The Saudi-Iranian enmity is a central element in the Middle East’s post-2011 violence.These two countries are at‘Cold War,’backing proxy allies,which fuels many of the region’s conflicts.Hence,any attempt at regio...The Saudi-Iranian enmity is a central element in the Middle East’s post-2011 violence.These two countries are at‘Cold War,’backing proxy allies,which fuels many of the region’s conflicts.Hence,any attempt at regional pacification will require mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran by powerful neutral stakeholders.To that end,this paper suggests an initiative by the Persian Gulf’s most important economic partners,China and India,an idea benefiting from their leverage-enhancing hydrocarbon market importance as well as their‘non-aligned status’in the conflict.Using the historical analogy of the 20th century Cold War between East and West as a loose framework,the paper identifies possible diplomatic and institutional mechanisms to achieve a Gulf detente and peace.It argues that these may be found in the historic Helsinki Accords and that a similar approach to the Saudi-Iranian Cold War should be attempted to prevent further regional and global conflict.展开更多
文摘The Saudi-Iranian enmity is a central element in the Middle East’s post-2011 violence.These two countries are at‘Cold War,’backing proxy allies,which fuels many of the region’s conflicts.Hence,any attempt at regional pacification will require mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran by powerful neutral stakeholders.To that end,this paper suggests an initiative by the Persian Gulf’s most important economic partners,China and India,an idea benefiting from their leverage-enhancing hydrocarbon market importance as well as their‘non-aligned status’in the conflict.Using the historical analogy of the 20th century Cold War between East and West as a loose framework,the paper identifies possible diplomatic and institutional mechanisms to achieve a Gulf detente and peace.It argues that these may be found in the historic Helsinki Accords and that a similar approach to the Saudi-Iranian Cold War should be attempted to prevent further regional and global conflict.
