Diplomacy of Quasi-Alliances in the Middle East

Quasi-alliance refers to the ideation, mechanism and behaviour of policy-makers to carry out security cooperation through informal political and security arrangements. Based on declassified archives and secondary sources, this book probes the theory and practice of quasi-alliances in the Middle East.

Quasi-alliance refers to the ideation, mechanism and behavior of policy-makers to carry out security cooperation through informal political and security arrangements. As a “gray zone” between alliance and neutrality, quasi-alliance is a hidden national security statecraft. Policy-makers tend to seek a third way to strengthen security cooperation and meanwhile avert the risk of conflict. Based on declassified archives and secondary sources, this book probes the theory and practice of quasi-alliances in the Middle East. Five cases are chosen to test the hypotheses of quasi-alliance formation, management, efficacy and termination, including Anglo-French-Israeli quasi-alliance during the Suez Canal War of 1956; US-Saudi quasi-alliance during the Johnson administration; Soviet-Egypt quasi-alliance during the Sadat administration; and Iran-Syria quasi-alliance since 1979. The research finds that alliance is a hard balancing based on legally binding treaties, while quasi-alliance is a soft balance based on politically binding agreement. The task-oriented quasi-alliance features diversity of functions, flexibility of cooperative means, intangibility of targeting, and limitation of sovereignty transfer.

Preface by Tim Niblock Introduction I. Research Questions and Literature Review II. Theoretical Hypotheses and Research Methodology III. Academic and Policy Implications IV. Research Findings 1 Quasi-Alliance: A Hidden Research Agenda of Contemporary Diplomatic Strategy What is Quasi-Alliance? Types of Quasi-Alliance Characteristics of Quasi-Alliance Functions of Quasi-Alliance Summary 2 System, State and Policy-Making Levels: Quasi-Alliance Formation The System Level The State Level 36 The Decision-Making Level A Process of Trade-Off Summary 3 Between Competition and Cooperation: Quasi-Alliance Management Three-Level Games Four Means of Management Two Types of Models Summary 4 Between Assets and Liabilities: Quasi-Alliance Efficacy Divergence of Quasi-Alliance Efficacy The Objective Factors The Subjective Factors Summary 5 From Coalition to Self-Reliance: Quasi-Alliance Termination The System Level The State Level Decision-Making Level Summary 6 A "Meteor" Moment: Anglo-French-Israeli Quasi-Alliance During the Suez Canal War of 1956 The Background of Anglo-French-Israeli Cooperation 98 Dynamics of Anglo-French-Israeli Quasi-Alliance Formation Management of Anglo-French-Israeli Quasi-Alliance The Efficacy of Anglo-French-Israeli Quasi-Alliance The Termination of Anglo-French-Israeli Quasi-Alliance Summary 7 A Gulf Bridgehead: US-Saudi Quasi-Alliance During the Johnson Administration The Formation of the US-Saudi Quasi-Alliance The Management of the US-Saudi Quasi-Alliance The Efficacy of the US-Saudi Quasi-Alliance The Vitality of the US-Saudi Quasi-Alliance Summary 8 A Fortress in the Sand: Soviet-Egypt Quasi-Alliance During the Sadat Administration The Efficacy of the Soviet-Egyptian Quasi-Alliance The Termination of the Soviet-Egyptian Quasi-Alliance Summary 9 Brothers Indeed: Iran-Syria Quasi-Alliance Diplomacy Since 1979 Dynamics of Iran-Syria Quasi-Alliance Formation Management of the Iran-Syria Quasi-Alliance Efficacy of the Iran-Syria Quasi-Alliance Summary Conclusion Quasi-Alliance Theory in Diplomatic Strategy Quasi-Alliance Practice in the 21st Century China's "Quasi-Alliance Diplomacy" in the New Era? Notes Bibliography About the Contributors

• By (author) Degang Sun
• With Dandan Zhang
• Translated by Jinan Wang
• Foreword by Tim Niblock