THE CHANGING WORLD ORDER – RIVALRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Beijing

by András Biró – András Kosztur

AS ONE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE RUSSO–UKRAINIAN WAR, IT BECAME VISIBLE THAT SEVERAL REGIONAL POWERS SHARE AN IDENTITY OF INTEREST WHEN IT COMES TO THE CHANGE OF THE UNIPOLAR WORLD ORDER, WHICH STARTED A REAL CHAIN REACTION IN THE FIELD OF GLOBAL GEOPOLITICAL REORGANIZATION.

Among the Middle Eastern countries, Türkiye enjoys a special position, as a NATO member the country is an ally of the United States and also a candidate for EU membership. Nonetheless, Ankara has not only chosen a different, but also an independent path from the policy of Washington, and instead of joining Western sanctions the country decided to remain neutral and emerge as a mediator in the Russo–Ukrainian war.

the crossroads of three continents, therefore both countries joined the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while also approaching the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRICS group.

The third important power in the struggle for regional hegemony over the Middle East is undoubtedly Iran, which country has been forced to cope with international isolation and a multitude of sanctions for decades.

Just like Türkiye, Saudi Arabia also positions itself as a mediator. In addition, the mutually beneficial oil-for-security covenant, which cemented the Saudi–American partnership for decades seems to be unraveling, as Riyadh was not willing to meet Washington’s demands regarding the increase of oil production.

Saudi Arabia and Türkiye are trying to exploit their benefits in terms of the geostrategic location at

Presumably, on the one hand, the relationship between the three countries will drift toward competition for regional hegemony, while on the other hand, the prospects of Eurasian integration will steer them toward cooperation. One of the latest examples of that is the reconciliation among the two fierce rivals, Iran and Saudi Arabia, which countries have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies after their meeting in Beijing in March. This agreement also reflects the growing Chinese influence in the Middle East, which should not come as a surprise, as the emerging superpower has its own direct interests to maintain peace on the Eurasian continent.

András Biró – The author is a researcher at the 21st Century Institute

András Kosztur – The author is a senior researcher at the 21st Century Institute