Middle East Middle Powers: Regional Role, International Impact

Abstract

The Middle East is a highly dynamic and unstructured regional system in which power relations are fluid and order is in short supply. Inevitably, the fluidity of power and the absence of a regional hegemonic power have invited external intervention. Furthermore, the region’s dynamism not only has exacerbated the subsystem’s fragmentation into sub-regions but also has afforded opportunities for the better-endowed small Arab states to play in the greater game of regional power politics. Yet, if one takes the long view, it is clear that only a handful of states have directly impacted the region’s power relations, and today only four of these countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel – meet the minimum requirements of middle power status in the MENA regional system. Their position in this fragmented and strategically-placed subsystem will be discussed in some detail.

Keywords

Middle Powers, Anarchical System, Balance of Power, Regional Rivalry, Arab Cold War

Citation

Ehteshami, Anoushiravan, “Middle East Middle Powers: Regional Role, International Impact”, Uluslararası İlişkiler, Volume 11, No. 42 (Summer 2014), p. 29- 49.

Affiliations

• Anoushiravan EHTESHAMI, Prof., The Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Chair in International Relations and Director of the HH Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Programme in International Relations, University of Durham