Russia’s Middle East Policy 2011-2015 (With an Emphasis on Arab Countries)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor of International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Qom

2 PhD Student in International Relations, Islamic Azad University of Tehran Markaz

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) development opened a new chapter in the Middle Eastern policy of trans-regional players, namely Russia between 2011 (inception of the Arab Spring) to 2015 (climax of the Syrian Crisis). Deep-rooted linkage of Russia to the region and its intention in taking a more active role in the international equations leads to a new policy serving Kremlin’s interests. Inactive presence in Tunisia and Egypt led to Russia accompanying the West in Libya. Despite the fact that Libya’s developments were taken Russia by Surprise at the time, the continuation of this trend to the Middle East concerned Russia from upcoming trends and its spillover to the security environment of Russia in the post-Soviet Republics. This concern provides a basis for taking a more active role by Moscow in the region, although before the Arab Spring, Russia tried to secure its interests in MENA by appropriate distance from the regional developments. Indeed, Russia was not willing to interfere the affairs of regional actors. The article addresses the importance of Russia’s presence in the Middle East, especially after the public uprising, based on the “offensive realism” theory and using descriptive-analytical method. It is worth mentioning that findings suggest Russia’s policy is based on preventing the spillover of uprisings to Eurasia and taking a more decisive role in the international equation with the absence of a U.S. presence in the region.

Keywords

References

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Central Eurasia Studies
Volume 10, Issue 2
Autumn & Winter
October 2017
Pages 341-358

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