Middle East Geopolitics and Great Power Rivalry in the Post-2020 Era

Abstract

The Middle East has played an important geopolitical role in world politics, because of its strategic position, huge energy resources, sea lanes and ideological significance. The region has undergone a transformation in the post-2020 world, which is defined by a renewed rivalry between the great powers: The United States, China and Russia. Such competition has grown fiercer in the areas of economic cooperation, military collaboration, technology race, energy politics, and proxy warfare. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Abraham Accords, the Russian-Ukrainian war, growing Chinese relations with the Gulf and the shifting priorities of the United States' foreign policy have had an impact on the changing geopolitical context since 2020. This article explores the changing geopolitical landscape of the Middle East since 2020 and offers insights into the impact of great power competition on Middle Eastern alliances, security arrangements and economic policies. The study suggests that the Middle East had been a unipolar region, where the United States was the dominant power, and is now emerging as a multipolar geopolitical space, where there is strategic balancing between regional and global actors.