The Securitization in the Persian Gulf and Its Changing Dynamics

Authors : Esra CAVUSOGLU

Pages : 139-159

View : 92 | Download : 56

Publication Date : 2023-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The Persian Gulf has very strategic importance as a significant energy hub and a transition point for international oil flow, and trade, therefore, regional security is a very significant matter not only in regional politics but also in global politics. However, the regional security map has not been designed by the regional actors and based on their security interests and objectives but rather by global powers and based on their hegemonic interests and objectives. Since the end of the Second World War, in parallel with the Gulf States’ increasing importance based on their increasing oil-exporting capacities, controlling regional security has become very important for the US-led Western hegemony. To control and design the security of the Persian Gulf, the US-led Western alliance established a security system in the region through cooperation with the regional allies in different periods of regional geopolitics. This article’s main argument is that the Gulf has been exposed to constant securitization processes through the militarization of the Gulf States and military involvement by outsider powers based on their political goals rather than ontological security parameters defined by the regional actors. Recently, there has been a significant change in dynamics of the regional geopolitics. This article aims to define these changes that challenge the Western-designed regional security architecture and to examine potential developments towards desecuritization and normalization in favor of the stability of the region.
Keywords : Basra Körfezi, Güvenlik, Güvenlikleştirme, Ortadoğu

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