Responding to Iran's Influence? A Comparative Account of Saudi Foreign Policy Behavior towards Bahrain and Yemen since 2011

Master's Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 3.0, The American University in Cairo, language: English, abstract: In this research project, I will shed light on Bahrain and Yemen. More precisely, I will scrutinize the foreign policy behaviour of Saudi Arabia in these two cases, starting in early 2011. The year 2011 is significant because it marks the beginning of popular uprisings across the Arab world, soon to be referred to as the "Arab Spring". Bahrain and Yemen represent two cases in which an uprising against the ruling regime led to two different outcomes: Repression (Bahrain) and war (Yemen). In both cases, Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf states, intervened in a neighboring country to support allied governments fighting their opposition (or a rebel movement, as in Yemen). Bahrain and Yemen are both countries with significant Shiʿa populations, amplifying Saudi fears of growing Iranian influence in these communities. Based on the evidence of Iranian involvement in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, I assume that Iran has played a role in Bahrain and Yemen, too. The extent to which Saudi policies in these two cases have been informed by Iran's influence will be at the center of this study's inquiry.