The Middle East after the American imperium
For three-quarters of a century, the Middle East operated inside an American frame. Washington was not the only actor, but it was the reference point — the guarantor whose fleets, bases, and diplomatic weight set the outer boundaries of what regional rivals could do to one another. But it has thinned, and what is emerging in its place is less a new order than the return of an old condition: a genuine multipolar contest among regional powers, hedging outside powers, and a Washington that intervenes selectively rather than presides continuously.
- ▪For three-quarters of a century, the Middle East operated inside an American frame.
- ▪Washington was not the only actor, but it was the reference point — the guarantor whose fleets, bases, and diplomatic weight set the outer boundaries of what regional rivals could do to one another.
- ▪But it has thinned, and what is emerging in its place is less a new order than the return of an old condition: a genuine multipolar contest among regional powers, hedging outside powers, and a Washington that intervenes selectively rather t
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For three-quarters of a century, the Middle East operated inside an American frame. Washington was not the only actor, but it was the reference point — the guarantor whose fleets, bases, and diplomatic weight set the outer boundaries of what regional rivals could do to one another. That frame is not gone, exactly. But it has thinned, and what is emerging in its place is less a new order than the return of an old condition: a genuine multipolar contest among regional powers, hedging outside powers, and a Washington that intervenes selectively rather than presides continuously. The vacuum that isn’t empty It has become a cliché to describe American retrenchment as leaving a “vacuum.” The metaphor is misleading.
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