The Arab Spring: challenges to the US Middle East policy

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Wahabuddin Ra' ◽  
N.A. ees
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Middle East Policy

Searching a Political Solution for Syria

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saroj Kumar Rath
Keyword(s):  
Arab Spring ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Pull Out ◽  
Transition Mechanism ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Middle East Policy

Syria’s sudden plunge into civil struggle is directly linked with United States’ Middle East policy. The 2011 pull-out of American troops from the smouldering provinces of Iraq and the subsequent refusal of the US to take sides in the ‘Arab Spring’ have weakened the incumbent governments and produced too many unsuitable civil claimants to rule ‘Arab Spring’-affected countries. The so-called US neutrality left a vacuum, which was filled by a swarm of Islamist extremists. The resultant internecine wars sparked by contending parties in Iraq, Syria and Yemen had taken these countries to the very verge of chaos. The outcome among other things included a revival of al-Qaeda, which was soon eclipsed by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and an unending spiral of civil war in Syria, the major result of the anti-Western blowback. This article argues that the fight against extremist forces in Syria is doomed if there is absence of a strong, functional and acceptable government. Lasting peace under President Bashar al-Assad looks impossible but it is essential to have the core of Ba’athist regime in place in any transitional or post-transition mechanism. A new interpretation of political solution is required. Else, the state will collapse, which will only help the jihadists. Despite its limitations and challenges, federalisation of Syria and the establishment of a federal structure of the government, it seems, is the only viable solution.

scholarly journals Transformation of British Policy in the Middle East

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-51
Author(s):  
Oleg Okhoshin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
East Region ◽  
Peaceful Settlement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Middle East Policy

The Middle East region is of particular importance to the United Kingdom, because control over it ensures international and energy security, reduces the threat of a migration crisis and meets the country’s geopolitical objectives, which are reflected in the concept of «Global Britain». B. Johnson’s government in the Middle East policy faced the problems of peaceful settlement of ethno-confessional contradictions and the socio-economic consequences of the «Arab Spring» and the terrorist activities of ISIS. Under these conditions, British diplomacy has developed a strategy that includes maneuvering between the foreign policy interests of the US and the EU in the Middle East and adapting to the transformation of regional socio-political systems

Resistance to Change

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Necati Polat
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Normative Commitment ◽  
Crucial Element ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Arab Spring

Of the apparent stamina of resistance to change, not only in Turkey but also in the Middle East, this chapter argues that treating the draconian regimes in the greater region as mere vestiges of native authoritarianisms lacks insights into the ostensible strength of those regimes. Accordingly, a characteristically ‘modern’ rationality could be implicit in the project of forced emancipation that largely defined the despotisms in the region during the Arab Spring. Motivated by a unique ‘liberation theology’ to save the locals ‘from themselves’, the regimes enforced ‘modernity’ in the face of traditional identities and practices. Promising autonomy from the tutelage of the local, this theology not only manufactured a crucial element of consent in respective domestic societies, but also brought together strands of global thinking, all possibly motivated by a normative commitment to modernity, ultimately in favour of those authoritarianisms: the Turkish neo-nationalism (ulusalcılık), the US neo-conservatism, and Dugin’s Eurasianism.

scholarly journals THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN THE «ARAB SPRING»

2013 ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
A. V. Krylov
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Caucasus Region ◽  
Radical Islam ◽  
The Us ◽  
Religious Factor ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Arab Spring

A huge wave of mass protests for the last years has lead to a collapse of many longstanding traditional regimes in some Arab states (Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen). In other states (Syria, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Morocco) a serious aggravation of political situation occurred. Many experts in Russia as well as abroad share an opinion that the phenomenon of the “Arab revolution" or the so cold "Arab Spring" has the same basic pattern: after the beginning of unrest in North Africa and the Middle East the Islamist political parties, organizations and groups are gaining strength, popularity and influence. The main content of the article is focused on the analysis of religious, political, socio-economic and other aspects of the contemporary ideology and practice of the radical Islam, its threats and challenges. The current situation in the region has favored the creation of a new political alliance in the Greater Middle East. Now the US administration's policy in the Middle East is aimed at the advancement of the of the radical Islam front to Iran, North Caucasus region and Central Asia. This policy corresponds to the global strategic interests of the U.S. regional partners including Petro-Islamic States, Turkey and even Israel. Analyzing the situation around Syria the author notes that the steps undertaken by the members of the new regional alliance to eliminate B. Assad - another victim of the "Arab Spring" – can, first of all, aggravate an extremely unstable situation in Syria, and, secondly, create a real perspective of the radical Islam advancement right up to the borders of the Russian Federation.

