"NATO's Strategy Towards the Arabian Gulf: A Study of the Istanbul Initiative

Research Abstract

Amidst the changes witnessed in the security environment in the post-Cold War period, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) attempted to maintain its survival and continuity by adopting a new approach based on dialogue and cooperation while maintaining defense and military capabilities and striving to expand and include new partners in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as expanding southward towards North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Gulf. This necessitated the creation of a new identity in order to keep pace with the requirements of the post-Cold War period and after the events of September 11, 2001. NATO views cooperation with the Gulf states from a global strategic perspective. During the Cold War era, the alliance's strategy was regional in the North Atlantic region to deter the Soviet Union, but after that, the alliance needed to expand beyond its scope. The Gulf region is of great strategic importance, not only because it is a major source of the world's economy and energy, but also for geopolitical and security considerations, which calls for joint regional and international cooperation, because the threats and challenges facing both parties are intertwined, and there is no escape from this without comprehensive international cooperation. If an initiative does not achieve Istanbul: The actual cooperation sought by the Gulf states will ultimately be useless and worthless, as long as it does not achieve its security goals for the countries of the region. The study aimed to analyze NATO's strategy towards the Arabian Gulf region, the determinants of the alliance's strategy towards the region, and the foundations of the strategic partnership, focusing primarily on the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative and analyzing it. It relied on the national interest approach to achieve its goals. Keywords: Strategy, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Arabian Gulf region, Initiative Istanbul Cooperation.

Research Keywords

Keywords: Strategy, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Arabian Gulf region, Initiative Istanbul Cooperation.