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Article . 2025
License: CC BY NC
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Article . 2025
License: CC BY NC
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ZENODO
Article . 2025
License: CC BY NC
Data sources: Datacite
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Strategic Positioning of Middle Powers in the Emerging Multipolar World Order: The Case of Saudi Arabia

Çok Kutuplu Dünya Düzeninde Orta Güçlerin Stratejik Konumlanması: Suudi Arabistan Örneği
Authors: Üçağaç, Ahmet;

Strategic Positioning of Middle Powers in the Emerging Multipolar World Order: The Case of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study analyzes Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy through the theoretical framework of strategic hedging. By examining hedging strategies adopted by middle powers during periods of systemic transformation, the research provides a novel perspective on Riyadh’s evolving external alignments. Specifically, it investigates the dynamics shaping Saudi Arabia’s strategic engagements with both its long-standing partner, United States of America (the US), and emerging global powers such as China and Russia. The analysis highlights how Riyadh has pursued a strategy of diversification to mitigate the risks associated with potential retrenchment by its traditional security guarantor, the US, while simultaneously positioning itself with key actors of the emerging multipolar order. Accordingly, the study addresses the central question: “In what ways has the transition to a multipolar international order, combined with domestic economic imperatives, driven Saudi Arabia to adopt a hedging strategy and reposition itself as a middle power?” It argues that the gradual erosion of American unipolar dominance, together with Riyadh’s domestic push for economic diversification under the Vision 2030 agenda, has compelled Saudi Arabia to hedge by cultivating stronger partnerships with China and Russia. This strategy, consistent with the broader hedging literature that conceptualizes hedging as a blend of engagement and soft-balancing aimed at reducing dependency while avoiding overt confrontation, enables Saudi Arabia to maximize its strategic autonomy, safeguard regime security, and enhance its regional influence in a shifting global order.

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Keywords

Multipolarity, Middle Powers, Strategic Hedging, Saudi Arabia, Foreign Policy

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green