Middle East Security Issues and Security Governance

Wang Lincong

Throughout their long history, characterized by dramatic social and historical changes, Middle East countries have had serious “deficits” in terms of security, development, and peacekeeping, among which “security deficits” are the most severe. As is generally known, the outbreak of conflicts and wars and the frequent occurrence of “black swan events” have caused extremely complicated and acute security problems in the Middle East. At the same time, due to the lack of any efficient security governance and safety mechanisms, unresolved security problems in the Middle East have accumulated over a long time, and through the superposition effect have formed a complicated environment with multiple security dilemmas and governance predicaments. Given that the problems have not only jeopardized countries of the region, but have spread all over the world, Middle East security has become a prominent global issue which is constantly exacerbating the uncertainty of the region and the world. Against this background, the security management in the Middle East is an urgent task, and exploring effective paths for security governance has become the focus of attention throughout the world.

Middle East Security: Concept and Connotations

What constitutes Middle East security? What appears to be a simple question has given rise to varying answers and definitions from different research perspectives. Western scholars generally define Middle East security as safeguarding the interests of the West, which is to prevent any threats coming from the Middle East, to ensure that Western countries are guaranteed steady access to oil resources, to manage the Arab-Israeli conflict, to prevent the emergence of a regional hegemonic power, and to maintain the survival of friendly regimes.1J.C. Hurewitz, ed., Soviet-American Rivalry in the Middle East, 1969; Peter Mangold, Superpower Intervention in the Middle East, 1978; Paul Marantz and Blema S. Steinberg, eds., Superpower Involvement in the Middle East: Dynamics of Foreign Policy, Boulder: Westview Press, 1985.Western scholars often formulate their assumptions about Middle East security from the perspective of threats. For example, Lenore G. Martin, a US expert on Middle East issues, believes that the core of defining security is to understand what threatens it. This core is made up of three questions: What threats are there? What is the root cause of these threats? What is the object of these threats? She holds that national security is the total result of interactions between various types of threats in military, political, economic, social, and ecological fields. Thus, a secure Middle East would be achieved merely by a reduction of threats in these five areas, or by being capable of containing most of them.2Lenore G. Martin, “Conceptualizing Security in the Middle East: Israel and a Palestinian State,” in Tami Amanda Jacoby and Brent Sasley, eds., Redefining Security in the Middle East, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002, pp.21-22.Some scholars define Middle East security as the absence of military conflicts or confrontation, while “Middle East insecurity” would refer to the existence of lasting conflicts and wars.3Bassam Tibi, Conflict and War in the Middle East: From Interstate War to New Security, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1998, p.193.In this regard, many scholars are asserting that the traditional definition of Middle East security overemphasizes the aspects of militarism and violence, and deviates from the root causes of the security issues. Tami Amanda Jacoby and Brent Sasley, in their book Redefining Security in the Middle East, argued that standard security concepts cannot explain the security concerns and interests of different countries and non-state actors in the Middle East. Politics, society, environment, culture, gender and other identity issues have become increasingly important in creating a new approach for defining Middle East security.4Tami Amanda Jacoby and Brent Sasley, eds., Redefining Security in the Middle East, 2002.

In practice, many Western scholars have described the term Middle East security as “the West’s security in the Middle East.” Their research orientation is influenced by the idea of safeguarding the security interests of Western powers in the Middle East, and their entire definition of Middle East security is based on the precondition that Western interests in the Middle East are not threatened. As a consequence, the real actors of Middle East security - the countries and people of the Middle East themselves - are usually left out. In this sense, the definition of Middle East security must take into consideration its regional actors. Only when these are clearly identified, can we clarify what the true implications of Middle East security are.

The concept of Middle East security should refer to the security of the countries, the region and the people in the Middle East. It thus includes three levels: the security of the Middle East as a region, the security of Middle Eastern countries, and the security of the people as individuals living in the Middle East. The purpose of Middle East security research is to explore how to safeguard the security interests of the Middle Eastern region, its countries, and its people. The issues of Middle East security therefore deal with the topic that the interests of Middle Eastern security actors are threatened and damaged, and how endeavors to safeguard their security interests encounter obstacles and challenges. Middle East security issues are different from the security issues of developed countries, as they are distinct from each other by nature. The former is essentially a manifestation of an underdeveloped social form. In the late 1980s, Mohammod Ayoob pointed out that the security issues of the Third World, characterized by prominent internal threats and the externalization of the internal threats, are different from those of Western developed countries. These phenomena together result in the critical instability of states and regimes - a vicious circle of insecurity.5Mohammod Ayoob, ed., Regional Security in the Third World: Case Studies from Southeast Asia and the Middle East, London: Routledge, 1986.Middle East security matters possess the attributes of Third World countries and are a reflection of underdevelopment in terms of security mechanisms. At the same time, the question of Middle East security is intertwined with the unique security culture and conflicts of practical interests in the region. Distinguishing the differences between the security issues of Middle Eastern countries and those of Western developed countries will help to understand the causes, types, characteristics and dilemma of Middle East security issues, thus providing a more accurate approach and solution for the Middle East’s security governance.

Recent Changes and New Features of Middle East Security Issues

Middle East security issues have been prominent ever since the emergence of the modern Middle Eastern state system. In the 21st century, a number of changes and new features regarding Middle East security matters have appeared.

Changes in Middle East security issues and characteristics

The questions regarding security in the Middle East are the result of long-term conflicts, both internal and external, and a variety of different factors. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, and the turmoil breaking out in West Asia and North Africa have summarily made the Middle East security situation more complicated and volatile, and have resulted in the emergence of many new phenomena. At the national level, political and social security have been eroded by regime change and persistent social unrest in a number of countries. At the regional level, the “universalization” of Middle East security issues is a prominent phenomenon. At the international level, the “globalization” of Middle East security issues is becoming increasingly apparent.

On the whole, it can be argued that the current Middle East security situation is the most severe and complex in the past 30 years. Complicated and aggravated Middle East issues have evolved into a serious security crisis. The characteristics can be summarized as follows.

First, the simultaneous deterioration of and interaction between traditional and non-traditional security issues result in an extremely complicated and “compounded” security landscape.In contrast to the global situation, the traditional security threats in the Middle East have not subsided, and non-traditional security threats have risen steadily; traditional and non-traditional security issues have been in powerful interaction, and non-traditional security issues have often transformed into traditional ones. In recent years, the Libyan War, the Syrian War, the war in Yemen, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have broken out in short succession. Plagued by these and other issues, many countries in the Middle East still regard traditional security threats as their top priority. This can be shown in the expanding military expenditure of Middle Eastern countries. According to statistics published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditure has continued to decrease in recent years, but military expenditure in the Middle East is continually increasing (see Table 1).

At the same time, non-traditional security issues are extremely acute and complex in the Middle East. The most dominant problem is that terrorist organizations have grown exponentially and are now representing the gravest security threat. The Middle East is both a breeding ground for terrorists and a disaster-stricken area of terrorism. Terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda and the “Islamic State,” not only jeopardize Middle Eastern countries, but also pose a menace to the security of every country in the world. These terrorist organizations, involving characteristics of both traditional and nontraditional security threats, have become the biggest challenge for Middle East and even global security.

Second, political security issues have become the main focus of Middle East security.In the rapidly changing environment of the Middle East, political security is the core and a paragon of national security. Political security is at the very center of all related security matters, and the loss of it would lead to a chain-reaction outbreak of multiple other security issues. In the past, the political security of Middle Eastern countries was based on authoritarian rule. Authoritarian politics is a common phenomenon in the Middle East, and its distinct feature is that political strongmen dominate a country’s destiny and even regional affairs.

Since the dramatic changes in the Middle East situation, authoritarian politics has taken strong hits, giving rise to an unprecedented political crisis. Long-standing political forces that have been in power for extended periods have plunged down one after another. Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, which had been famous for stability, suddenly became turbulent crisis spots.Confronted with regime change and political turmoil, regional political security is faced with an explosive situation with multiple chain-reaction effects. Heated discussions about issues including political system design, political development orientation and ideology, etc., have led to a fierce confrontation between religious groups and secular forces, at the same time involving a clash of interests between various ethnic groups and sects. More importantly, a lack of political authority has emerged in many countries, as a consequence of the collapse of many strongman regimes in the Middle East. The resulting “authority vacuum” makes these countries more vulnerable to internal and external security threats.6Amr Yossef and Joseph R. Cerami, The Arab Spring and the Geopolitics of the Middle East: Emerging Security Threats and Revolutionary Change, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.A number of countries have thus fallen into a double predicament regarding their political situation: on the one hand, the fierce competition among various political forces has increased the intensity of power struggles and political conflicts, and has frequently switched the political situation; on the other hand, political turmoil has often been amplified by the people’s demands for more political participation, and by the expansion of street politics and public violence. Political security has thus become the most significant shortcoming in the current Middle East security.

