Journal of International Studies

CAIRO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of Russian officials arrived in Egypt Thursday to meet with top officials in a landmark visit that aims to boost military and political cooperation between the two countries. The visit comes at a time when traditional Egyptian ally, the United States, withholds the delivery of some military aid. On Thursday, Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss how to increase and develop military collaboration, state-run MENA reported. Sisi heralded the talks as a sign of a new stage of fruitful cooperation and a boost to the historic relation between the two countries, which dates back to the mid-1950s, emphasizing the partnership would help fulfill mutual goals and return security to the Middle East region. Egypt was one of Moscow's closest Arab allies for two decades, starting in the 1950s under the Egypt's late nationalist leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser, but relations between...

The problem Vladimir Putin has faced is how to convince the West that Russia means business when it offers a solution to the chemical weapons issue. After all, for well over a decade Russia has been a naysayer and spoiler, either protesting against US military interventions or seeking to obstruct Washington’s policies. Why has Russia now stepped forward and offered an alternative solution, tentatively accepted both by Damascus and the Americans? By reaching out to Barack Obama at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Putin was hardly seeking either to ‘humiliate’ the US President or to ‘save’ him. The personal relationship between the two leaders is missing; it is all business. In offering his plan to Obama, Putin had important interests in mind. The Russian leader’s short-term goal was to prevent US military strikes against Damascus. Putin admitted to having been surprised by the vote in the British Parliament ruling out UK participation in US-led attacks. He must have been no less...

Professors Tom Nichols and John Schindler have   responded  to   my critique  of   their contention  that Russia is now a “peer” to the United States when it comes to influence in the Middle East, and that, indeed, Washington has “outsourced” the management of regional security to Moscow. The dispute is in part over empirical factors, but more broadly it represents a distinct set of normative assumptions and policy prescriptions regarding America’s role in a changing Middle East. It is easier to address the dispute over empirical “facts”; or rather, it might be, had the authors directly responded to them. But almost nowhere do they address the substantive points I made, dispute the historical examples, or provide any specific evidence to support their claim. Nor do they show how the Syrian deal directly advances Russian influence in the region. Where, for example, will Moscow go from here? Has it convinced other actors to adopt its point of view? Has it...

When people in the west seek to explain Moscow’s approach to the crisis in Syria, they often refer to Damascus as Russia’s “last remaining ally in the Middle East”. They also frequently include Russia’s interest in the Syrian arms market and the Tartus naval facility. Finally, a seemingly powerful argument is made about the Syrian people’s fight for democracy – which sends shivers down the spine of authoritarians, including President Vladimir Putin. These explanations are generally misleading. True, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, was a Soviet ally, but Moscow de facto withdrew from geopolitical competition in the Middle East in 1990, when it joined Washington and many others to oppose its other nominal ally, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Bashar al-Assad, in calmer times, was a more frequent visitor to Paris and London than to Moscow. Mr Putin himself never visited Damascus. The Syrian arms bazaar has been dominated by Moscow merchants since the 1960s, but the proceeds from it, whi...

Russia has spent over a decade trying to recapture the influence the Soviet Union once enjoyed in the Middle East, but President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to position Moscow as a key regional player have come up short. With revolutions across the Arab world overturning old orders and ushering in Islamist governments, Russia’s chances for strengthening its position in the region look increasingly slim. The Kremlin must change course and ensure that its approach to the Middle East and Islamists reflects post–Arab Spring realities. Key Themes Under Putin, attempts to shore up Russian influence in the Middle East are motivated by nostalgia for Soviet influence, a desire to demonstrate to Russia’s Muslim population that the Islamic world’s affairs matter to the Kremlin, and strategic national interests, including having a military presence in the region.   Putin’s strategy has involved emphasizing Russia’s special position as a power that can act as a bridge between the We...