US Policies Adrift in a Levant in Turmoil

Abstract

The Levant has constituted one of the core areas of interest for US foreign policy since the Second World War. The aim of this article is to shed light on the US policies towards the Levant, mostly during the last two American administrations, to understand how the vicissitudes of the region and of American politics made Washington’s policy towards the Levant look biased, at times incompetent, and most importantly inconsistent. This article examines the changes in approach to the region as a whole from one administration to the next on issues such as the protection of Israel’s sovereignty, supporting friendly regimes, fighting terrorism, and containing Iran. The hesitations and shifts in policy towards Syria are given a longer treatment as they speak both to the yet not finalized American policy towards the Levant but also to show how the US has shifted track and moved away from unseating President Assad to focus more on containing and if possible rolling over Iran.

Keywords

Levant, Middle East, US Foreign Policy, the Syrian Uprising, Post-Islamic State

Citation

Görmüş, Evrim and Özel, Soli, “US Policies Adrift in a Levant in Turmoil”, Uluslararasi Iliskiler, Vol. 15, No. 60, 2018, pp. 135-150, DOI: 10.33458/uidergisi.525103

Affiliations

• Evrim GÖRMÜŞ, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, MEF University
• Soli ÖZEL, Senior Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Kadir Has University