From detente to containment
The emergence of Iran's new Saudi strategy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3697773 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hassan Ahmadian (0000-0002-2168-9973), Payam Mohseni |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 779-799 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ia/iiab014 |
| OpenAlex | W3152670969 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
Iran's strategy with respect to Saudi Arabia is a key factor in the complex balance of power of the Middle East as the Iranian-Saudi rivalry impacts the dynamics of peace and conflict across the region from Yemen to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Bahrain. What is Iranian strategic thinking on Saudi Arabia? And what have been the key factors driving the evolution of Iranian strategy towards the Kingdom? In what marks a substantive shift from its previous detente policy, we argue that Tehran has developed a new containment strategy in response to the perceived threat posed by an increasingly pro-active Saudi Arabia in the post-Arab Spring period. Incorporating rich fieldwork and interviews in the Middle East, this article delineates the theoretical contours of Iranian containment and contextualizes it within the framework of the Persian Gulf security architecture, demonstrating how rational geopolitical decision-making factors based on a containment strategy, rather than the primacy of sectarianism or domestic political orientations, shape Iran's Saudi strategy. Accordingly, the article traces Iranian strategic decision-making towards the Kingdom since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and examines three cases of Iran's current use of containment against Saudi Arabia in Syria, Yemen and Qatar
Containment (computer programming) · Development economics · Economics · Economy · Geography · Geopolitics · Islam · Middle East · Persian · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rivalry · Sectarianism · Sociology · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Socioeconomic Development in MENA
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,4 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |