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In the context of political transitions taking place at the domestic, regional and international levels, this book maps a series of key Saudi and United Arab Emirates (UAE) bilateral relations incorporating the Middle East, the US, Europe, China, Russia, the Horn of Africa, India, Pakistan, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. It argues that established modes of analysis such as riyal politik and the Islamisation of Saudi foreign policy are somewhat redundant in a changing economic climate and amid evidence of uncertain returns, whilst political consolidation amounting to Sultanism tells only part of the story. The book underscores the role of youth, background, and western affinity in leadership, as well as liberalisation, hyper-nationalism, secularisation, ‘Push East’ pressure and broader economic statecraft as being the new touchstones of Saudi and UAE foreign policy. This volume also sheds light on aspects of offensive realism, dependency theory, alliance patterns, ‘challenger states’ and political legitimacy in a region dominated by competition, securitisation and proxy warfare.
sources of dependency vis-à-vis select allies. Whilst oil is found to be the dominant source of Saudi external influence, the reasons for this are becoming more diffuse than ever. It reflects the kingdom's continued status as a swing producer, its centrality in the global economy, the energy security considerations of many Asian states and maintaining political stability in weak states through the direction of oil revenues or energy transfers. Riyal politik and economic statecraft have been vital to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in pursuing (counter
, including Algeria. 22 Sultanism has also been attributed to the actions of leaders in republics such as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. There has also been a marked sense of hyper-nationalism and identity building based on shifts from traditional modes of governance. The risks of engineering such rapid changes are self-evident. 23 A range of economic concepts are also relevant to this study. Riyal politik has already been found to have played a
. However, when Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited Saudi Arabia and the UAE in March and April 2021 in search of aid, he instead received a commitment of $3 billion investment from each state, including in renewable energy. 67 Along with concurrent changes taking place in Saudi policy on Lebanon, this appears to spell the end of riyal politik for states still susceptible to Iranian influence. Energy cooperation may help Saudi Arabia and the UAE compete more effectively in Iraq vis-à-vis other actors such as
volume fits into the first and last categories mentioned. Whilst it addresses a host of issues, ranging from the intensification of geosectarian conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, riyal politik and regional challengers such as Turkey and Qatar, it also assesses the impact these issues have on more traditional themes such as state survival and the relative autonomy of the Horn states. Thematic and conceptual approach The Gulf states in this volume refers primarily to the assertive politics, foreign policies and growing
intervention through traditional riyal politik – the use of oil revenue for political ends – and broader economic statecraft, proxy warfare and military intervention. Chapter 6 turns to the US, assessing the impact of US policy from the Obama to the Biden administrations, and the evolution of the oil-for-security bargain. It notes the circumstances surrounding several near-death experiences in Saudi–US relations during the latest administrations and how partisan politics, carte blanche policy during the Trump administration and
unlikely. Third, the drop in the international oil price and COVID-19 have put economic pressure on the Saudi national budget to the extent that it could yet affect how Saudi Arabia has operated its foreign policy for many years, namely through financial levers or riyal politik to support alliance building and Iranian alliance deconstruction. 10 The oil price and economic impact of COVID-19, as well as the Trump administration's ‘maximum pressure’ policy, have also adversely affected the Iranian
. 26 Both Ethiopia and Kenya are troop contributors to the African Union (AU) forces battling the al-Shabaab insurgency in Somalia. Somalia: Gulf petrodollars in the Horn Somalia – a country that has descended into a brutal civil war following the forceful overthrow of the central government in early 1991 – is arguably the Horn nation most susceptible to Gulf states’ dollar diplomacy or riyal politik . Somalia has pursued a pro-Arab unity foreign policy since independence in 1960 and rallied behind the
in an attempt to influence other international actors. It also takes into account dimensions of the target's behaviour such as attitudes and expectations (Baldwin, 1985 : 32). Mason ( 2014b ) asserts that Saudi Arabia engages its economic resources in the foreign policy realm, often referred to as ‘Riyal Politik’, in particular through alliance construction with security guarantors such as the USA and through alliance deconstruction of adversaries such as Iran. Kamrava's ( 2018 ) work linked to RST suggests that, whereas oil has stunted
billion investment package announced by the UAE and Sudanese businessman Osama Daoud Abdellatif in June 2022, 36 at a time when international donors have suspended financial assistance and investments in Sudan to compel the coup leaders to restore civilian rule and support the democratic transition process in the country. Somalia Beyond Saudi riyal politik in Somalia and important livestock imports for the Hajj (which were adversely affected by COVID-19, highlighting the necessity