Book Chapter

Saudi Arabian military activism in Yemen

The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is shaped by both internal and external factors

The Saudi-led intervention into Yemen in 2015 marked a departure in a direction of a more activist Saudi foreign policy. In this paper, Maria-Louise Clausen argues that this new direction is a result of both internal and external factors that have shaped the foreign policy behavior of Saudi Arabia.

The paper points to some of the key elements and developments in the interactions between national interest and changes in the broader global and regional environment. Among the internal factors we find the ascent of Mohamed bin Salman who has voiced a desire for the Kingdom to increase its influence in Middle East. The intervention into Yemen has become a symbol of this, hence the Crown Prince is dependent on success to strengthen his position internally. Other internal factors are the weakened Saudi economy due to low oil prices which has put pressure on the public sector - and a brewing unrest within the Kingdom, notably in the Eastern province, home to the Shia minority and the country’s crude oil production capacity.

It is argued that the key aspects in relation to understanding the regional context of Saudi Arabia is the animosity towards Iran. The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been compounded by structural shifts following the Arab uprisings and the least perceived disengagement of the US from the Middle East.

The paper shows how the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is shaped by a mix of dynamics internal to the state and the global and regional environments in which they operate - exemplified in the case of the sustained Saudi-led intervention into Yemen.

DIIS Experts

 Maria-Louise Clausen
Global security and worldviews
Senior Researcher
saudi arabian military activism in yemen
Saudi Arabian military activism in Yemen
Interactions between the domestic and the systemic level
POMEPS Studies 34: Shifting Global Politics and the Middle East , Washington: : Project On Middle East Political Science, 2019