Strategic Alliances and their Impact on the Middle East. The Influence of the American and the Russian Factor

The Middle East has one of the most volatile political environments, as a result of a web of regional and external political coalitions exerting influence on Middle Eastern affairs. Every player in the region has both congruent and disjunctive interests that often fuel crises and hamper conflict management. The paper will assess the radical paradigm shifts in the Middle East starting 2010. The ongoing Arab uprisings that began in late 2010 have disposed or threatened to dispose every government in the region. The former political arrangements were removed, and, for most cases power vacuum and chaos took over. But beneath the chaos, there are new arrangements in place that could determine the fate of the Middle East once the open conflicts are settled/ at least diminished (in Syria, Libya and Yemen). One can notice that players that have traditionally not been allies joined forces. Thus, we can distinguish between a non-Arab bloc of regional players and the external players. The Non-Arab countries in the region, notably Iran and Turkey, have took advantage of the power vacuum in order to gain influence that can shape the future of the Middle East. The political setting also expresses the role of the American and the Russian politics in the region. Both USA and Russia have undergone changes when it comes to their foreign policy in the region and consequently the implications are to be analyzed.