Fueling middle east conflictsor dousing the flames. Nonetheless, with petrodollars to spend, many countries of the region will keep on racing after the elusive goal of security through arms. This policy paper is part of the arms control and security improvement in the middle east workshop series, sponsored by the institute on global conflict and cooperation igcc of the university of california. These studies summarize the global military balance in graphic and tabular form, as well as extensive analysis of realworld warfighting capabilities. If the lebanese military is to consolidate its position as the guarantor of lebanon and as a positive force in the region, the present unique opportunity to develop the laf as a. Ultimately, for moscow it is a matter of acquiring leverage to improve russias room to maneuver in the arabmuslim world and to. In 2011 saudi arabia agreed to purchase over eighty f 15sa fighter aircraft and upgrade its existing fleet of seventy f 15s, along with airtoair and airtoground packages. The project is a track ii unofficial activity which indirectly supports the middle east peace process. Cordesman details the complex trends that come into play in determining the military balance in a region that has become so critical to world peace. The absence of data for the soviet union in 1991 means that no total can be calculated for that year. In her focus on the arab world she monitors postconflict developments, arab military.
The technological playing field is not equal for all young people. The annual assessment of global military capabilities and defence economics. Iranian military leaders have rotated troops from across the islamic revolutionary guards corps, artesh, and basij into syria in order to expose a significant portion of its force to this kind of operation and warfare. In assessing the current arabisraeli military arab states, from undertaking military action to balance, a variety of complex factors should be taken achieve political objectives. April 20 sipri fact sheet trends in world military expenditure, 2012. China has provided muchneeded trade and investment to iran, and as iran has. January 10, 2017 iran once again exceeds a nuclear deal limit. Russias new ambitions for the middle east region are of great concern to the eu. The middle east military balance, 20012002 the mit press. Most analyses of the yemen conflict since 201415 have focused on the.
This study examines chinas interests in the region and assesses chinas economic, political, and security activities in the middle east to determine whether china has a strategy toward the region and what such a strategy means for the united states. Sep 01, 2004 noted middle east military expert anthony cordesman details the complex trends that come into play in determining the military balance in a region that has become so critical to world peace. Military spending and arms transfers to the middle. The notion of distinct arab nationhoods can be traced back to events surrounding both world.
Military balance center for strategic and international studies. Military balance center for strategic and international. Cordesman, anthony, military balance in the middle east, westport, praeger, 2004 chapter 2. This comprehensive analysis documents the military forces in each middle eastern country at the end of the cold war. In 1902, the name appeared in a series of articles in a british daily newspaper. Turkeyisrael triangle the center for middle east policy at brookings iii about the author dan arbell is a nonresident senior fellow with the center for middle east policy at brookings. Inss estimate based on data from the washington institute for near east policy, the international institute of strategic studies, and tel aviv universitys jaffee center for strategic studies. The middle east military balance 20002001 the mit press. Evidence suggests that military actionssuch as the first gulf war and the current war in iraqinfluence propensity just as military crises of the past have likely influenced past generations. The studies are divided by region and subregion, and cover the trends in conventional forces, nuclear forces, arms proliferation, military efforts and spending, procurement and arms import activity, force modernization, and force quality. With its wealth of current, hardtofind information, the middle east military balance offers an authoritative and indispensable guide to military capabilities in the middle east.
The islamic republic of iran has tipped the balance of effective force in the middle east in its favour by countering superior conventional forces with influence operations and use of thirdparty forces. The military and the state in the middle east theoretical. In addition, it contains several articles of analysis. The middle east military balance is prepared annually by the jaffee center for strategic studies in tel aviv. Military balance in the middle east oral presentation. The middle east military balance has appeared annually since 1983 and constitutes the most reliable, detailed source on the makeup of military forces from morocco to iran. Stretching from morocco to iran, the area has seen numerous. Cordesman discusses security development, isbn 9780720121575 buy the after the storm.
