Behaviorology of Saudi Arabia in the Syrian Crisis on the Basis of the Balance of Power Theory

Syria is a geopolitically significant country in the West Asian region, regarded as a means of changing the balance of power by competing parties in the region. The intervention of regional actors in the recent Syrian crisis can also be explained in terms of their efforts to change the balance of power in their favor. Saudi Arabia was among the active countries in the Syrian crisis in the beginning but gradually changed its policies towards this crisis due to the internal and external factors. This descriptive-analytical research is aimed at identifying Saudi Arabia's behavior towards the Syrian crisis in terms of the theory of balance of power. The findings of this research reveal that Riyadh's behavior towards the Syrian crisis can be categorized in five stages including crisis management aimed at changing Damascus’ behavior, active diplomacy against Damascus, direct military, financial and political support to the oppositions, putting an end to  supporting ISIS and confronting Assad, and finally, accepting Assad's survival in power without Iranian attendance. This research explores the feasibility of the final Saudi Arabia policy of Assad's survival without Iran's attendance.