Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2022.2051316
Sarvenaz Khanmohammadi, Degang Sun
Abstract Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international political and economic system has changed dramatically. The Western powers are in decline, while the non-western Asian and Eurasian powers are rising. The three-century-long Western dominated international system is giving way to a mixed system with Global North and Global South playing predominant roles simultaneously. In face of the changing international system, China and Iran are promoting strategic docking, and their relations have been updated from the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 to the 25-Year Strategic Cooperation Agreement in 2021. This development demonstrates the resilience of China’s strategic partnerships in the Middle East, and is conducive to building a more balanced international system and fostering South-South cooperation. The updated Sino-Iranian relations is defensive, and it does not target any third party, nor does it change China’s non-alignment policy in the Middle East. It is conducive to promoting regional reconciliation between Iran and Saudi-led Arab countries.
{"title":"China-Iran strategic cooperation agreement in the changing international system","authors":"Sarvenaz Khanmohammadi, Degang Sun","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2022.2051316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2022.2051316","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international political and economic system has changed dramatically. The Western powers are in decline, while the non-western Asian and Eurasian powers are rising. The three-century-long Western dominated international system is giving way to a mixed system with Global North and Global South playing predominant roles simultaneously. In face of the changing international system, China and Iran are promoting strategic docking, and their relations have been updated from the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 to the 25-Year Strategic Cooperation Agreement in 2021. This development demonstrates the resilience of China’s strategic partnerships in the Middle East, and is conducive to building a more balanced international system and fostering South-South cooperation. The updated Sino-Iranian relations is defensive, and it does not target any third party, nor does it change China’s non-alignment policy in the Middle East. It is conducive to promoting regional reconciliation between Iran and Saudi-led Arab countries.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"16 1","pages":"27 - 45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45626106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2022.2057067
Zhiqiang Wang, Jun Zhao
Abstract It is a common phenomenon in international relations that the interaction between international actors leads to structural changes, which are often manifested as a positive friendly relationship or an escalation of contradictions or even conflicts among actors. Taking the relations between China and the Arab League as an example, this paper investigates the characteristics and influences of building friendly relations between the two sides. China-Arab relations are undergoing structural changes in the new era, generally reflected as follows: China and Arab countries enhance each other’s position in their overall diplomacy; there is a strategic docking between ‘Looking East’ of the Arab League and China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’; China has become the second largest trading partner of the Arab League; China-Arab cooperation has expanded in new frontiers such as high technology; the multilateral cooperation mechanism between China and Arab countries has been increasingly improved, and the strategic positioning of both sides has been constantly promoted. There are both internal and external driving forces to promote the structural upgrading of China-Arab relations. The former includes the economic interdependence between China and the Arab League, the changes in the policy orientation and priorities of the two sides, and the domestic political changes of Arab League countries, while the latter involves the changes in the surrounding situation of both sides, the changes in the international situation and the strategic contraction of the United States from the Middle East. The structural upgrading of China-Arab relations is conducive to the multi-polar development of the Middle East. Nevertheless, the two sides need to take precautions to cope with the changes in power, interests and identity brought about by this structural upgrading.
