U.S CHINA STRATEGIC COMPETITION IN THE MIDDLE EAST: ASSESSING THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW GLOBAL ORDER

Abstract

This study focuses on the implications of the increasing U.S. China rivalry in the Middle East and the competition contribution to a reconfiguration of the international system. Historically the United States has greater control in the region compared to all other states but Chinese presence is being built through channels of trade and investment. The recent Israeli and Iranian conflicts reveal the limits of American control. The ongoing violence is pushing the ever-increasing competition of great powers and the global instability of energy into the dominant discourse of international relations. For the time being Chinese interests in the region have been protected by a policy of guarded diplomacy while American interests have required greater military involvement. This is reflective of a shift from a unipolar international system to a multipolar international system. The Middle East is becoming increasingly important in demonstrating the new world order of irregular antagonistic and competitive systems of greatest powers.

Keywords: Strategic, Competition, Implications, Reconfiguration, Diplomacy, Multipolar, Antagonistic, Great Powers.