Saudi Arabia's Political Economy in the Red Sea

Document Type : Research

Authors

1 Researcher at the Center for Strategic Defense Studies, Tehran, Iran.

2 Ph.D Student in Political Science, , Faculty of Social Sciences and Education, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract

Political and economic relations between the Persian Gulf states and the Red Sea countries, along with their historical background, have been accompanied by many ups and downs. With the intensification of disputes and rivalries between Persian Gulf states in the light of the revolutionary developments in the Middle East in 2011 onwards, these rivalries and alliances also covered other areas, including the Red Sea, and the Red Sea enjoyed a strategic position in the strategic policies of the Persian Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia became a major player in the political and economic scene of this strategic region by deepening its economic and political strategies in the Red Sea. In this article, the aim is to use the approach of international political economy and focusing on the Red Sea and Horn of Africa region, to find the goals and reasons for the economic and political presence of Saudi Arabia in this region. The main question is, what are the economic and political benefits of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea? Our hypothesis is: economic goals such as maritime trade, economic investments and implementation of economic projects and political goals such as regional coalition building, weakening the power of Turkey / Qatar and Iran / Ansaru Allah Yemen the most important variables and economic and political advantages of Saudi Arabia are in the Red Sea. Findings show that the Red Sea has a strategic priority in the view of Saudi leaders to be able to develop their power in this strategic region and this goal is being pursued simultaneously with economic and political tools.

Keywords

References

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International Political Economy Studies
Volume 3, Issue 2
March 2020
Pages 511-536

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History

  • Receive Date: 31 August 2020
  • Revise Date: 05 February 2021
  • Accept Date: 06 February 2021

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