Abstract
Alliances in the post-2011 Middle East are characterized by anomalous shifts and upsurge of new actors leading to theoretical and empirical puzzles. This article argues that unravelling these patterns requires grappling with in-depth knowledge of regional politics and a serious engagement with the broader IR literature. Through this dual exploration, the article explores how the literature on alliance cohesion within IR could inform anomalous alliance dynamics in the post-2011 regional order. It also reveals how regional developments in the post-2011 Middle East, such as the pursuit of alliance by non-state actors, present avenues for theoretical innovations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 635-656 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Mediterranean Politics |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 23 Feb 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 23 Feb 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) that has been funded under the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) grant 01DL20003. May Darwich is also Research Associate at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA). The author would like to thank Andr??Bank, Jan Busse, Hanna Pfeifer, and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier drafts.
Keywords
- Alliance
- IR of the Middle East
- IR theory
- alliance cohesion
- non-state actors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Political Science and International Relations