International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

The Competition Between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Horn of Africa: Trying to Gain Regional Prestige and Dignity

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyyed Rouhollah Hadj Zargarbashi 1
Milad Lotfi 2
1 Assistant Professor, International Relations, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran
2 Ph.D. Student of Regional Studies at Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/fr.2024.418629.1447
Abstract
With the beginning of the Arab uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa region, the tension, competition, and conflict between the regional powers in this region also took an upward trend. Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the most important regional powers in the Middle East, and the tension and competition between them reached its peak in the years after 2011. In fact, during the years 2011-2023, these two regional powers competed with each other in various regional arenas using economic, political, and military tools. The important point is that the rivalry between Tehran and Riyadh was not limited to the geographical borders of the Middle East, but the rivalry and tension between them spread beyond the region and to neighboring regions, including the Horn of Africa region. According to the above issue, the question of the current research is, what motives, causes, and factors have caused the activism of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Horn of Africa and provided the ground for the transfer of their competition to this strategic region? Using the Descriptive-Analytical method, the authors examined the hypothesis that Iran and Saudi Arabia competed in the Horn of Africa due to the strategic nature of the Horn of Africa region, the developing economy, and the existence of insecurity and power vacuum in it, and to gain some kind of dignity and prestige.
Keywords
Middle Eastern powers
Horn of Africa
Motivation
Power Vacuum
Dignity and Prestige
Subjects
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