We can now infer from all of the aforementioned that America’s policy of domination and interference in the Middle East has led to a broader conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran which Israel will not be able to handle over the long run, in addition to weakening the American position in the … Continue reading Iran in the Middle East and Beyond
Tag: china
The Middle East and the International System
Our realist "spheres of influence" arrangement for international order then runs into a significant wall, namely, the Middle East. The question is: who gets to control it? The last few years has proven that it is surely not the United States. By losing Afghanistan, it has been proven that the United States cannot control the … Continue reading The Middle East and the International System
The Virtues of Anarchy
In a word, cause and effect. If the cause is structure, and structure is anarchic, meaning that there is no supreme government over governments, then anarchy leads to a pattern of behavior among states which is characterized first and foremost by fear, self-help, and power maximization. This is perhaps the basic and inherent logic embedded in the theory of … Continue reading The Virtues of Anarchy
An Odd Tradeoff
One might ask: how do alliances figure into what is essentially a self-help system? The answer is that alliances are temporary, not permanent. Certain states will band together when a common threat arises, and as soon as the common threat is dealt with, the alliance dissolves, as in the case of the alliance between Russia, China, Iran, … Continue reading An Odd Tradeoff
Structures and Strategies
A self-help system means that the idea or notion of “collective security” is a non sequitur. If the system is a self-help system, which it is, then you cannot derive or deduce “collective security” from the basic logic or structure of the system that is based on self-help. Nevertheless, smaller countries in Europe, and countries … Continue reading Structures and Strategies