Roles and International Behaviour: Saudi–Iranian Rivalry in Bahrain’s and Yemen’s Arab Spring

Abstract

Middle Eastern geopolitics are dynamic and complex. Ideological and religious matters interplay with domestic and international structures, generating several types of relations. This article aims to analyse the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two powerhouses that compete for leadership in the Gulf. The objective is to understand this competition through the lens of Role Theory, focusing on the national role conceptions that both countries project outwards. This theoretical framework presupposes that Iran and Saudi Arabia project self-made images that represent cognitive constructions of what policymakers believe their respective nations stand for. As an example, Iran projects a role of bastion of revolutions, which is firmly set against Saudi Arabia’s anti-instability role. Regional instability periods, such as civil unrests, provide useful study cases for investigating the phenomenon of rivalry. Therefore, this article focuses on the Iranian and Saudi reactions to the events related to the so-called Arab Spring in Bahrain and Yemen, detecting when the rivalry is (somehow) present in their international behaviours. In conclusion, the article adds to a better understanding of Tehran’s and Riyadh’s ideological projection, and of how much of the region’s politics are constrained by the rivalry status.

The view from Riyadh

“…Mistrusting Washington's willingness to guarantee its regional partners' security, the Saudi Kingdom has been boosting its military capacity and looking for independent means of assuring the regional status quo. 52 Since 2011, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries' military spending rose significantly. 53 The Saudi Kingdom became the largest military spender in the region and the third largest in the world in 2017.…”

Sectarian War in the Middle East: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and an Unending War for Regional Hegemony

“…From the 1950s to the 1980s, Iran and Saudi were the frontline states in the US war against communism. In return, they were the huge beneficiaries of the West in terms of military, economic, and diplomatic support (Cerioli, 2018). The Iranian Revolution of 1979, however, became the breaking point that not only deteriorated the Saudi-Iran relations but it also redefined Iran's role as an anti-western and anti-imperialist nation.…”

“…The ongoing strategic competition between Iran-Saudi Arabia has resulted in two major proxy wars in the Middle East, namely Syria and Yemen however both have been extensively engaged in other parts of the region, especially Iraq, Bahrain, and Lebanon, for gaining political influence power projection (Shujahi & Shafiq, 2018). Both perceive that influencing neighbours' policies and regional affairs is essential to generate alliances and credibility (Cerioli, 2018). Proxy warfare is defined as a situation whereby the third parties in a conflict scenario try to involve and intervene by covert means for gaining a strategic influence in the conflict outcome (Karakir, 2018).…”

Saudi Iranian Rivalry: The Struggle for Power and Influence in the Middle East

“…The proof and examination will demonstrate that the Iranian Saudi rapport has improved; conflicting diversions will lead to a constant enmity between the both states as they seem to make sure collaborations within the Gulf and safe the continuousness of their own governments. Since the one-year tribute of the terrific cast out of former president of Tunisia(Zine El Abidine Ben Ali) has been approved, Iran and Saudi Arabia expected the consequence of verdicts and thriving adequate improvement in (Libya, Tunisia and Egypt) (Cerioli, 2018). Beside this, law based skirmishes carry on in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria, whilst other authoritarian innovators have slightly curved the inner powers to alter the bases of government in both Jordan and Morocco.…”