Table 1 Military expenditure of some Middle Eastern countries (2000-2018)Unit: million US dollars

Third, Middle East security issues tend to be diversified.The issues concerning Middle East security cover almost every aspect of Middle Eastern society and involve a broader field, more complex types, and more diverse forms than those dealing with the rest of the world. In the aftermath of the changes in the Middle East situation, security in many fields has deteriorated to varying degrees, making the Middle East security situation even more severe.

To begin with, matters regarding religious and cultural security have worsened. Religious extremism and terrorism are prevailing in the Middle East. Through the distortion of Islamic teachings, they lead ordinary Muslims to radicalization and greatly destroy the normal religious and cultural ecology. Moreover, Western demonization of Islam is also a cause of an enduring antipathy. The United States’ strengthening of its ideological penetration into the Middle East after the Iraq War has further posed a threat to ideological and cultural security of Middle Eastern countries.

In addition, the ecological security predicament is getting more and more serious. The Middle East is plagued by a deterioration of the ecological environment, and constantly has to battle against drought. In recent years, severe drought in the Middle East has resulted in a decline of food production and poor harvests, driving up food prices and causing food insecurity. At the same time, the struggle for water resources is also intensifying. Frictions arising from the struggle to secure water resources are intertwined with territorial and political disputes, resulting in an exceedingly unstable regional situation.

Furthermore, social stability issues are even more complicated. On the one hand, internal polarization between the rich and the poor in Middle Eastern countries has intensified, and social contradictions have continued to exacerbate, which to a certain extent triggered the turmoil in West Asia and North Africa. On the other hand, the youth problem is particularly prominent. Because of a lack of employment, hopeless young people in the Middle East are prone to radicalization and even join extremist organizations. Young people are both victims of extremism and the mainstay of extremist organizations. The youth problem poses a grave threat to social stability and security.

Last but not the least, energy security, financial security and refugee issues represent new challenges of Middle East security in the 21st century. All of these security issues of different types and of various natures are either difficult to deal with, or tend to escalate with changes of the Middle East situation.

Root causes of Middle East security issues

Middle East security problems have a long history, complex causes and different manifestations. In terms of root causes, it is a result of interaction between internal and external factors, which have materialized mainly at international, regional and national levels.

First, at the international level, “externality” 7Externality is an economic term that refers to the impact of a subject’s economic activity on others or the social environment. According to its profit and loss, it can be divided into positive externality and negative externality. In the field of international relations, externalities reflect the positive or negative effects of one country’s actions on another. The externality here refers specifically to the influence of extraterritorial powers on the Middle East and its chain effect. is a unique source of Middle East security issues.External influence is an extremely important and unique factor concerning the causes of any Middle East security issue. The Middle East has been in a state of constant division since modern times. It is considered a “broken zone” that falls apart, and the competition between divided powers exacerbates this situation.8Saul Bernard Cohen, Geopolitics: The Geography of International Relations, New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2009, pp.355-356.Powers outside the region view the Middle East as an important area to pursue their strategic goals, to take advantage of fault lines within the region to infiltrate and expand, and establish a so-called “Middle East order” based on their own security interests. Forces dominating the Middle East are mainly powers from outside the region, which makes up the “externality” characteristic of the development of international relations in the Middle East. The longtime domination of the Middle East order by external forces, and regional countries’ forced subordination to such an order makes it difficult for them to master their own development due to a lack of autonomy.9Wang Lincong, “The International Environments of the Middle East Countries’ Development from the Perspective of Marxist View of the Times,” West Asia and Africa, No.5, 2016, pp.56-57.Since the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East has been lacking any core forces capable of resisting infiltration and intervention from external powers. Although independent nation-states have been successively founded, thereby forming a system of independent states in the Middle East, the situation with the Middle East being the subject of external control has not changed. The rise of some emerging Middle Eastern countries has been suppressed by external powers, and these countries with their limited strength have so far failed to break the dominance of external powers. The Middle East holds a marginalized position in the so-called “core area – semi-periphery area – periphery area”10Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System I, translated by Guo Fang, Liu Xincheng, and Zhang Wengang, Beijing: Higher Education Press, 1998, p.462.structure within the international system. Therefore, on the one hand, external powers have always played a dominating role for the creation of the Middle East order; on the other hand, long-term external interference and competition have led to turmoil in the Middle East, where security concerns are extremely pressing, and a true security order cannot be established. This is the root cause of turmoil in the Middle East.

External powers have several means of interference and competition in the Middle East, ranging from direct military invasions to subversive actions executed under various names. All forms of external intrusions, especially the interventions by Western powers, have brought serious consequences: first, a lot of damage is done and new contradictions and security crises are triggered; second, the region is left with a series of security problems that are difficult to solve. Reoccurring struggles among actors in the Middle East have led to a vicious circle of declining levels of Middle East security. In this sense, “externality” is the root cause of Middle East security issues.

