Ineffectiveness of the Regional Conflict Management System in the Persian Gulf

The author argues that the Persian Gulf regional system has always been problematic because of its inherent historical characteristics. The research questions raised are as follows: a) What are the causes of regional conflicts in the Persian Gulf? b) Can these conflicts be attributed to the ineffectiveness of the mechanism used to maintain regional order and stability? c) Can we view the policies of interventionist powers as major causes of conflicts in the region? To answer these questions, the author divides the Persian Gulf into three inter-connected parts (i.e., the core, the periphery, and an interventionist segment). Since he considers the sub-systemic level as the most useful framework of analysis of the causes of regional conflicts, he examines the linkage between the geostrategic attributes and the other factors affecting the processes of foreign policy formation in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia .