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Beyond the Middle East: Saudi-Iranian Rivalry in the Horn of Africa



Author(s)

Alieu Manjang

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2134/2017.01.004

The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is one of the familiar features of the Middle East regional politics. However, this rivalry seems to have split-over beyond the Middle East region. In the Horn of Africa, Riyadh and Tehran are engaging in a fierce competition for position and influence. Against this background, this paper explains how Saudi-Iranian rivalry initiated in the Horn of Africa. More precisely, the paper takes the advantages of sub-theory of Neo-Realism, i.e. Defensive Realism ’s notion of alliance building to explain how Iran’s endeavor to become stronger vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia initiated their rivalry in the Horn of Africa prior to the Arab Spring. Likewise, the paper borrows from Constructivism’s notion of perception of threat to explicate Saudi’s perception of Iranian threat in the Horn of Africa, which shaped and continued to dynamite Saudi-Iranian rivalry in the region. To this end, the paper would rely on secondary resources to prove that Saudi Iranian rivalry in the Horn of Africa was encouraged by Saudi’s de-engagement in the region since the outset of 1990s and parallel Iran’s penetration into region in the same period. The subsequent Saudi diplomatic effort to de-ignite the perceived Iranian growing influence in the Horn inflamed their rivalry in the region, which has reached its summit during the Arab Spring.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, rivalry, Horn of Africa