{"title":"Internal structural changes in China-Arab League relations: characteristics, motivations and influences","authors":"Zhiqiang Wang, Jun Zhao","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2022.2057067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2022.2057067","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract It is a common phenomenon in international relations that the interaction between international actors leads to structural changes, which are often manifested as a positive friendly relationship or an escalation of contradictions or even conflicts among actors. Taking the relations between China and the Arab League as an example, this paper investigates the characteristics and influences of building friendly relations between the two sides. China-Arab relations are undergoing structural changes in the new era, generally reflected as follows: China and Arab countries enhance each other’s position in their overall diplomacy; there is a strategic docking between ‘Looking East’ of the Arab League and China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’; China has become the second largest trading partner of the Arab League; China-Arab cooperation has expanded in new frontiers such as high technology; the multilateral cooperation mechanism between China and Arab countries has been increasingly improved, and the strategic positioning of both sides has been constantly promoted. There are both internal and external driving forces to promote the structural upgrading of China-Arab relations. The former includes the economic interdependence between China and the Arab League, the changes in the policy orientation and priorities of the two sides, and the domestic political changes of Arab League countries, while the latter involves the changes in the surrounding situation of both sides, the changes in the international situation and the strategic contraction of the United States from the Middle East. The structural upgrading of China-Arab relations is conducive to the multi-polar development of the Middle East. Nevertheless, the two sides need to take precautions to cope with the changes in power, interests and identity brought about by this structural upgrading.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"16 1","pages":"79 - 101"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42108917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2022.2056383
Zhen Yu
Abstract The European Union (EU) and its core member states are active participants and stakeholders in the security affairs of the Gulf region. European maritime security is not only an important extension of European security in geospatial and functional areas, but also an indispensable part of Europe’s overall security strategy. However, the attention to the EU’s maritime security was distracted before 2010, while the concern for European maritime security and the Gulf region was limited to safe transit routes through the international straits and archipelagic waters of the Gulf region. With the tension in Gulf was increased by oil tanker attacks, the role of EU and its core member states as major stakeholders in Gulf maritime security affairs has been more and more important.
{"title":"Gulf Region and EU’s Maritime Security Strategy: The Expanding ‘Blue Border’?","authors":"Zhen Yu","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2022.2056383","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2022.2056383","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The European Union (EU) and its core member states are active participants and stakeholders in the security affairs of the Gulf region. European maritime security is not only an important extension of European security in geospatial and functional areas, but also an indispensable part of Europe’s overall security strategy. However, the attention to the EU’s maritime security was distracted before 2010, while the concern for European maritime security and the Gulf region was limited to safe transit routes through the international straits and archipelagic waters of the Gulf region. With the tension in Gulf was increased by oil tanker attacks, the role of EU and its core member states as major stakeholders in Gulf maritime security affairs has been more and more important.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"16 1","pages":"102 - 112"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48630409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2022.2059640
Mukhtar Imam
Abstract The discourse on the evolution of the principles of international laws and laws amongst nations have always taken a Eurocentric approach. The common argument and perspectives is that contemporary international law evolved from the Christendom to the Spanish School and Grotius, while downplaying the influence of the Islamic law of nations in shaping issues of acculturation, accommodation, rules of engagement in war relating to international law. This paper tends to x-ray and investigate the impact of the Islamic law of nations, from the the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah to the Siyar of Muhammad ibn Shaybani. It tries to highlight the relevance of the Muslim East and its concrete contributions to Laws and treaties of the Middle Ages to recent times and also argues, using existing literature, that the European Christian society only adopted what already existed in the Muslim, Islamic laws and tried to Christianise them overtime. The paper finds that further investigation and interrogation will reveal much more of the influence of the Islamic laws on contemporary laws of relations amongst nations and beyond.
