A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - The Saudi Struggle for Iraq (Hardcover)

In recent years, the geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has dominated the headlines. Many have charted the polarisation between a Saudi-led Sunni camp and an Iranian-led Shia one, assuming that a predominantly Shia state like Iraq would automatically ally with Iran. In this compelling account, Katherine Harvey tells a different story: Iraq's alignment with Iran was not a foregone conclusion. Rather, Saudi efforts to undermine Iran have paradoxically empowered it. Harvey investigates why the Saudis refused to engage with Iraq's post-2003 Shia-led government, despite continual outreach by Iraq's new leaders and considerable pressure from the United States. She finds that certain deeply ingrained assumptions predisposed Saudi leaders to see a Shia-led Iraq as naturally beholden to Iran: the view that Iran is inherently expansionist, and the belief that Arab Shia tend to be loyal to it. This outlook was simplistic, even downright inaccurate; and, in refusing to engage, the Saudis created a self-fulfilling prophecy. As Harvey demonstrates, members of Iraq's new government initially sought to establish a positive relationship with Saudi Arabia, and to pursue a course independent from Iran. But, isolated and rejected by Saudi King Abdullah, Iraq ultimately had nowhere else to turn.

General

Imprint:	C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	October 2021
Authors:	Katherine Harvey
Dimensions:	216 x 138 x 38mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	392
ISBN-13:	978-1-78738-566-5
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General
LSN:	1-78738-566-3
Barcode:	9781787385665

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