Transactionalism in US–Middle East Relations |
The crown jewel of the world is notorious for its global policemanship and, quite recently, for its shifting alliances. The term “alliance” is ironic for a global system that functions in the absence of morality—a system where you keep your friends close and your foes even closer.
In today’s core liberal structure, bilateral trade and “dirty politics” among nations have maneuvered the international realm towards multipolarity. Yet, there remains a clear distinction between posing a challenge to unipolar dominance and actually overthrowing a hegemon that has sustained the global system for decades. The order of the world is claimed to be operating on strategy and deterrence rather than outright action. Unfortunately, this assertion holds true only in theory. In practice, the system that you are a part of today survives on violence, power maximization, and selective accountability.
The Middle East is, and has always been, a quagmire of political tension. Its conundrum has been shaped largely by proxy networks, authoritarianism, generational militancy, and frequent armed invasions. Yet, despite the presence of political dysfunctionality, the US has frequently found itself mired in the regional unrest. While past administrations remained determined not to get entangled in the Arab world’s never-ending political blaze, Trump’s policies, in contrast, have been transactional in nature. This new era of US foreign policy has blurred the line between diplomacy and commerce—exactly how the Gulf elites like it.
Following the end of WWII, when a quarter of the world had to come to terms with a new economic giant, the rest finally had a friend to rely on—a portion of this pie was Israel. For Israel, this dominance translated into an envisaged strategic partnership and security. Historically, Israel emerged as a counterbalancing power to impede the expanding Soviet sphere of influence. Notwithstanding Israel as a crucial geopolitical asset to the US, global concerns grew when no halt to Israeli territorial and military assertions was observed, even after the Cold........