Providing an indepth statistical study of military trends in the middle east and a collection of essays analyzing the details and strategic significance of recent events in the region. Bushs formation and direction of an international coalition to drive iraq out of kuwait in 1990 and 1991 had the trappings of. In the middle east, however, the absence of any similar mechanisms or organizations, particularly amid proliferating military conflicts, feeds security dilemmas across multiple vectors, so that steps justified by one state as necessary to its securitymilitary intervention, arms procurement, alliance formation, and so onare perceived by. Democratic breakthroughs in the balance middle east with concern. To do this, it has developed a sovereign capability to conduct warfare in battlefields across the middle east through third parties. Iranian military leaders have rotated troops from across the islamic revolutionary guards corps, artesh, and basij into syria in order to expose a significant portion of. Understanding the dynamics of security in the middle east requires detailed information on the military capabilities of the regions countries. Uptodate, authoritative information on military capabilities in the middle east. Although israel and its arab neighbors have taken many steps toward peace in recent years, the middle east remains an uncertain and volatile region. June 2012 joseph holliday middle east security report 5. The military balance in the middle east an analytic overview. In the middle east peace process, moscow is looking for a separate role.
It is based on data from many sources, including some that are unavailable to other institutes. Meanwhile, the worlds most powerful authoritarian leaders have watched events in the. Nehme academician and researcher president george h. The joint comprehensive plan of action and the military balance in the middle east. The findings of freedom in the world point to a steppedup drive by authoritarian governments in other regions to weaken precisely the elements of democratic governance that pose the most. Although many developments in the 1990s appeared to have reduced the likelihood of war in the region, stability between israel and its arab neighbors. The new middle east cold war and its affiliates, the emergent islamic state, and other sunni groups are locked in a conflict over what the proper political role of islam should.
The changing face of the middle east military balance. Cordesman sees much military spending as enormously wasteful, but notes that most military casualties in the middle east have been caused by lowtechnology, often obsolete weapons. Noted middle east military expert anthony cordesman details the complex trends that come into play in determining the military balance in a region that has become so critical to world peace. After world war ii, the term middle east became widely accepted, especially in academic institutions and government agencies peretz, 1968. Those who came to know tony cordesman as military analyst for abc during desert storm will know what to expect from this monumental book. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism. China is becoming increasingly active in the middle east, just as some regional states perceive a declining u. Iran to expand military spending, develop missiles date. States in the middle east also serve as major purchasers of us military equipment. Middle east and north africa due to concerns that exported weapons are being used for repression and human rights abuses throughout the region, and in violation of international humanitarian lawin particular by the. November 9, 2016 irans khamenei says need to boost offensive military capabilities date.
The joint comprehensive plan of action and the military. At the same time, some us allies and partners are seeking greater independence from washington in response to their perceptions of changing us policies on security and trade and are becoming more open to new bilateral and multilateral partnerships. Kenneth waltz quipped that power begs to be balanced while defending the notion that proliferation of nuclear weapons technology to iran would stabilize the middle east. For waltz and other theorists who espouse a realist view of international politics, the middle east faces a twopronged challenge to. A closer look at chinairan relations introduction since diplomatic ties between china and iran were established in 1971, the two countries have developed complex political, economic, and military relations. As the year 2012 drew to a close, events in the middle east dramatized two competing trends. Its a great honor to be invited to testify before this august committee and its distinguished members.
This ready resource provides a wealth of information on military expenditures and major arms systems, as well as qualitative trends, by country and by zone. It is too soon to assess the effects of the arab spring on spending levels. The military balance in the middle east center for. To begin with, the size has gone down by 20 percent while the price has jumped by almost 50 percent. The changing military balance in the middle east ebook. The military balance 2018 includes new arms orders and deliveries graphics, a wall chart focused on strategicforces modernisation in china, russia and the united states, and thematic texts on chinese and russian airlaunched weapons, artificial intelligence and defence, and. Military expenditure in the middle east and north africa, 200716. The arab armies and the arabisraeli conflict recommended readings.
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