Second, at the regional level, contradictions and conflicts among Middle Eastern countries are an important reason for the intensification of regional security issues.Relations among Middle Eastern countries are complicated in terms of historically accumulated grievances, entanglements of interests, as well as manipulation, exploitation and alienation by external powers. Conflicts between Arabs and Jews have lasted for more than half a century, and disputes in the Palestinian territories have been incessant. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has intensified rather than weakened, and has returned to the revengeful path of answering violence with violence. The Middle Eastern sky is once more covered with the dark clouds of armed conflicts and war, and its security situation is worryingly weak.

It is worth emphasizing that since the establishment of the nationstate system in the Middle East, due to changes in national strengths and disagreements regarding security concepts and strategies pursued by each of the states, relations among regional countries have become quite complicated, which leads to an extremely fierce competition for geopolitical interests. The most outstanding manifestation is that some countries began an endeavor to change the existing geopolitical structure after they gained power, embarking on a struggle for geo-interests, and even performing a role of “regional hegemon,” which seriously threatened regional security.

The struggle for geo-interests is a considerable factor concerning the deterioration of the Middle East’s security system. Taking the Syrian War as an example, the escalation of the Syrian civil war, which broke out in 2011, into a regional war clearly reflects a severe geopolitical contest among regional countries, in addition to the rivalry among major powers, such as the US-Russia competition in the Middle East.

In the process of competing for influence, some countries in the region often introduce external powers into the Middle East by forming alliances with them or depending on them, creating a security problem by linking internal and external actors together. The frequent intervention by external forces in the confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia has made the Syria War a “proxy war” for external powers to compete with each other. This has not only led to a stalemate of the Syrian civil war, but also escalated the security crisis in the Middle East and further complicated the solution to Middle East security issues.

Third, at the national level, internal contradictions and disputes in Middle Eastern nation-states are the roots of regional security issues.With only a short period since gaining independence, Middle Eastern nation-states are confronted with various problems in the process of nation-state building. The social and national integration is progressing slowly, and there exist obvious differences among the identities of members in the society. In reality, ethnic, tribal and religious identity enjoys a higher status than national identity, which greatly weakens the foundation of a modern nation-state. This situation has led to a continuous rise of religious and ethnic conflicts within Middle Eastern countries, and aggravation of internal divisions among some (especially war-torn) countries, leading to an increase of separatism. At present, ethnic separatism and tribalism (mainly in Libya) under the intensification of ethnic conflicts have become an essential factor affecting regional security. For multi-ethnic countries in the Middle East, the third wave of world nationalism and the changing Middle East situation caused by the turmoil in West Asia and North Africa have gradually become a catalyst for intensifying ethnic conflicts and rapid spread of centrifugal tendencies and separatist consciousness within some minority groups.

The Syrian crisis, triggered by the changing regional situation, has intensified complex ethnic and religious schisms in the Middle East, posing a threat to the modern nation-state system in the region. The Syrian crisis has further activated potential sectarian and ethnic disputes, strengthened affiliation to sectarian, ethnic and tribal groups, while severely weakening national identity. As a manifestation of the aftereffects of the crisis, the recent tendency of the Syrian Kurdish armed forces for gaining autonomy is undermining the Syrian territorial integrity and unity of government. Similarly, Iraq has fallen prey to fragility and disintegration after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and has almost been dismembered with the rise of the “Islamic State” group. The dividing tendencies of the Iraqi Kurds have severely intensified and turned from pursuing autonomy to seeking independence. On September 25, 2017, the Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region held an independence referendum. The result of this referendum, overwhelmingly in favor of independence, reflected the eagerness of the Iraqi Kurds to form an independent state, but the Iraqi government rejected the legality of the referendum and sent troops to Kirkuk to prevent the Iraqi Kurdish movement from gaining independent statehood. Neighboring countries, such as Turkey and Iran, have adopted joint sanctions to contain separatist tendencies of the Kurdish people. It is evident that ethnic contradictions and internal conflicts pose serious challenges to the security of Middle Eastern countries, as they endanger regional security and stability.

The Current Security Dilemma in the Middle East

As mentioned above, internal and external factors involving external intervention, long-term accumulation of contradictions, entanglement of various geopolitical interests, sectarian conflicts, and ethnic disputes, all of which are interrelated and interlaced, lead to the deterioration of the Middle East security framework. Consequently, regional security crises and dilemmas have emerged. The current quarrels concerning the Middle East’s security have manifested themselves with multiple characteristics at domestic, regional and international levels.

