Great powers, regional powers, local powers, and non-state actors are all engaging in a traditional game with new rules in the MENA region. As a new decade of traditional competition unfolds, all of these actors—particularly the United States, Russia, Turkey, and Iran—are operating within the same strategic vacuum created by the failed states of the Middle East, where true realism can be observed.
Recently, a summit in Tehran aimed to mitigate the tripartite competition in the Levant among Russia, Iran, and Turkey. This summit was a precursor to facilitating a new phase in their pursuit of interests in various fields, employing both soft and hard power, with the Levant serving as their battleground.
In understanding this traditional competition, it is evident that foreign powers' strategies in the MENA region have relied on proxy wars conducted through local agents, including corrupt totalitarian regimes, sectarian militias, armed mercenaries, and ideological cultural influences, with minimal direct military interventions.
These powers are unable to fully control their proxies, thus allowing them to operate freely within local failed societies, with the stipulation that they do not target other competing powers.
In the absence of real opportunities for life and stability, gun culture has proliferated, posing a significant threat to the region's future.
Therefore, Russia, Iran, and Turkey utilized the summit to establish boundaries among their spheres of influence in the Levant, using the local population as a shield to safeguard their interests. Consequently, one aspect of their competition centers on attracting support from the local populace in this regard.
Dr. ABD ALQADER NANAA