TY - JOUR

T1 - Dialogues in pandemic politics

T2 - COVID-19 and the struggle to re-order relations in the Persian gulf

AU - Mabon, S.

N1 - Export Date: 5 January 2021 Correspondence Address: Mabon, S.; Lancaster UniversityUnited Kingdom; email: S.Mabon@Lancaster.ac.uk Funding text 1: Beyond the enmity directed between these states, COVID-19 appeared to prompt a turn inwards to address domestic challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Financial challenges brought about by the pandemic placed additional pressures on states and, in turn, raised questions about the articulation of national visions. Responses to the ensuing economic crisis ranged from budget cuts, spending freezes and the provision of financial support to banks and local business (Kozhanov and Zaccara, 2020). While Iran had previously struggled under ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions, Arab Gulf states articulated opulent visions of the future, perhaps none grander than Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its NEOM project. References: (2020) Saudi Arabia says Iran’s actions have helped spread the coronavirus around the world, , www.arabnews.com/node/1637411/saudi-arabia, Arab News 6 March; Barnett, M., (1998) Dialogues in Arab Politics: Negotiations in Regional Order, , Columbia University Press, NewYork; (2020) Zulfikar Ali, Coronavirus: How Iran is battling a surge in cases, , https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/52959756, BBC News; Beck, M., The aggravated struggle for regional power in the Middle East: American allies Saudi Arabia and Israel versus Iran (2020) Global Policy, 11 (1), pp. 68-74; Datta-Ray, D.K., Small states and pandemic: the UAE approach (2020) RSiS Commentary, 152. , www.think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/12299/CO20152-3.pdf, 4 August; Eltahir, N., Barrington, L., Bahrain accuses Iran of ‘biological aggression’, Gulf states try to curb coronavirus (2020), www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-saudi-travel-idUSKBN20Z03K, Reuters, 11 March; Fenton-Harvey, J., Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s diverging regional coronavirus strategy (2020), www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/04/uae-relations-iran-coronavirus-saudi-arabia.html, Al Monitor, 9 April; Galeeva, D., (2020) The UAE’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran, , https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2020/04/05/the-uaes-response-to-the-covid-19-outbreak-in-iran/, LSE Blog, 5 April; Goldberg, J., Saudi crown prince: Iran’s Supreme Leader ‘makes Hitler look good (2018) The Atlantic, , www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/mohammed-bin-salman-iran-israel/557036/, 2 April; (2020) Saudi Arabia seals off Shia Qatif region over coronavirus fears, , www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/09/saudi-arabia-seals-off-shia-qatif-region-over-coronavirus-fears, The Guardian 9 March; Hafezi, P., Iran’s Khamenei: UAE ‘disgraced forever’ by Israel deal (2020), www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-emirates-iran-idUSKBN25S4CA, Reuters, 1 September; Hashemi, N., Postel, D., (2017) Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East, , London: Hurst; (2020) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spokesman Deplores NAM’s Failure to Defy US Sanctions on Iran, , https://en.mfa.ir/portal/newsview/577739/Spokesman-Deplores-NAM’s-Failure-to-Defy-US-Sanctions-on-Iran, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (18.03.20); Jones, C., Guzansky, Y., (2020) Fraternal Enemies: Israel and the Gulf Monarchies, , London: Hurst; Juneau, T., The UAE and the war inYemen: from surge to recalibration (2020) Survival, 62 (4), p. 4; Kozhanov, N., Zaccara, L., Navigating Troubled Waters: Experts’ Views on GCC Challenges for Socio-Economic Recovery in the Post-Covid-19 Period (2020) Gulf Insights Series, , www.qu.edu.qa/static_file/qu/research/Gulf%20Studies/documents/Gulf%20Insights%2030.pdf, (eds) 30, May; Mabon, S., (2013) Saudi Arabia and Iran: Soft Power Rivalry in the Middle East, , London: IB Tauris; Matthiesen, T., The Coronavirus is exacerbating sectarian tensions in the Middle East (2020) Foreign Affairs, , https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2020-03-23/coronavirus-exacerbating-sectarian-tensions-middle-east, (23.03.20); Mabon, S., (2020) Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East, , Manchester: Manchester University Press; Mabon, S., Saudi, Iran and COVID-19 (2020), p. 164. , https://www.iemed.org/publicacions-en/historic-de-publicacions/focus/164.-saudi-iran-and-covid-19, IEMed.Focus; (2020) Mousavi appreciates humanitarian aid to Iran to fight against coronavirus, , https://en.mehrnews.com/news/156813/Mousavi-appreciates-humanitarian-aid-to-Iran-to-fight-against, MehrNews 17 March; Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation (2020) H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed expresses UAE’s support to Iran due to COVID-19, , www.mofaic.gov.ae/en/mediahub/news/2020/3/15/15-03-2020-uae-iran, 15 March; (2020) Update 1-U.S. blacklists 5 UAE-based companies over purchase of Iran oil, , www.reuters.com/article/usa-iran-sanctions-idUSL1N2BC0YM, Reuters (a) 19 March; (2020) Iran says it detained a UAE ship and its crew on Monday – State TV, , https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-emirates-ship/iran-says-it-detained-a-uae-ship-and-its-crew-on-monday-state-tv-idUKKBN25G150, Reuters (b) 20 August; Salehi-Isfahani, D., How Sanctions and the Pandemic Affect Iran’s Economy (2020), (33). , www.qu.edu.qa/static_file/qu/research/Gulf%20Studies/documents/Gulf%20Insights%2033.pdf, Gulf Insights Series July; Ulrichsen, K., (2020) Qatar and the Gulf Crisis, , London: Hurst; Wastnidge, E., (2016) Diplomacy and Reform in Iran: Foreign Policy Under Khatami, , London: IB Tauris