摘要关于国际法原则和国家间法律演变的论述一直以欧洲为中心。共同的论点和观点是，当代国际法从基督教世界演变到西班牙学派和格劳秀斯，同时淡化了伊斯兰国法在形成与国际法有关的文化适应、迁就、战争交战规则等问题方面的影响。本文倾向于透视和研究伊斯兰教法对各国的影响，从《荷台比耶条约》到穆罕默德·伊本·沙巴尼(Muhammad ibn Shaybani)的Siyar。它试图强调东方穆斯林的相关性及其对中世纪和近代法律和条约的具体贡献，并利用现有文献辩称，欧洲基督教社会只是采用了已经存在于穆斯林和伊斯兰法律中的东西，并试图将它们基督教化。本文发现，进一步的调查和讯问将揭示更多伊斯兰教法对当代国家间及国际关系法律的影响。
{"title":"A Reassessment of Diplomatic Interactions and Islamic Laws of Nations in The International System","authors":"Mukhtar Imam","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2022.2059640","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2022.2059640","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The discourse on the evolution of the principles of international laws and laws amongst nations have always taken a Eurocentric approach. The common argument and perspectives is that contemporary international law evolved from the Christendom to the Spanish School and Grotius, while downplaying the influence of the Islamic law of nations in shaping issues of acculturation, accommodation, rules of engagement in war relating to international law. This paper tends to x-ray and investigate the impact of the Islamic law of nations, from the the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah to the Siyar of Muhammad ibn Shaybani. It tries to highlight the relevance of the Muslim East and its concrete contributions to Laws and treaties of the Middle Ages to recent times and also argues, using existing literature, that the European Christian society only adopted what already existed in the Muslim, Islamic laws and tried to Christianise them overtime. The paper finds that further investigation and interrogation will reveal much more of the influence of the Islamic laws on contemporary laws of relations amongst nations and beyond.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"16 1","pages":"17 - 26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42727125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2021.2009196
Hüseyin Kalaycı
Abstract The Turkish Football League has been the stage of a struggle between the secular ‘Old Turkey’ and neo-Ottomanist/Islamist ‘New Turkey’. Despite having established an authoritarian regime and concentrated power in his hands, football stadiums are still places of resistance against and a source of anxiety for President Erdoğan. Those who feel the need to protest against interference with their lifestyle by the governing Islamist party exhibit their reactions in stadiums with chants expressing their loyalty to Atatürk. In that respect, Erdoğan has been particularly interested in establishing his hegemony in the sports sector, which would allow him to break one of the last bastions of resistance against his rule. For that purpose, Erdoğan resorted to draconian measures to stifle the growing voices of protest while he embarked on the creation of a neo-Ottoman and conservative memory as well as inspiring the fascination of the masses by constructing new stadiums. However, one unexpected development was witnessed: the resurrection of Atatürk.
{"title":"A Not-So-Friendly Match Between ‘Old Turkey’ and ‘New Turkey’: Turkish Football and Stadiums as a Domain of Hegemonic Struggle","authors":"Hüseyin Kalaycı","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2021.2009196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2021.2009196","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Turkish Football League has been the stage of a struggle between the secular ‘Old Turkey’ and neo-Ottomanist/Islamist ‘New Turkey’. Despite having established an authoritarian regime and concentrated power in his hands, football stadiums are still places of resistance against and a source of anxiety for President Erdoğan. Those who feel the need to protest against interference with their lifestyle by the governing Islamist party exhibit their reactions in stadiums with chants expressing their loyalty to Atatürk. In that respect, Erdoğan has been particularly interested in establishing his hegemony in the sports sector, which would allow him to break one of the last bastions of resistance against his rule. For that purpose, Erdoğan resorted to draconian measures to stifle the growing voices of protest while he embarked on the creation of a neo-Ottoman and conservative memory as well as inspiring the fascination of the masses by constructing new stadiums. However, one unexpected development was witnessed: the resurrection of Atatürk.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":"519 - 535"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47321712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2021.2009195
Betul Dogan-Akkas
Abstract The securitisation of military and political sectors has been underway for decades in the context of Qatari politics. Conceptualising the role of security in Qatar’s foreign policymaking is the primary purpose of this study. Qatar’s security tools and strategies in the initial era of the Gulf Crisis 2017 are central elements of this research using the Copenhagen school's securitisation framework. The Gulf Crisis started in June 2017 and took more than 3 years for the parties to warm the relations again. This research depicts the early process of the Gulf Crisis 2017 through categorising threats and vulnerabilities posed to Qatar's military and political security.
