A Comparative Study of the Impact of the Domestic Driving Forces on the Regional Conflicts in the Middle East from the Perspective of Diversionary Foreign Policy: Case Studies of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq

Ghorbani, Fahimeh

doi:10.22034/isj.2025.525594.2341

A Comparative Study of the Impact of the Domestic Driving Forces on the Regional Conflicts in the Middle East from the Perspective of Diversionary Foreign Policy: Case Studies of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq

Document Type : Original Independent Original Article

Author

Fahimeh Ghorbani

Ph.D. in International Relations, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/isj.2025.525594.2341

Abstract

The conflicts and foreign policies of the Middle Eastern countries are often analyzed through regional and international lenses, with little attention to the impact of domestic driving forces. In this respect, this study aims to provide a comparative explanation of how domestic driving forces, drawing on the concept of legitimacy, affected the Middle Eastern conflicts of Iraq, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, with a focus on the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1990), the Kurdish issue (2013-2019), and Saudi’s proxy involvement in Syria (2011-2016). The hypothesis is that domestic problems and crises as significant internal driving forces in Iraq, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, leading to the legitimation problems, were influential in shaping their diversionary motives to enter into or initiate regional conflicts/crises, with a focus on the aforementioned cases. The methodology is qualitative comparative analysis. The data were collected through documentary research and analyzed using the diversionary theory of foreign policy. This article suggests that reinforcing the legitimacy of the state and good governance plays a sustainable role in resolving regional conflicts, as well as strengthening peace and stability in the region. From this perspective, the domestic reforms in Saudi Arabia, and structural transformations in post-2003 Iraq have led to considerable changes in their Middle Eastern strategy and conflicts. In contrast, Turkey’s Middle Eastern policy, characterized by a reduction in the use of soft power during the second decade of the AKP’s rule, still has persisted; given the absence of significant changes in domestic policies and the democratic backsliding during this period.

Keywords

Domestic Driving Forces

Legitimacy

Middle Eastern Conflicts

Comparative Study

Diversionary Foreign Policy

Subjects

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