Monday, November 26, 2018

How has religious radicalization in Central Asia and the Middle East affected United States relations with traditional NATO allies during the last decade? How would you describe its impact on US geopolitical policy?

It appears that religious radicalization in Central Asia and the Middle East has led to increased collaboration between the United States and its NATO allies. By extension, religious radicalization has had an enormous impact on US geopolitical policy.
First, let us talk about NATO. The alliance is made up of 29 countries. Additionally, NATO works with a range of international organizations to preserve geopolitical stability. The partner organizations most pertinent to our discussion would be the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). The Mediterranean Dialogue is a 7-nation alliance. These nations are Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Israel, Egypt, and Tunisia. Meanwhile, the ICI is a 4-country alliance made up of the Gulf states of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Since the 2001 attacks on the United States, NATO has increasingly turned its attention toward Central Asia and the Middle East. NATO allies have security interests in the region, as do non-NATO allies. Certainly, the conflicting goals of both parties have greatly influenced US geopolitical strategy in the region.
Let us discuss NATO operations in the Middle East and Central Asia. Within the last decade, NATO has deployed more than 9,000 troops to Afghanistan, financed training operations for Iraqi forces, expanded its collaborative efforts with the MD and ICI, and deployed its NRF (NATO Response Force) in Pakistan. Three important developments within the last decade have affected the relationship between the US and its NATO allies and impacted US geopolitical strategy:
1) The rise of Islamic State:
The US and its NATO allies have collaborated to clear IS out of Syria and Iraq. Here, the BBC reports on which NATO countries have participated in hostilities. It is worth noting that Russia is not part of the alliance. Read the NYT article about the fight against IS below:
Thousands of ISIS Fighters Flee in Syria, Many to Fight Another Day
2) Russian interest and involvement in the Middle East:
To date, the tripartite alliance between Russia, Turkey (a NATO ally), and Iran poses a rising threat to the United States. The partnership between Russia and Iran began when the latter purchased 5 Russian S-300 missile batteries in 2007. Read about the Turkey-Russia-Iran alliance below:
Expanding Russia-Iran-Turkey Alliance Puts the US on Back-Foot
Russia Is In The Middle East To Stay
Russia and Iran open their arms as Turkey loses patience with U.S.
3) The rise of an Arab NATO and its implications for Israel-Palestinian peace efforts:
To date, the Gulf States has two alliances that are committed to combating extremism. They are the Middle East Strategic Alliance (dubbed the Arab NATO and, incidentally, modeled after NATO) and the Islamic Military Alliance. The United States will need the cooperation of these Muslim groups to realize its initiatives and goals in the Middle East. At the same time, it is also committed to its alliance with Israel, a US ally. While it is not clear how Israel would fit into these alliances, there are deep implications in store for Israeli-Palestinian relations. The multitude of concerns here continue to drive US geopolitical strategy in the region.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/natos-growing-role-in-the-greater-middle-east/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Summarize the major research findings of "Toward an experimental ecology of human development."

Based on findings of prior research, the author, Bronfenbrenner proposes that methods for natural observation research have been applied in ...