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - Over the past decade, regional politics across the Persian Gulf-and within the GCC in particular-has increasingly been characterised by suspicion and mutual distrust. Predominantly appearing in the guise of tensions between the Arab side of the Gulf on the west and the Iranian side on the east-divisions which are exacerbated by ethnicity, religion, economics, geopolitics, demographics, and geography-are coupled with intra-Arab and intra-GCC tensions about the nature of regional order. Yet at times of crisis, as Michael Barnett (1998) astutely observed, opportunities emerge to reshape the nature of relations. In what follows I reflect on Barnett’s Constructivist take to explore the nature of Persian Gulf politics at a regional level. Other contributors to this special issue take a deeper dive into the intricacies of political, social, economic, governance and human rights concerns and, as such, I will largely steer clear of such observations. Instead, I will engage in a broader set of reflections about the nature of regional order and the impact of the pandemic on changing order.

AB - Over the past decade, regional politics across the Persian Gulf-and within the GCC in particular-has increasingly been characterised by suspicion and mutual distrust. Predominantly appearing in the guise of tensions between the Arab side of the Gulf on the west and the Iranian side on the east-divisions which are exacerbated by ethnicity, religion, economics, geopolitics, demographics, and geography-are coupled with intra-Arab and intra-GCC tensions about the nature of regional order. Yet at times of crisis, as Michael Barnett (1998) astutely observed, opportunities emerge to reshape the nature of relations. In what follows I reflect on Barnett’s Constructivist take to explore the nature of Persian Gulf politics at a regional level. Other contributors to this special issue take a deeper dive into the intricacies of political, social, economic, governance and human rights concerns and, as such, I will largely steer clear of such observations. Instead, I will engage in a broader set of reflections about the nature of regional order and the impact of the pandemic on changing order.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Iran

KW - Persian Gulf

KW - UAE

KW - USA

U2 - 10.1332/204378920X16026088650472

DO - 10.1332/204378920X16026088650472

M3 - Journal article

VL - 10

SP - 507

EP - 515

JO - Global Discourse

JF - Global Discourse

SN - 2326-9995

IS - 4

ER -