Security dilemma at the national level

Since Middle Eastern countries entered into the critical period of transformation, the complexity, convolution and uncertainty of this process have caused a deepening of security dilemma within Middle Eastern countries. Various contradictions in the transformation were unleashed or have erupted within a short time, exerting a comprehensive impact on the countries’ internal security. For instance, the collapse of strongman regimes has evolved into antagonism among a number of old and new forces, causing social instability and security disorder.

In addition, the enduring problems concerning political-religious, religious-secular and ethnic relations have brought about major challenges affecting the orientation of national development and the stability of regional countries in their current political and social transformation. To be more specific, political-religious and religious-secular relations, which directly determine the nature and system of a state as well as the distribution of power, are fundamental elements for any national statehood. And in the changing situation of the Middle East, a great number of conflicts exist between religious and secular camps. The overthrow of Egypt’s Morsi government by the Egyptian military is a typical example.

Similarly, increasing ethnic and tribal conflicts have largely corroded national cohesion, which is the biggest menace to national internal security. There are three types of tribal conflicts in the Middle East: inter-tribal violence, anti-government violence and cross-border terrorist violence. In the changing situation of Libya and Yemen, tribes have been playing a pivotal role in constituting armed groups fighting for separation. This not only exacerbates the fragmentation of these countries, but also threatens the post-war reconstruction of the security order. Tribal problems of Libya and Yemen, and ethnic issues of Syria, Iraq and Turkey reflect difficulties in the establishment of modern nation-states and the frustration of modernization in the Middle East. It is difficult to achieve national and social integration in a short period time. In this regard, some scholars have pointed out that the deterioration of the Middle East security situation after the Arab upheaval is mainly due to “the failure and fragility of Arab countries in pursuit of modernization in the post-colonial era.”11Amr Yossef and Joseph R. Cerami, The Arab Spring and the Geopolitics of the Middle East: Emerging Security Threats and Revolutionary Change, 2015.Complicated political-religious and religious-secular relations, religious extremism and ethnic separatism have resulted in internal security dilemmas of Middle Eastern countries during the period of transformation.

Security dilemma at the regional level

First, age-old inter-state disputes have continued until today and become a zero-sum deadlock which is difficult to solve. For example, although 2017 is the centennial anniversary of Britain announcing the Balfour Declaration concerning the Palestinian issue, the 70th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly adopting the Partition Plan for Palestine (Resolution 181), and the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Third Middle East War, cross-century disputes between Arabs and Israelis still have no end in sight. Any settlement of the Palestinian issue remains elusive, triggering endless conflicts and turmoil throughout the Middle East, directly affecting the Middle East peace process and forming a security dilemma, in which Israel and the Arab world are almost impossible to coexist.

Second, the transformation, which the Middle East is experiencing, has led to dramatic changes in the regional order and deepened the security predicament. On the one hand, the turmoil in West Asia and North Africa has caused an extensive imbalance and a partial loss of control in terms of the Middle East order. Moreover, the security order in some countries has almost collapsed. Conflicts in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan have occurred so frequently that governments’ control of power has been declining to a degree where some areas have fallen deeply into a state of insecurity and disorder. On the other hand, with the reshaping of the Middle East order, there is a new round of fierce geopolitical competition involving regional countries to some extent, forming a new security predicament.

Third, security strategies formulated by Middle Eastern countries based on traditional security concepts have exacerbated the regional security situation to some extent. Security concepts can be defined as the perception and judgment of security situations and threats, and as a reflection of thinking patterns of countries in the security field. Almost all Middle Eastern countries hold traditional security concepts, which tend to be tit-for-tat and even zero-sum.

Israel pursues a traditional offensive security concept, namely the goal of absolute security based on its own military strength and its special alliance with the United States as a guarantor. It often resorts to preemptive attacks to eliminate security threats and ensure its survival. This indicates that Israel attaches the highest importance to security matters, and applies a radical concept in terms of security guarantees. The preference given to security has been reflected by operations aimed at neighboring countries (e.g. the Lebanon War launched by Israel) and by targeted assassinations against leaders of Hamas in Palestine, in the name of eliminating so-called “security threats.” However, those countries pursuing absolute security often place their own security interests above those of other countries, and impose their view of security threats on others. Historically, it was militaristic empires that usually pursued an absolute security concept by attempting to militarily eliminate all security threats, but the security system would disappear immediately with the decline of that empire. Therefore, absolute security concepts are a reflection of the old-style Cold War mentality, leading to an unsustainable security with huge risks.

