Why regional powers engage in conflicts: The case of Saudi-Iranian conflict 2011-2019?

Abstract

Regional powers have become increasingly a significant topic in international relations literature. Not only do their interactions impact regional security and order, but they also impact international security. The aspiring for hegemony and the struggle for power with shifts in the regional balance of power can influence the region's stability and lead to conflict. This dissertation aims at finding the causal mechanism that leads to conflict between regional powers by focusing on the causal mechanism of the Saudi-Iranian conflict in the period 2011-2019. This aim is formulated in the research question: Why regional powers engage in conflicts: The case of Saudi-Iranian conflict 2011-2019? To achieve this aim, this study used a theory-building process tracing methodology carried out using a single case study, which is the Saudi-Iranian conflict in the period 2011-2019. The analysis of the empirical manifestation in the case shows that hegemony is the cause of regional powers' engagement in conflict, specifically hegemony leads to causal processes that link regional powers hegemony with the conflict occurring between them. The findings explain the causal mechanism that links hegemony and conflict. The causal mechanism consists of three parts or three causal processes. First, because of the hegemonic behavior of Saudi Arabia and Iran, the shift in the balance of power (Arab Spring Uprising) obliged Saudi Arabia and Iran to compete to fill the political vacuum. Second, because of the regional competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran, interveners (external powers, and regional and international organizations) intervened. Third, because of interventions' failure in de-escalation, Saudi Arabia and Iran engaged in conflict.