{"title":"A Securitization Approach to Qatar’s Foreign Policy Making","authors":"Betul Dogan-Akkas","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2021.2009195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2021.2009195","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The securitisation of military and political sectors has been underway for decades in the context of Qatari politics. Conceptualising the role of security in Qatar’s foreign policymaking is the primary purpose of this study. Qatar’s security tools and strategies in the initial era of the Gulf Crisis 2017 are central elements of this research using the Copenhagen school's securitisation framework. The Gulf Crisis started in June 2017 and took more than 3 years for the parties to warm the relations again. This research depicts the early process of the Gulf Crisis 2017 through categorising threats and vulnerabilities posed to Qatar's military and political security.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":"536 - 553"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60143624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2021.2018861
Mark Chamoun
Abstract Recent protests in Iraq have brought focus to many issues currently affecting the Iraqi government’s ability to govern. A source of some of these issues is the 2005 Constitution. The Constitution’s biggest flaw is its ambiguity that has led to a confused political order whereby Iraq’s political elite seek to interpret and take advantage of the Constitution for their personal benefits. Iraq’s first Prime Minister, and the longest reigning since the 2003 Occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, was the first to exploit constitutional ambiguity and perhaps the most effective at it. Two questions arise to the issue of constitutional ambiguity and its exploitation by the Prime Minister. Where did the ambiguity in the Iraqi Constitution come from and how exactly was the constitution ambiguous? And how and through what processes did Nouri al-Maliki exploit ambiguities in the Iraqi Constitution? This paper will argue that constitutional ambiguity was (I) brought about by the rushed drafting of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution that saw American interference in the process result in an ambiguous document posing problems in four key areas, and (II) that the first Prime Minister who dealt with the Constitution, Nouri al-Maliki, exploited the Constitution through three distinct processes: co-opting the Judiciary, bypassing bureaucracy through patronage networks, and legitimising decisions that suited his own benefit using the Constitution as justification. This paper hopes to serve as a case study for the exploitation of constitutional ambiguity in post-occupation countries, where constitutional drafting was in one way or another flawed or mishandled; and a explanation as to how and through what processes constitutional ambiguity can be exploited by a country’s executive leadership.
{"title":"Consolidating Power Through the Ambiguous: Ambiguity in the 2005 Iraqi Constitution and its Exploitation by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki","authors":"Mark Chamoun","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2021.2018861","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2021.2018861","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Recent protests in Iraq have brought focus to many issues currently affecting the Iraqi government’s ability to govern. A source of some of these issues is the 2005 Constitution. The Constitution’s biggest flaw is its ambiguity that has led to a confused political order whereby Iraq’s political elite seek to interpret and take advantage of the Constitution for their personal benefits. Iraq’s first Prime Minister, and the longest reigning since the 2003 Occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, was the first to exploit constitutional ambiguity and perhaps the most effective at it. Two questions arise to the issue of constitutional ambiguity and its exploitation by the Prime Minister. Where did the ambiguity in the Iraqi Constitution come from and how exactly was the constitution ambiguous? And how and through what processes did Nouri al-Maliki exploit ambiguities in the Iraqi Constitution? This paper will argue that constitutional ambiguity was (I) brought about by the rushed drafting of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution that saw American interference in the process result in an ambiguous document posing problems in four key areas, and (II) that the first Prime Minister who dealt with the Constitution, Nouri al-Maliki, exploited the Constitution through three distinct processes: co-opting the Judiciary, bypassing bureaucracy through patronage networks, and legitimising decisions that suited his own benefit using the Constitution as justification. This paper hopes to serve as a case study for the exploitation of constitutional ambiguity in post-occupation countries, where constitutional drafting was in one way or another flawed or mishandled; and a explanation as to how and through what processes constitutional ambiguity can be exploited by a country’s executive leadership.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":"447 - 467"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41677990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2021.2024401
S. Lawale, T. Ahmad
Abstract The geopolitical construct of the Indo-Pacific has evolved as one of the most important ones of the twenty-first century and more particularly of the last decade. While there is little or no consensus on where the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) begins or ends, it has inadvertently become a space where new convergences, competitions and alignments have emerged. These developments are intrinsically linked with the ascent of China as a global power, the retreat of the American strategic footprint and the emergence of a multi-polar world order. Within the larger Indo-Pacific construct, the Western Indian Ocean region is a space of considerable geopolitical and maritime interactions between states. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India are both countries of the Western Indian Ocean region while France is a resident power of the region owing to the presence of two of its overseas departments—Mayotte and Reunion—and its inter services bases in the UAE and Djibouti. The three countries have considerable experience in operationalising bilateral as well as trilateral initiatives. The lack of such initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean region could therefore offer the opportunity for UAE, India and France to come together in a trilateral arrangement to further their strategic interests and uphold the concept of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’. The paper seeks to explore whether a trilateral partnership between the UAE, India and France could contribute to furthering their respective strategic autonomy in the Indo-Pacific Region. The paper will also endeavour to examine the conflicts and differences that could be expected and the possible areas of convergence.
