The Sino-American Rivalry and Arabian Gulf Security

Over the decades, Middle Eastern security has been influenced by both strong regional and global security interdependence. Since the end of the Cold War, Washington has played a leading security role in the region, providing an extended nuclear umbrella for its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council organization. However, the U.S. strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific region and China’s rising profile as a global power has set the Middle East’s security dynamics again into flux. This article employs a regional security complex framework, paired with a realist theoretical lens, to analyze how the growing Sino-American rivalry is affecting Arabian Gulf security by identifying the regional interests of these two powers and examining the emerging regional security dynamics.