Iran pursues a traditional defensive security concept, which aims at safeguarding its Shiite regime by means of strengthening independent security capabilities. Iran’s security concept is also called “resistance-based security” due to its nature of resistance to external threats. In recent years, Iran has emphasized its independent development, in order to promote a “resistance-based economy”, taking a set of countermeasures combining “resistance-based security” and “resistance-based economy.” Under this security concept, Iran is building a Shia security community and is establishing a security alliance centered on Shiite Muslims, as a response to threats from the West and the Sunni Muslim camp headed by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s stance on security fits into the category of traditional external-dependence security concept, which aims to safeguard its Sunni regime. In the absence of its own independent security capabilities, Saudi Arabia resorts to security assistance from the US to safeguard its national security interests, setting up a doubly dependent security structure, which means “security depends on the United States” and “development depends on energy.” Under the concept, Saudi Arabia has practically adopted a strategy of “security outsourcing.” On the one hand, it has established a security alliance with the United States; on the other hand, it “buys security with money,” purchasing a large number of US weapons as a special approach to obtaining more support from the US and guarding against potential security threats.

In addition, extremism, terrorism and an increasingly fierce arms race in the Middle East have continued to ferment traditional and non-traditional security issues, further deepening the Middle East security crisis.

Security dilemma at the international level

The Middle East security dilemma at the international level is mainly manifested in two aspects: on the one hand, the long-term confrontation among external great powers in the Middle East, and on the other, contradictions and conflicts between external great powers and Middle Eastern countries.

The Middle East is the hardest-hit region with regard to the intervention of external powers. External forces have engaged in a longlasting competition for strategic resources and geopolitical control over the region as an effective means to safeguard their own interests and contain and suppress their opponents. The battle for influence among great powers in the Middle East is often fierce, while contradictions are often too difficult to reconcile. This has hindered and undermined the Middle East peace process and has contributed to the security predicament in the region.

The competition between external great powers and Middle Eastern countries are also often causing disruption, triggering new security issues and creating new security problems. For example, in May 2018, President Donald Trump declared the United States’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. After the collapse of its main enemy, the “Islamic State,” the United States once again switched focus to Iran as its main rival in the Middle East. The US took up the Iran nuclear issue and imposed sanctions to suppress Iran, while instigating Saudi Arabia and Israel to contain Iran in unison, which has led to the deterioration of the Middle East security situation and an increase of security threats, thereby deepening the regional security predicament caused by external forces.

Security Governance in the Middle East

As the Middle East security crisis continues, the spillover effect of security issues have become more apparent. The regional security dilemma has not only jeopardized the development and stability of both the entire region and the countries within it, but it has also aroused wide concern from countries in the rest of the world. It is extremely urgent to promote an improvement of the Middle East security governance in order to avoid the continuous deterioration of regional security environment and prevent the security crisis from spinning out of control.

Major defects in Middle East security governance

Fundamentally, the reason why the Middle East security issue is becoming so increasingly serious, why the deterioration of the security situation is so difficult to reverse and the trend of neglected threats (“grey rhinos”) continues, might be that there are no effective security governance approaches, definite security governance goals and practical security control mechanisms. Consequently, a dual security dilemma and governance predicament has emerged.

At the international level, external great powers have turned a blind eye to the significance of Middle East security affairs, or continued to cause further confusion, or attempted to solve problems with a traditional security mindset, suppress dissidents and establishing an alliance system in their favor. For example, Trump’s visit to the Middle East in May 2017 had the purpose of repairing the rifts between the US and its allies, reshaping the US regional alliance system, and isolating and containing Iran, but this kind of security governance is one-sided and exclusive.

At the regional level, existing security cooperation organizations are functioning on obvious exclusivity and delimitation. Some cooperation mechanisms, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, are in fact an exclusive sub-regional alliance which is unlikely to achieve effective security governance. Instead, these mechanisms would lead to strong rejection from opponents. In fact, Iran has built a Shia security alliance in the same way, and these mechanisms have increased the security expenditure of both sides and pushed up regional security risks.

At the national level, the security framework in many Middle Eastern countries has prominent “outsourcing” features. In fact, it is a fragile and unreliable agreement for those countries to rest their security needs mainly on military security and depend on “security outsourcing,” which means entrusting security to the protective capabilities of external powers. The fall of the Iranian Pahlavi dynasty in 1979 and the collapse of the Egyptian Mubarak regime in 2011 are cases in point.

