Polityka USA wobec Bliskiego Wschodu po Arabskiej Wiośnie

Abstract

The Middle East has permanently occupied a key place in the foreign and security policy of the United States. The US strategy for the Middle East is determined by economic and security considerations as well as the need to maintain stability in the area. Accordingly, it has been closely interconnected with the US efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The White House has combined the implementation of its Middle-Eastern strategy with turning Arab countries into firm and stable American allies (clients). One of the elements of the American policy is to keep the status quo in terms of territorial borders in the region. Political conflicts and crises in the Middle East are viewed as disturbing the energy sector, which runs against the American interests. The Arab Spring has triggered inevitable socio-political changes in the Arab world, influencing thereby the US policy in the region. Until the Arab Spring broke out, Washington had supported several Arab regimes on condition that their policy should be pro-American and in line with the interests and goals of the US policy in the Middle East. Independently of the will of the White House, the Arab Spring has brought new accents into the American policy in the Middle East. The downfall of pro-American regimes and the growth in strength of fundamentalist factions which, through their political parties, used to win parliamentary elections in certain Arab countries, constitute a new challenge to the strategy of the White House towards the Middle East.