In recent years political scientists have shown increasing interest in the relationship between international and intranational politics. One of the problems most frequently dealt with in this area is the relationship between foreign and domestic conflict behaviour. Some of the notions involved are quite venerable and are commonly used in explaining specific events. One such notion is scapegoating, the diversion of popular attention from domestic conflicts to foreign ones. Another such concept posits the strengthening of internal solidarity in the face of external conflict. However, attempts at scientific, systematic examinations of the issue have yielded evidence of only weak relationships at best. In this paper the problem is again approached, though from a different angle than in most other studies. The types of behaviour examined are interstate violence and intrastate political unrest. Measures for each of these variables are developed. Correlations between the measures are then computed for each of four Middle Eastern states: Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria. The calculations are made both with and without time lags. The results show no significant relationship between the variables for Israel. For Syria unrest predicts positively and with moderate strength to subsequent interstate violence, while interstate violence predicts moderately and negatively to subsequent unrest. For Egypt and Jordan the variables predict strongly and positively to each other. It is suggested that these differences among the states may be due to differing degrees of freedom of access to political channels in them. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

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This thesis is concerned with the reaction of British M. P.'s to the Labor government's Palestinian policy 1945-48. The primary data comes from the British Parliamentary Debates (Commons) and works by British leaders. There are great differences among British political parties and between individuals within the parties in their reactions to and suggestions concerning the deteriorating situation in Palestine. Most politicians supported the Jews prior to the terrorist activity of 1947, but many then shifted to the Arab side. Due to the anti-Zionist policy of Ernest Bevin and Clement Attlee, a solution to the Palestinian problem was delayed; the Jews were driven to desperation; and Great Britain, previously a friend to the Jews, became their bitterest enemy.

The main objective of American foreign policy in the Middle East, during the post-War period of 1946-1958, was to safeguard the area against Soviet intrusions. This thesis attempts to examine the causes for the failure of the United States to achieve this objective. It concludes that this failure is the result of an alienation of the major national forces in the Middle East. The United States alienated the Arab world by openly and unreservedly supporting Zionist aims in Palestine. She alienated newly independent states by establishing close cooperation with Britain and France, their former colonial masters. She alienated revolutionary nationalists by supporting reactionary and traditional rulers against them and by opposing their ideals of neutrality and revolutionary change. In doing so, the United States opened the way for the Soviet Union to challenge her position and threaten her interests in the area. By emphasizing the military aspects of containment, she demonstrated a lack of understanding of the nature of the Soviet threat. The revolutionary nationalists sought to obtain military, economic, and technical aid without conditions or political strings. By insisting on imposing her conditions of alliance against communism and securing concessions and guarantees, including the safety and security of Israel, the United States made it impossible for the nationalist forces to cooperate with her. They, therefore, were forced to deal with the Soviet Union, whose aid was offered with no conditions or strings attached. The American response to isolate and weaken those states which accepted Soviet aid, through such means as the Eisenhower Doctrine, brought on a most serious deterioration in relations never before encountered by the United States and the most spectacular successes ever realized by the Soviet Union in the Middle East.

The concept of geopolitics - is reconsidered as a viable framework in analyzing the power relationship between nation states and then applied to the Middle East. After reviewing the historical development of geopolitics, it is modified, and then set against alternative approaches in explaining Middle Eastern alliances. Ultimately, geopolitics is used in order to rationalize America's alliance network within the region. / Master of Arts

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Changes in world order have caused major shifts in the global positioning of states at the international level. The end of the Cold War ushered in a new power structure that shifted from a bipolar arrangement to a multipolar disposition. The emergence of this new world order allowed for emerging and developing states, such as Turkey, the opportunity to fill gaps left by the power vacuum created by the new multipolar power arrangement. This led the Turkish state on its path to become a middle power within the new world order. To assess the impact of changing world orders in the promotion of Turkey as a middle power in the new order, this study uses Coxian Critical Theory and the social relations of forces framework to account for Turkey’s middle power ascent. The framework developed by Robert Cox consists of three aspects, namely world orders, forms of state and the social relations of production. The change in world order both in the post-Cold War and post-2001 era has caused fundamental shifts within the Turkish state, both in terms of forms of state and in the social relations of production. Changes in the forms of state of the Turkish Republic following the end of the Cold War allowed for the creation of more robust civil society organizations, and a state that was transformed by the spread of international norms that originated at the world order level. International norms at the world order level not only affected the forms of state, but also the social relations of production and the political economy of Turkey. As a result changes in the forms of state and social relations of production informed by changes at the world order level, influenced the creation and execution of a proactive autonomous and internationally geared Turkish foreign policy, which is indicative of a middle power. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Aanpassings in die wêreld orde het grootskaalse verskuiwings op internasionale vlak in die globale positionering van state te weeg gebring. Die einde van die Koue Oorlog het ontwikkel in ‘n nuwe mag struktuur wat beweeg het van bipolêre magskikking tot multi-polêre ingesteldheid. Die opkoms van hierdie nuwe wêreld orde het vir opkomende en ontwikkelende state, soos Turkye, die geleentheid gebied om in rolle in te tree wat ontstaan het as gevolg van die magsleemte wat veroorsaak is deur die nuwe multi-polêre orde. Die faktore het daartoe bygedra dat Turkye ‘n nuwe rol as ‘n intermedïere moondheid (‘middle power’) begin aanneem het. Hierdie studie het die Kritiese Teorie van Robert Cox gebruik om te bepaal wat die impak is van die veranderende wêreld orde op die ontwikkeling van Turkye as ‘n intermedïere moondheid in die nuwe wêreld orde, asook die mag van sosiale verwantskappe (‘social relations of forces’) raamwerk om rekenskap te gee and Turkye se rol as intermedïere moondheid. Die raamwerk wat deur Robert Cox ontwikkel is bestaan uit drie aspekte; die wêreld ordes, staatsvorme, en die sosiale verwantskappe van produksie. In beide die post- Koue Oorlog en die post-2001 era het die verandering in wêreld orde merkwaardige verskuiwings in die Turkse staat veroorsaak; beide in terme van die aard van die staat asook die sosiale verwantskappe van produksie. Teen die einde van die Koue Oorlog het die veranderinge in die aard van die staat van die Turkse Republiek toegelaat dat meer kragtige burgerlike samelewingsorganisasies kon bestaan, sowel as ‘n staat wat omskep was deur die verspreiding van internasionale norme, wat ontstaan het op wêreld orde vlak. Hierdie internasionale norme het nie net die forms of state vorm of aard van die staat beïnvloed nie, maar ook die sosiale verwantskappe van produksie en die politieke ekonomie van Turkye. Uit die aard van die saak het veranderinge in die vorm van die staat en sosiale verwantskappe van produksie wat veroorsaak was deur die verandering op wêreld orde vlak, gelei tot die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van ‘n pro-aktiewe, selfstandige en internationaal gerigte Turkse buitelandse beleid. Die laasgenoemde dui aan op Turkye se ewolusie as ʼn intermedïere moondheid.

This investigation, covering the past two decades, attempts to determine what benefits the Soviets have sought to gain in their relationships with Middle Eastern oil-producing nations. Chapter I surveys the U.S.S.R.'s oil industry and its tentative prospects for the 1980's. Chapter II discusses Soviet involvement in the Middle East since 1950, including nationalization and oil embargoes. In Chapter III, developments less favorable to the U.S.S.R. are, analyzed: the growing influence of conservative, anti -Soviet oil-producing states and the deradicalization of other Middle Eastern nations. Chapter IV concludes that the Soviets have met with varying success in their Middle Eastern involvements. The future of their oil industry remains uncertain.