scholarly journals The United States in the Middle East (2001–2014): from intervention to retrenchment/Os EUA no Oriente Médio (2001–2014): da intervenção ao cerceamento

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-475
Author(s):  
Peter R. Demant ◽  
Ariel Finguerut
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Arab World ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the paradoxical consequences the so-called “Arab Spring”, from 2011 to 2014/15, which has led in various countries of the Arab world and beyond to different outcomes, but nowhere to stable democracy. We intend to discuss the outcomes of those political mobilizations and revolts, paying special attention to (a) the role of Islamist movements and (b) U.S reactions to the recent Mideast upheavals. We start with a general analysis and go to a few case studies (e.g. Egypt, Syria, and Turkey). In discussing the impact of Islamism, we attempt a classification of currents along two coordinates, one parameter contrasting Sunni and Shiite movements, the other laying out the continuum from pacific-modernist to violent jihadist. We defend that the dynamics of intra-Islamist tensions (such as Sunni jihadist against the Shiite Hizbullah-Syria-Iran axis) are no less crucial than the religious-secularist divide for understanding recent developments. Regarding US policies, we emphasize the dilemmas and contradictions within U.S government. We investigate the hypothesis that the US was caught largely unaware by the Arab Spring, and that its reactions suffered from the amorphousness of prior positions of the Obama administration, combined with leftovers from the Bush period. Internal contradictions of Obama’s Middle East doctrine coupled with a general isolationist trend have precluded the US from assuming more forceful policies, creating frustrations on all sides, and enflaming rather than dousing the fires of anti-Westernism in the Islamic world.Keywords: Arab Spring ; U.S policies ; Syria; jihadist.  Resumo: O principal objetivo deste artigo é discutir as consequências paradoxais da chamada "Primavera Árabe", que a partir de 2011 aos nossos dias produziu em vários países do mundo árabe diferentes resultados, mas em nenhum lugar chegou-se à democracia estável. Temos a intenção de discutir os resultados dessas mobilizações políticas e revoltas, com especial atenção para (a) o papel dos movimentos islâmicos e (b) as reações e posturas dos EUA ante os recentes levantes no Oriente Médio. De uma análise geral partiremos para estudos de caso (como Egito, Síria e Turquia). Ao discutir o impacto do islamismo, tentamos uma classificação das correntes ao longo de duas coordenadas, um deles contrastando movimentos sunitas e xiitas, e outro que define o continuum de pacifista - modernista para jihadista –violento. Postulamos que a dinâmica das tensões intra- islâmicos (como a de jihadistas sunitas contra o eixo Hezbollah -Síria- Irã xiita) não são menos importantes do que a divisão religiosa - secular para compreender os desdobramentos recentes. No que diz respeito aos EUA, destacamos os dilemas e contradições dentro do governo dos EUA. Nós investigamos a hipótese de que os EUA foi pego de surpresa em grande parte pela Primavera Árabe, e que as reações do governo Obama traduzem mais um recolhimento do que um novo engajamento.Palavras-chave: Primavera Árabe; Políticas dos EUA; Síria; jihadismo.   DOI: 10.20424/2237-7743/bjir.v4n3p442-475

scholarly journals A New Perspective on Middle-East Democracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Elfan Kaukab
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
The United States ◽  
Authoritarian Regime ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
National Interests ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Arab Spring

Spring 2011 was a historic year in the Middle East and was momentum for the rise of people power to overthrow the long-reigning authoritarian regime. This event is known as The Arab Spring. However, on the way, the Arab dream did not come easy. This book tries to capture the opportunities and challenges of democratization in Arab countries after the Arab Spring. There are three countries, namely Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria, which are the focus of this book's study. The interests of the United States (US) emerged as the trigger for democratization efforts. The US does not hesitate to hinder democratization in a country with leaders who are not pro-Western. It is not surprising that democratization in Arab countries is only seen as a US political project to safeguard its national interests. From this book, we can reflect on the situation in Indonesia. Does that also happen?

scholarly journals Mapping the Obama administration's response to the Arab Spring

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria do Céu de Pinho Ferreira Pinto
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Arab Spring

When the Arab Spring broke out, the United States was in a quandary over how to handle the crisis in its attempt to balance its moral obligations and ideals without undercutting its strategic interests and those of its close allies. Flaws in US diplomatic approach have contributed to one of the most serious foreign policy crisis for a US administration to date with consequential upheaval and erosion of the US-built balance of power. The reactions and policy responses of the Obama administration highlight the difficulties in grasping with the new reality in the Middle East and in enunciating a policy platform that could combine American interests and values.

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