The U.S. and Saudi Arabia Relations from the 1970s to 1990s: A Theoretical Debate

Year 2019, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 64 - 84, 01.06.2019

Özdemir Akbal

Abstract

There is an important view that the political events in the 1970s brought about a new political dimension in the debates on international political theories. From this period, the nature of the role of state in international politics, the importance of political economy practices and the impact of international institutions on international politics have been taken into consideration. The result of the discussions that began in the 1970s influenced a process that continued until the 1990s. In this period many scholars such as Alexander Wendt and Robert Cox, have focused on the decreasing importance of the social power and economic data and its impact on the governments. The question of how individuals affect the state and how the state affects the international politics have been questioned more frequently in the light of these discussions. The view that the individual as a subjectivity influenced the state behavior and international politics by cognitive means gained more attention during this period against the mainstream international political theory. The debate on international political theory in this period suggests that the role of the individual increases and the role of the state decreases in the international political arena. In contrast, Systemic International Political Theory SIPT states that the role of the state continues to be an important element in the international political arena after taking the succession of the individual. In the context of these discussions, this article focuses on the U.S.Saudi Arabia relations. The main reason of this is the reflection of Saudi Arabia’s use of oil as a weapon in the 1970s on global policies. The first sign of the changing of the political climate in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia relations is the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Meanwhile, the oil crisis led by Saudi Arabia also affected the U.S. and Saudi Arabia relations in the 1970s. These events have been evaluated in the context of the discussion of policy theories

Keywords

International System, Subjectivity, Saudi Arabia, U.S., Oil Crisis, Systemic International Political Theory, Critical Theories.

1970’lerden 1990’lara ABD ve Suudi Arabistan İlişkileri: Bir Teorik Tartışma

Abstract

1970’lerde yaşanan siyasi olayların uluslararası siyaset teorisi tartışmalarına yeni bir politik boyut getirdiğine dair önemli bir görüş mevcuttur. Bu dönemden itibaren devletin uluslararası politikadaki rolünün şekli, ekonomi-politik uygulamalarının önemi ve uluslararası kurumların uluslararası politika üzerindeki etkisi göz önünde bulundurulmuştur. Bu tartışmaların 1970’lerde başlattığı süreç 1990’lara da tesir etmiştir. Bu dönemde Alexander Wendt ve Robert Cox gibi pek çok yazar, sosyal güçlerin ve ekonomik verilerin artan önemine ve bu durumun devletler üzerine olan etkisine yoğunlaşmıştır. Bireylerin devlet yapısını nasıl etkilediği ve devlet yapısının uluslararası politika ortamını nasıl etkilediği sorusu bu tartışmalar ışığında daha fazla sorulmuştur. Subjektivite olarak bireyin devleti ve uluslararası politikayı bilişsel araçlarla etkilediği görüşü, bu dönemde ana akım uluslararası politika teorisine karşı güç kazanmıştır. Bu dönemde uluslararası politika teorileri üzerine yapılan tartışmalar, bireyin rolünün arttığını ve devletin rolünün uluslararası siyasi ortamda azaldığını göstermektedir. Buna karşılık, Sistemik Uluslararası Politika Teorisi SUPT , bireyin vekaletini aldıktan sonra devletin rolünün uluslararası politika ortamında devam ettiğini ifade etmektedir. Bu tartışmalar bağlamında, bu makale ABD-Suudi Arabistan ilişkilerine odaklanmaktadır. Bunun temel nedeni, Suudi Arabistan’ın petrolü bir silah olarak kullanmasının 1970’lerde küresel politikalara yansımasıdır. ABD ile Suudi Arabistan ilişkilerinin değişmesinin ilk işareti 1973 Arapİsrail Savaşıdır. Bununla birlikte, Suudi Arabistan’ın yol açtığı petrol krizi, 1970’lerde ABD ve Suudi Arabistan ilişkilerini de etkilemiştir. Bu olaylar uluslararası politika teorileri tartışması bağlamında değerlendirilmiştir

Keywords

Uluslararası Sistem, Sübjektivite, Suudi Arabistan, ABD, Petrol Krizi, Sistemik Uluslararası Politika Teorisi, Eleştirel Teoriler.

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