Foreign Policies of the Oil Monarchies

Absztrakt (kivonat)

In the following research, the Gulf region is going to be examined in the views of the political system, regional hegemon, and the small states’ theories. First of all, the rentier state theory will be elaborated which gives the bases of the political systems of the Gulf States. These states are led by ruling families and highly depend on the natural resources income. In order to the regional hegemon theory, the Saudi’s role is remarkable to be explained in the Gulf States because of its dominance. Currently, the Saudi Kingdom has extended its influence in the region, and the other states are subordinated. On the side of the small Gulf States, there are two different groups in the Gulf region in terms of foreign policymaking. The UAE and Oman truly represent the different policymaking ways in the Arab Peninsula. The Omani foreign policy way is naturally unique due to the neutrality. Oman does not want to confront any states or non-state actors rather would cooperate with them. Oman has always supported peaceful conflict solutions and likely filled the mediator role in the conflicts. In contrast with Oman, the UAE is involved in several armed conflicts, for example, in Yemen. Moreover, the UAE is actively establishing strong bilateral relations with outside states of the region and trying to find its role in the international community. Basically, both countries are concerned as active foreign policymakers but they operate with distinct tools, and these distinct tools and foreign policymaking thinking mean the differences between the two states.