{"title":"UAE-India-France Trilateral: A Mechanism to Advance Strategic Autonomy in the Indo-Pacific?","authors":"S. Lawale, T. Ahmad","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2021.2024401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2021.2024401","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The geopolitical construct of the Indo-Pacific has evolved as one of the most important ones of the twenty-first century and more particularly of the last decade. While there is little or no consensus on where the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) begins or ends, it has inadvertently become a space where new convergences, competitions and alignments have emerged. These developments are intrinsically linked with the ascent of China as a global power, the retreat of the American strategic footprint and the emergence of a multi-polar world order. Within the larger Indo-Pacific construct, the Western Indian Ocean region is a space of considerable geopolitical and maritime interactions between states. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India are both countries of the Western Indian Ocean region while France is a resident power of the region owing to the presence of two of its overseas departments—Mayotte and Reunion—and its inter services bases in the UAE and Djibouti. The three countries have considerable experience in operationalising bilateral as well as trilateral initiatives. The lack of such initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean region could therefore offer the opportunity for UAE, India and France to come together in a trilateral arrangement to further their strategic interests and uphold the concept of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’. The paper seeks to explore whether a trilateral partnership between the UAE, India and France could contribute to furthering their respective strategic autonomy in the Indo-Pacific Region. The paper will also endeavour to examine the conflicts and differences that could be expected and the possible areas of convergence.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":"468 - 488"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47390873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2021.2009197
Bo Wang, Danni Hu
Abstract The Iran policy is an important part of the US Middle East policy, and the key to the US handling of its relations with Iran. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the US and Iran continued to dispute over the Iranian nuclear issue. In the last 20 years of the twentieth century, the US invested a lot in the Middle East in response to possible security threats from the Iranian nuclear issue. Since the unfolding of the twenty-first century, with the intensified changes in the power balance among the major powers, the Obama administration has proposed to ‘pivot to Asia-Pacific’ by adopting a series of policies to ease and engage with Iran, and finally promoted the conclusion of the Iranian nuclear agreement. However, the subsequent restoration of Iran’s regional influence and the dissatisfaction of Saudi Arabia and other allies have also brought into questions to the Obama administration’s Iranian nuclear policy. In order to contain Iran’s expanding regional power and reshape the image of the US leadership among its allies, the Trump administration had adopted a compulsory policy towards Iran that focuses on economic sanctions and military threats. However, the Trump administration continued the Obama administration’s strategy of contraction in the Middle East, the US investment in the Middle East was relatively reduced, and its Iranian nuclear policy had limited results. Anyway, under the premise of ‘pivot to Asia-Pacific region and contraction in the Middle East’, the previous two US governments’ either ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ Iranian nuclear policies have their limitations. After the Biden administration came to power, it still values the importance of US-Iranian relations and the Iranian nuclear issue in US policy in the Middle East. At the same time, it faces a regional situation different from the previous two administrations. The Biden administration hopes to maintain the relative balance of powers in the Middle East through the Iranian nuclear policy of both soft and hard, while relying on Saudi Arabia, Israel and other allies to contain Iran. Avoid or reduce the possibility of US direct military confrontation with Iran, thus creating possible conditions for it to fully implement Asia-Pacific deployment and contain the rise of emerging Asian powers.
