Saudi Arabia and Iran

The struggle to shape the Middle East

Simon Mabon, Edward Wastnidge, Simon Mabon, Edward Wastnidge

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781526150837
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526150820
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

Since 1979, the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran – the two major powers in the Muslim world – has played a prominent role in shaping Middle Eastern politics. Political in nature yet couched in Islamic rhetoric, this rivalry reflects a desire to ensure regime security and legitimacy while also increasing influence across the Middle East. Since the 2003 Iraq War, the relationship has become increasingly vitriolic, resulting in the emergence of proxy conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. This book argues that to understand regional politics, comprehension of the rivalry between Riyadh and Tehran is essential.An electronic version of this book is available under a creative commons licence: manchesterhive.com/view/9781526150844/9781526150844.xml

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 The view from Riyadh: A neoclassical realist perspective of Saudi foreign policy towards Iran in the post-2011 Middle East
• 2 Narratives of power politics in the Iran–Saudi relationship: The view from Tehran
• 3 Competing Islams: Religious legitimacy and the foreign policies of Saudi Arabia and Iran
• 4 The Iran–Saudi Arabia rivalry: Rekindling of Shia loyalty and Sunni fears in Bahrain
• 5 Iraq and the evolution of Saudi–Iranian relations
• 6 The irreplaceable piece: Lebanon’s strategic value in the Saudi–Iranian foreign policy chessboard
• 7 Capability and culpability: Iranian and Saudi rivalry in the Syrian conflict
• 8 Delegation or intervention: Yemen as a theatre for the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia
• 9 Conclusion
• Index