Changing Balance of Power in the Middle East

Abstract

During the Cold War the countries of the Middle East could be divided into two blocks according to their ties to the superpowers. After the fall of the Soviet Union the United States remained the sole power in the region, who could create a balance of power, but that balance has been offset by the interventionist foreign policy of the Bush administration. In the last five years the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, the expansion of the Islamic State terrorist organization and the Iran nuclear deal have all had an impact on the balance of power in the Middle East, further complicating the situation.