From Defense to Offense: Realist Shifts in Saudi Foreign Policy

Rich, Ben

doi:10.1111/mepo.12438

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Among the determinants of this dynamic are both the opportunity offered by the permissive multipolar order at the global level and the need to preserve domestic order. 29 Specifically, one of the factors that have driven the spread of competition outside the traditional regional boundaries has been particular regimes' quests for survival. 30 To avoid spillover effects that would threaten a regimes' security, Middle Eastern players have exploited the fragility or even the collapse of some regional and extra-regional states to export competition into third country contexts.…”

Section: The Middle East and The Horn Of Africa: From Autonomic To Sy...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Crossing Roads: The Middle East’s Security Engagement in the Horn of Africa

Donelli

Levaggi

2021

Global Change, Peace & Security

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This paper aims to analy ¶ se the growing enlargement of the spheres of competition from the Middle East into the Horn of Africa. It does so by using insights from regional order and realist neoclassical literature to understand the expansion of regional powers into this area as the result of strategic interactions within their own region. The central argument is that the clashing interests among Middle Eastern regional powers and power asymmetry with Horn of Africa countries are driving an increased security interdependence between the two Red Sea shores. This increasing security engagement by competing Middle Eastern states is producing an insecurity spillover which threatens to exacerbate regional instability in the Horn. It also presents a new role for Middle Eastern regional powers as security providers, particularly in the case of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey. To substantiate this argument, the paper analyses interregional security dynamics by focusing on three empirical cases in the 2015 ¶ -2020 period: The Gulf Cooperation Council's crisis, the establishment of a Turkish military bases in the Horn of Africa and Israel's new diplomatic engagement in Eastern Africa.

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Section: The Middle East and The Horn Of Africa: From Autonomic To Sy...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Crossing Roads: The Middle East’s Security Engagement in the Horn of Africa

Donelli

Levaggi

2021

Global Change, Peace & Security

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“…The brief detention and forced resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was seen as another "aggressive, zero-sum and revisionist stance which aimed to forcibly alter the political character of a foreign power" (Rich 2019). The reasoning behind this move was continuing Saudi displeasure with Hariri's limited moves in curbing Hezbollah's influence in Lebanon.…”

Section: The Limits Of An Offensive Foreign Policy Under a New Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion and International Relations in the Middle East

2020

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By the end of the 20th century, after great political upheavals, two world wars, the decolonization process and political, social and scientific revolutions, it is hard to miss that the world is in a deep de-secularization process. In the Middle East, this process has taken multiple trajectories and has made geopolitics of religion central in reshaping regional issues and in restructuring modes of international politics and international system's intervention in the Middle East.

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“…According to this approach, "defensive realism stresses moderate, cautious policies in the pursuit of security. Survival is best realized through a mentality of restraint that tends towards small, incremental and non-disruptive actions in security seeking", whereas offensive realists consider that in the quest for survival "there is no such thing as an adequate level of security; states must hoard as much as possible" by maximizing their power at the expense of their rivals and adopting unilateral behavior and regional hegemony to secure their survival (Rich 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From ‘Soft’ to ‘Hard’ to ‘Moderate’: Islam in the Dilemmas of Post-2011 Saudi Foreign Policy

Athanasoulia

2020

Religions

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Due to its specific history, Saudi Arabia’s domestic and international politics are inextricably linked together. In the shaping and implementation of the kingdom’s essentially defensive international behavior, Islam has kept a central position as a legitimizing factor and as a tool of ‘soft power’ foreign policy. This paper firstly aims to explore the position that religion holds in the Saudi perceptions of stability in the post-2011 era, where safeguarding the status quo remained the priority, while the new administration responded to external pressure by shifting towards a ‘hard power’ foreign policy with questionable results. Furthermore, the paper explores the links between foreign policy choices and the promotion of a new, modern image for the kingdom whereas the regime has appropriated for itself the notion of ‘moderate Islam’ in order to restore its international image and attract investments for the ‘Vision 2030’ reform program. Finally, it proposes a discussion of the position of Islam in the future direction of the country, amidst an increasing authoritarian rule.

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From Defense to Offense: Realist Shifts in Saudi Foreign Policy

Cited by 6 publications

References 21 publications

Crossing Roads: The Middle East’s Security Engagement in the Horn of Africa

Crossing Roads: The Middle East’s Security Engagement in the Horn of Africa

Religion and International Relations in the Middle East

From ‘Soft’ to ‘Hard’ to ‘Moderate’: Islam in the Dilemmas of Post-2011 Saudi Foreign Policy

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