{"title":"The Establishment of Biden Administration’s Iranian Nuclear Policy: Motivation, Content and Prospects","authors":"Bo Wang, Danni Hu","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2021.2009197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2021.2009197","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Iran policy is an important part of the US Middle East policy, and the key to the US handling of its relations with Iran. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the US and Iran continued to dispute over the Iranian nuclear issue. In the last 20 years of the twentieth century, the US invested a lot in the Middle East in response to possible security threats from the Iranian nuclear issue. Since the unfolding of the twenty-first century, with the intensified changes in the power balance among the major powers, the Obama administration has proposed to ‘pivot to Asia-Pacific’ by adopting a series of policies to ease and engage with Iran, and finally promoted the conclusion of the Iranian nuclear agreement. However, the subsequent restoration of Iran’s regional influence and the dissatisfaction of Saudi Arabia and other allies have also brought into questions to the Obama administration’s Iranian nuclear policy. In order to contain Iran’s expanding regional power and reshape the image of the US leadership among its allies, the Trump administration had adopted a compulsory policy towards Iran that focuses on economic sanctions and military threats. However, the Trump administration continued the Obama administration’s strategy of contraction in the Middle East, the US investment in the Middle East was relatively reduced, and its Iranian nuclear policy had limited results. Anyway, under the premise of ‘pivot to Asia-Pacific region and contraction in the Middle East’, the previous two US governments’ either ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ Iranian nuclear policies have their limitations. After the Biden administration came to power, it still values the importance of US-Iranian relations and the Iranian nuclear issue in US policy in the Middle East. At the same time, it faces a regional situation different from the previous two administrations. The Biden administration hopes to maintain the relative balance of powers in the Middle East through the Iranian nuclear policy of both soft and hard, while relying on Saudi Arabia, Israel and other allies to contain Iran. Avoid or reduce the possibility of US direct military confrontation with Iran, thus creating possible conditions for it to fully implement Asia-Pacific deployment and contain the rise of emerging Asian powers.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":"433 - 446"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48215117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-02DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2021.2018862
Zhiqiang Zou
Abstract In recent years, China has actively participated in port construction and development in the Gulf and East Africa. China’s investment and construction of ports in this region demonstrates the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the host countries, serves the regional development and the overall interests of China-Arab and China-Africa cooperation, and reflects the characteristics of letting one case guide a whole area. China’s investment in port construction is faced with the risks of port politicisation and security problems brought about by the geopolitical game of world major powers. It is necessary for China to take the Western Indian Ocean region as a whole, to attach importance to the coordination and cooperation between the Gulf and East Africa in terms of geo-economy, channel route security and port construction layout, and pay attention to reducing the risks of port politicisation and security.
{"title":"China’s Participation in Port Construction in the Western Indian Ocean Region: Dynamics and Challenges","authors":"Zhiqiang Zou","doi":"10.1080/25765949.2021.2018862","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2021.2018862","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In recent years, China has actively participated in port construction and development in the Gulf and East Africa. China’s investment and construction of ports in this region demonstrates the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the host countries, serves the regional development and the overall interests of China-Arab and China-Africa cooperation, and reflects the characteristics of letting one case guide a whole area. China’s investment in port construction is faced with the risks of port politicisation and security problems brought about by the geopolitical game of world major powers. It is necessary for China to take the Western Indian Ocean region as a whole, to attach importance to the coordination and cooperation between the Gulf and East Africa in terms of geo-economy, channel route security and port construction layout, and pay attention to reducing the risks of port politicisation and security.","PeriodicalId":29909,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":"489 - 504"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43204324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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