THE SOVIETS AND ARAB REPUBLICS’ ALLIANCE AMID COLD WAR DYNAMICS

Year 2024, Issue: 63, 85 - 108, 28.06.2024

Ayfer Erdoğan Şafak

Abstract

During the Cold War, the Soviet-Arab alliance was a complex and dynamic geopolitical phenomenon significantly influencing the Middle East’s political landscape. The alignment primarily took place during the 1950s through the 1970s, characterized by ideological and pragmatic factors as well as military cooperation between the Soviet Union and revolutionary Arab regimes. This article analyzes how the Soviet Union strategically aligned itself with Arab regimes to counterbalance Western influence, particularly that of the United States. It investigates the incentives behind the Arab states’ willingness to engage with the Soviet Union such as ideological affinities, arms support, and economic cooperation. Furthermore, the article assesses the impact of the key political developments in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict such as the Six Day War, War of Attrition and the Camp David Accords on Soviet-Arab relations arguing that the Arab-Israeli conflict served as a primary factor shaping the dynamics of the Cold War in the Middle East. Different approaches to conflict resolution between the Soviet Union and the Arab regimes and shifting alliances within the Arab world led to tensions and recalibrations in Soviet-Arab relations. By drawing on archival materials, diplomatic correspondence, and historical analyses, this study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the strategic alliance that shaped the geopolitical contours of the era from 1950s to the 1970s and its repercussions in contemporary international relations.

Keywords

the Soviet Union, the Middle East, rapprochement, nationalism, socialism, anticolonialism

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