In the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, great power competition has returned to the Middle East. Russia in particular has sought to exploit U.S. policy blunders and retrenchment (real or perceived) in order to push for greater regional multipolarity. While it is easy to understand why regional states outside of the “U.S. camp,” such as Iran or Syria, would turn to Moscow as a way to hedge against the United States, of particular concern for this analysis is how supposed U.S. allies–those regional states firmly within the “U.S. camp”–are using the return of great power competition for their own domestic and geopolitical purposes. Therefore, this analysis examines Russia’s return to the region through the lens of what is commonly referred to as the “Counterrevolutionary Bloc” (CRB), consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), post-2013 Egypt, and Israel, which has emerged as the dominant regional coalition following the Arab Uprisings.
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