In this sense, the exclusiveness, one-sidedness and limitations in existing Middle East security mechanisms have made it difficult to achieve effective overall security governance, let alone build a comprehensive security system in the region.

Thoughts on Middle East security governance

The promotion of Middle East security governance would involve factors such as security concepts, governance ideas and approaches, and predictable goals.

First, the construction of independent security capabilities should be strengthened. The most pressing task of Middle East security governance is to strengthen the construction of security capabilities, especially independent security capabilities. The Middle Eastern countries’ security strategy of relying on external powers, particularly on Western powers, is short-sighted and unsustainable. Taking geopolitics into consideration, Western powers often adopt so-called “balancing tactics” and do not want to see a strong and independent country emerging in the Middle East. This has contributed to the ups and downs of the United States’ relations with Iran and Turkey to some extent. On the one hand, the Western powers provide security guarantees for selected countries; on the other hand, they continue to create new security issues, which they take as a pretext for intervening in regional affairs and profit from it. Middle Eastern countries cannot truly manage their own affairs if they fail to rid themselves of this superficial “security dependence.”

Second, the security situation should be improved by promoting social and economic development. Ultimately, security governance can only firmly stand on sustainable and autonomous development. Chinese President Xi Jinping has already pointed out that “The tree of peace does not grow on barren land while the fruit of development is not produced amidst flames of war. For most Asian countries, development means the greatest security and the master key to regional security issues.”12Xi Jinping, “New Asian Security Concept for New Progress in Security Cooperation: Remarks at the Fourth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia,” May 21, 2014, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1159951.shtml.In January 2016, President Xi once again emphasized in his speech at the headquarters of the League of Arab States: “Turmoil in the Middle East stems from the lack of development, and the ultimate solution will depend on development.”13Xi Jinping, “Work Together for a Bright Future of China-Arab Relations: Speech at the Arab League Headquarters,” January 21, 2016, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2016xivisitmiddleeast/2016-01/22/content_23191229.htm.Development would deliver the greatest security benefits for Middle Eastern countries. Moreover, promoting sustainable and independent development is the foundation and guarantee of security. Development is the only way to tackling security issues efficiently.

Third, the construction of a Middle East security mechanism should be boosted with the introduction of a new security concept. This new security concept would be founded on the basis of universal and shared security. Only in this way can security be reliable, lasting and guaranteed. In contrast, it is unrealistic for a country to seek so-called “absolute security.” In the Middle East, where turmoil and conflicts are prevailing, it is inconceivable for one country to exclusively enjoy security and detach itself from the larger context. “No country in the world can enjoy absolute security. A country cannot have security while others are in turmoil, as threats facing other countries may also haunt itself.”14Xi Jinping, “Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind: Speech at the United Nations Office in Geneva”, January 18, 2017, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-01/19/c_135994707.htm.

Approaches and objectives of Middle East security governance

Due to the complexity of the Middle East security scenario, the issue of Middle East security governance is confronted with immense challenges, for which it is intricate to find a “suitable prescription” with an immediate effect, let alone to establish a real “Middle East security community.” Nevertheless, creating a system of Middle East security governance must not be delayed, in order to avoid a worsening of the situation which will bring damage to everyone. Approaches of Middle East security governance can be divided into three categories, namely comprehensive and overall governance at national, regional, and global security levels.

First, for security governance at the national level, a security order has to be re-established. Security should be achieved through economic and social development; meanwhile the construction of autonomous security capabilities should be strengthened. It is a primary task for the majority of Middle Eastern countries to ensure political security and effectively improve people’s livelihood, especially for war-torn countries, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen. The rebuilding of their governmental and security functions is a top priority.15Barry Buzan and Ole Waver, Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, p.217.At the same time, security dependence or “security outsourcing” should be transformed into security autonomy. Middle Eastern countries should become the main protagonists of their security initiatives and enjoy full autonomy in security-related issues. Security initiatives should be launched within the region, in order to guarantee that Middle Eastern countries have the right to make decisions about the security process. Regional initiatives must follow the principle of inclusiveness, comprehensiveness and flexibility, and the security process should be stable, gradual and evolutionary. Security initiatives must strike a balance between states’ independent sovereignty and citizens’ freedoms and rights.16Chen Kane and Egle Murauskaite, eds., Regional Security Dialogue in the Middle East: Changes, Challenges and Opportunities, London: Routledge, 2014.In short, improvements in security autonomy should become the core and foundation of promoting the construction of a security system in Middle Eastern countries.

