Turkey and Saudi Arabia: Carving Out New Roles

In the aftermath of World War II, the international system was transformed into a ‘bipolar’ system with the US on one pole and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on the opposing one. The rivalry between these two powers, which had opposing ideologies, caused the emergence of the Cold War international system, where other countries were obliged to take sides in one of the two camps; American or Soviet. During the Cold War international system, the countries’ capabilities to make room for maneuver were limited.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which had been an era of constant tension between the US and the Soviet Union, changed the balances in the Middle East and caused a vacuum of power. During the Cold War era, it was not difficult for countries to define their foreign policies, due to the bipolar international system. In that system, the countries in the region were either pro-Soviet or pro-American; however, the end of the bipolar world pushed the states to make a choice for either pro-American or anti-American. Throughout the bipolarity of the international system, Turkish and Saudi foreign policies were characterized by their close alliance with the US and their positions were determined in the American camp. The two countries were concerned by the threat of communism. During the Cold War era, the key elements of Saudi foreign policy were to challenge the penetration of communism into the Arabian Peninsula, defend the rights of Arabs and Muslims, and promote solidarity among Muslim nations. The collapse of the Soviet threat forced both Ankara and Riyadh to redefine their foreign policy lines, reset their calculations and carve out new roles for themselves in the regional system.

The change of the system led to the emergence of many factors that caused an impact on the foreign policy decisions of the two countries. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, they followed a similar path; that is, while both continuing to ally themselves with the West, they also began to expand their foreign policy approaches. During the post-Cold War era, both Turkey and Saudi Arabia gained in strategic importance in the eyes of Washington.