Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Politics – Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 1, 3, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, language: English, abstract: There is no other place in the world that is so conflict-ridden as the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. Since the foundation of Israel in 1949 hostility tremendously increased and made a small regional conflict become one of the major issues in international politics.
Particularly interesting is the involvement of the US in this conflict and its motivation to do so. Different interests have to be balanced, on the one hand economic interests in the oil flow from the Arab Gulf states and on the other hand the support of Israel as the only real ally to the US in that “sea of authoritarian regimes”, as one author puts it.
After the terrorist attacks in September 2001 the region has attracted much more attention by US politicians than ever before. The administration of George Bush jr. developed the concept of spreading peace and democracy in the Middle East in response to the terrorist attacks. Of special importance is the negotiation of a settlement of the Israeli-Palestininan conflict. Only if a lasting and, in the eyes of the Arab states, just peace is reached, will the US find support for its Middle East policy among the other countries of the region.
Reaching this aim means carefully exerting coercion to the conflict parties, but also offering incentives to them. Economic statecraft as a form of foreign policy is particularly important in this case.
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