Second, for security governance at the regional level, security should be promoted through cooperation; meanwhile, zero-sum thinking should be eliminated. It is essential to construct multi-level security governance mechanisms. On the one hand, exclusive “alliance and bloc security” should be gradually transformed into “regional and overall security.” It is feasible to cross over from bilateral to multilateral security mechanisms and gradually generate a security community in the Middle East.17For a discussion of the security community, see Emmanuel Adler, Michael Barnett, and Sun Hong, Security Community, Beijing: World Affairs Press, 2015, p.26.On the other hand, the establishment of crisis management and threat response mechanisms should exert a powerful effect. Targeted security cooperation, such as counterterrorism, combating extremism, implementing reasonable allocation of water resources, and coping with border issues, could resolve security issues to some extent. This may then gradually expand to broader security cooperation in the region.

Third, for security governance at the international level, coordination and management of security crises should be emphasized. The Middle East security issues are of global significance, as they frequently spread to other countries through spillover effects and chain reactions. Since a considerable number of issues such as extremism, terrorism and refugees originate from the Middle East, strengthening “source governance” is a fundamental solution to the point.18Peter Jones, “Structuring Middle East Security,” Survival, Vol.51, No.6, 2009- 2010, pp.105-122.On the one hand, a new security concept and the value of a community with a shared future for mankind should be advocated, while the outdated notion of “zero-sum game” should be abandoned. In line with the norms of the UN Charter and international law, external countries should work together to safeguard the security of the Middle East. In particular, as a crucial issue of the Middle East peace process, the ongoing struggle between Palestinians and Israelis should be taken into consideration. On the other hand, it is necessary for the United Nations to play an essential role as a platform in promoting reconciliation among different stakeholders in Middle East security affairs through political negotiations.

Conclusion

Over a long period of time, Middle East security problems have become entangled and complicated, involving internal and external roots. Essentially, these problems are a reflection of external intervention and underdevelopment of Middle Eastern countries. In the process of the reshaping of the Middle East order and the transformation of Middle Eastern countries, security problems have been gradually deteriorating and have multiplied as “gray rhinos,” thereby resulting in various security dilemmas. In particular, the new interventionism of Western countries, contradictory security concepts of Middle Eastern countries, and great-power geopolitical competition have intensified the security predicaments in the Middle East. The Middle East security problems not only endanger regional countries, but also affect the surrounding areas and the rest of the world. Therefore, Middle East security governance is imperative.

Establishing meaningful Middle East security governance is bound to be a long and arduous process. Only through internal and external coordination, joint efforts, and appropriate strategies can the goals of security governance be achieved. It is also necessary to set objectives in short, medium, and long terms, and take concrete measures to realize Middle East security governance. As short-term goals, it might be both feasible and meaningful to establish effective security cooperation mechanisms to contain extremism, combat violent terrorist forces, tackle urgent livelihood problems, and cope with climate change, while inter-state bilateral security coordination should be highlighted and expanded to regional multilateral security cooperation. As a mid- to long-term goal, the building of a new security order in the Middle East, which abandons traditional security mindsets and follows new security concepts as a guiding line, should be promoted. It breaks away from the “dual dependence,” where security hinges on great powers and development depends on energy, and bases itself on independent security construction. Furthermore, a multi-level regional security cooperation mechanism under the framework of the United Nations and other institutions should be established to achieve comprehensive security for the entire Middle East.

In summary, given that the Middle East has been in the midst of wars and conflicts for a long time, its security issues are intertwined, acute and complicated, and the region is confronted with severe security crises and multiple security predicaments. Achieving stable Middle East security governance is a long and arduous task, and establishing a lasting security order in the region is full of difficulties with unprecedented challenges. At present, applying traditional security concepts is still the mainstream approach in Middle Eastern countries. Additionally, the disparities among different countries in terms of security perception have contributed to the collision of various interests. It is still difficult for regional actors to transcend traditional security thinking and reach consensus on security cooperation. At the same time, the Middle East order is being reshaped and full of uncertainty, and the contest between different countries and various forces is becoming increasingly fierce, indicating a potentially further deterioration of Middle East security situation and successive emergence of new security challenges. Therefore, it is urgent to strengthen Middle East security governance and prevent the security order from getting out of control. Violence and conflicts in the Middle East have not only jeopardized the countries in this region, but have also exerted an spillover effect on the entire world. In the long run, a solution for Middle East security issues lies in leaving the control over security in the hands of Middle Eastern countries and enhancing their independent security capabilities. This solution should be based on inclusive, sustainable and independent development. To this end, it is appropriate to carry out multi-level security cooperation and make joint efforts to construct effective security mechanisms, thus achieving universal and shared security, and establishing a stable and valid Middle East security system.