CONTEMPORARY EURASIA IX ( 2 )
In the literature review , we identified the primary reasons that lead to the rapprochement between the two countries . In order to understand the core characteristics of the theory put forth and how it is relevant here , the analysis heavily focuses on the literature review . To answer the aforementioned question , secondary data has been collected . Besides , the explanatory research design was applied based on qualitative analysis . Available and collected qualitative data , including media articles , was also used to find out further development in the relations of Israel and Saudi Arabia . It should be highlighted that no major academic work known to the author has applied the theory of balance of power to Saudi Arabia ’ s and Israel ’ s rapprochement .
Forty-year-old Rivalry : Saudi Arabia – Iran
Saudi Arabia and Iran have been considered regional powers for several decades and still have their “ say ” in all regional issues . However , it is not a secret that their relationship has always been marked by enmity . In order to understand the essence of their forty-year-old hostility , a brief analysis of their relations after 1979 is needed .
Saudi Arabia and Iran have always been in a religious competition . However , a decisive change in Saudi-Iranian relations occurred in 1979 , when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini put an end to the Iranian monarchy and founded the Islamic Republic of Iran . As a result , Iran has become a Shia-ruled theocracy and challenged the Sunni Muslim world , especially Saudi Arabia , which sees itself as the leader of the Muslim world . 69 After the successful revolution in Iran , Saudi Arabia plunged into crisis , as the Eastern Province of the country , heavily populated by the Shia Muslims , started uprisings . Thereby , “ Khomeini endangered the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia by appealing to its disenfranchised Shi ’ a population in the Eastern Province .” 70 Consequently , the tension between these two countries was exacerbated . Moreover , Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for spreading revolutionary ideologies .
Since the 1980s , Saudi Arabia has launched proxy wars 71 * against Iran . The first proxy war was in Iraq from 1980 to 1988 . In order to hinder Iran ’ s efforts to propagate revolutionary ideas amongst Iraq ’ s Shia
69
Max Fisher , “ How the Iranian-Saudi Proxy Struggle Tore Apart the Middle East ,” The New York Times , November 19 , 2016 , https :// www . nytimes . com / 2016 / 11 / 20 / world / middleeast / iran-saudi-proxy-war . html . 70 Frederic Wehrey et al ., “ Sectarianism and Ideology in the Saudi-Iranian Relationship ,”
in Saudi-Iranian Relations Since the Fall of Saddam : Rivalry , Cooperation , and Implications for U . S . Policy ( Santa Monica , CA ; Arlington , VA ; Pittsburgh , PA : RAND Corporation , 2009 ), 13 . 71� A proxy war is when a third power instigates a war between another two countries , in
which the former is not involved directly . 18