The Same, Yet Different: United States and Gulf State Interests in the Post-Arab Spring Maghreb (1Rev)

Abstract

The 2010-2011 Arab Spring caused upheaval in North Africas Maghreb region, which comprises Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. This upheaval elevated the Maghrebs importance globally, including for the United States and the Gulf Arab statesSaudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar in particular. The Gulf Arab countries increased engagement in the Maghreb is the result of shifts within the internal politics of the Arab world. In the Maghreb, U.S. and Gulf state interests overlap to the extent that all players want stability, but each state has its own definition of what stability means. The U.S. and the Gulf states all support the Moroccan and Algerian regimes, but intra-Gulf rivalries are helping destabilize Libya, where different Gulf-backed proxy forces are exacerbating that countrys civil war. Moving forward, the United States and the Gulf states may find areas where their interests converge (e.g., stabilizing Tunisian politics, fighting terrorism, and promoting development) but also areas where they diverge, especially in Libya.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1032211

Entities

People

  • Alexander Thurston
  • David Knoll
  • Jacob Stoil
  • Julia Mcquaid
  • Pamela Faber

Organizations

  • Center for Naval Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Civil War
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • International Relations
  • Libya
  • Middle East
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • Political Movements
  • Political Systems
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.