia – Iran Yemen proxy war exacerbated the status quo. This article perceived that the intertwined issues show how the traditional thought of security should be redefined as both countries try to gain bargaining power. Especially with Iran that was hindered very much by sanctions and embargo placed by the US. This article discusses many important issues on Iran, US, and Saudi Arabia involvement and their correlated dynamics within the UN. This article analyzed Trump’s leadership style in the Middle East and its implication from the proxy war to the Middle East security architecture.

scholarly journals Arab Spring, Islamist Ice Age

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelwahab El-Affendi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Obama Administration ◽  
Religious Extremism

Between June 30th, the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Islamist military takeover in Sudan, and July 4th, Independence Day in the United States, something miraculous happened in the Middle East. Suddenly everyone was in agreement, and – almost – everyone was happy. President Bashar al-Assad was ecstatic. In an interview with the Baath Party’s newspaper Al-Thawra shortly after the army deposed Muhammad Morsi, Egypt’s first-ever freely elected civilian president, on July 3, Assad applauded the coup as marking “essentially the fall of political Islam.”1 In his lengthy interview, he categorized his enemies into two groups: those “who completely abandoned their identity and embraced a ‘Western Dream’ even with all its flaws” and those “who went in exactly the opposite direction and abandoned their identity and embraced religious extremism.”2 The latter he alternatively designated as “Wahhabis” or “Takfiris.” In the presumed bastions of Wahhabism in the Gulf, Morsi’s downfall was received with even more elation. Within days, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE pledged an aid package worth USD 12 billion to cash-strapped Egypt, showing how much they appreciated this outcome.3 And while Israel joined its sworn enemy Hamas in maintaining a guarded silence,4 its media (and some politicians) did not hide their glee at Morsi’s political demise.5 As usual, the Obama administration was either unable to make up its mind or was too embarrassed to say what it believed. But that was in itself a clear stance, since the United States was happy to permit its key allies to provide massive cash injections to the new army-backed regime. It also refrained from ...

Arab gripes pose challenges for Syrian Kurds’ control

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Power Dynamic ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Underlying Causes

Subject Kurdish-Arab tensions in north-east Syria Significance Significant protests between April and June by Arab tribes in north-eastern Syria against Kurdish governance have subsided in north-eastern Syria after Saudi Arabia intervened to encourage de-escalation. However, the underlying causes, including grievances over economic distribution, heavy-handed security methods and a lack of Arab representation in decision-making, have not been resolved. Impacts A deterioration in cooperation between Arab tribes and the SDF may facilitate the operations of IS sleeper cells. The United States and partners will look for further ways to alleviate the concerns of Arab tribes in the area. Ankara and Damascus, which both have designs on the north-east, will play up protests to justify intervention. A mooted Turkish invasion of the border area could radically shift the power dynamic in the region.

scholarly journals Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in the Middle East Is Characterized by Low Incidence Rates With Advancing Age

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Rafil T. Yaqo ◽  
Sana D. Jalal ◽  
Kharaman J. Ghafour ◽  
Hemin A. Hassan ◽  
Michael D. Hughson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
B Cell Lymphoma ◽  
Cancer Registries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Non Hodgkin Lymphoma

PURPOSE In the Middle East, incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) to Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are more than 50% lower than the United States. MATERIALS AND METHODS Age-specific incidence rates (ASIRs), age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIRs), and IRRs of NHL:HL were compared using the cancer registries of Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and US SEER. RESULTS The NHL AAIR (95% CI) per 100,000 population was 4.4 (4.1 to 4.7) for Iraq, 5.4 (4.6 to 6.2) for Jordan, 4.7 (4.4 to 5.1) for Saudi Arabia, and 13.2 (13.0 to 13.4) for the United States. The HL AAIR was 1.8 (1.6 to 2.0) for Iraq, 1.8 (1.4 to 2.2) for Jordan, 2.1 (1.9 to 2.2) for Saudi Arabia, and 2.3 (2.2 to 2.4) for the United States, with respective NHL:HL IRR of 2.4 (2.2 to 2.7), 3.0 (2.4 to 3.8), 2.2 (2.0 to 2.5), and 5.7 (5.5 to 6.0). NHL ASIRs for the Middle East and the United States were similar until 30 to 39 years of age. Thereafter, ASIR of NHL peaked at 20 to 33 per 100,000 at age 70 years in the Middle East regions, all much lower than the US age 70 years rate of greater than 100 per 100,000. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represented 52% of NHL in Sulaimaniyah Province of Iraq and 51% of NHL in Saudi Arabia. Both regions had AAIR for DLBCL less than 42% of DLBCL in US SEER. Pediatric Epstein-Barr virus–related Burkitt’s lymphoma at 8% was the second most frequent NHL in Sulaimaniyah but made little contribution to overall NHL rates. CONCLUSION The incidence of HL was slightly lower than in the United States, but it was the markedly lower rates of adult NHL with advancing age, including the predominant DLBCL, that accounted for the low NHL:HL IRR in these Middle Eastern countries.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Decision-Making Processes in Virtual Teams in the UAE

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Vida Davidaviciene ◽  
Khaled Al Majzoub ◽  
Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Direct Effect ◽  
The United States ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Organizational reliance on virtual teams (VTs) is increasing tremendously due to the significant benefits they offer, such as efficiently reaching objectives and increasing organizational performance. However, VTs face a lot of challenges that, if overlooked, will prevent them from yielding the required benefits. One of the major issues that hinders the effectiveness of VTs is the decision-making process. There is a lack of scientific research that attempts to understand the factors affecting decision making processes in VTs. Studies in this area have only been done in the United States and Europe. However, such research has not been conducted in the Middle East, where specific scientific solutions are still required to improve the performance of VTs. Therefore, this study is conducted in the Middle East, namely in the United Arab Emirates, to gain scientific knowledge on this region’s specificity. An online questionnaire (Google forms) was used to obtain the necessary data. Hypotheses were developed to test the influence of ICT (Information and communications technologies), language, information sharing, and trust on the decision-making processes, and the effect of decision making on team performance. Structural equational model (SEM) methodology was used to test our proposed model. The results showed that factors such as trust, ICT, and information sharing have a direct effect on decision-making processes, while language has no effect on decision making, and decision-making processes have a direct effect on the performance of the VTs.

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