Steve A. Yetiv and Katerina Oskarsson, Challenged Hegemony: The United States, China, and Russia in the Persian Gulf

Excerpt

Yetiv and Oskarsson have written an ambitious book that attempts to explain power competition in the Persian Gulf, an especially timely and important topic. They argue that the USA is a hegemonic power in the Gulf region, and China and Russia are the two powers most capable of challenging this hegemony. Their premise seems reasonable: both powers have not traditionally played key strategic roles in the Gulf, and are engaging regional actors more deeply, and the USA’s leadership in the Gulf does appear to be in decline. That the challenges come from outside the region is an original starting point for analysis, as many of the pressures facing American regional leadership seem to come from within the Gulf - either from a revisionist Iran or a more assertive Saudi Arabian foreign policy. However, several external powers have deepened regional interests in recent years, and with this, one can expect a more robust strategic presence in order to protect their economic interests. …