The fundamental changes taking place in the international system and the rise of the Multipolar World Order 2.0 profoundly altered the leverage and status of small states and middle powers. While realist premises indicate that mostly great powers shape international politics while others merely follow them, several smaller entities proved that they could capitalise on recent developments and maintain their independent foreign policy. The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, are among the most successful actors in this regard. One key element of their strategy has been to build relations with China as a superpower, despite their traditional alliance with the United States. This endeavour has not solely been a result of the need to accommodate the global transformation, but a conscious decision to build interdependence and influential capacity with China. The chapter will focus on how asymmetric yet interdependent relations between China, a Superpower, and the GCC, a group of small and middle-sized states evolve in the context of the Multipolar World Order 2.0 in the Eurasian continent. The main argument of the paper is that despite traditional expectations in International Relations, small states and middle powers can build influence vis-á-vis great powers and shape their foreign policy in direct and indirect ways without compromising their security. Building on a realist assessment of the changing world order and the possibility of junior partners in asymmetric relations, the chapter argues that the relations between China and the GCC do not show a clear hierarchy, and Gulf states have successfully built up their derivative power vis-á-vis China. Consequently, in some cases, I can see indications that Saudi Arabia and its neighbours actually have some influence on Chinese foreign policy, for instance in the case of Yemen or the Saudi-Iranian normalization deal.
The GCC States and China: Asymmetric Relations in a Multipolar World Order 2.0
Máté Szalai
2024-01-01
Abstract
The fundamental changes taking place in the international system and the rise of the Multipolar World Order 2.0 profoundly altered the leverage and status of small states and middle powers. While realist premises indicate that mostly great powers shape international politics while others merely follow them, several smaller entities proved that they could capitalise on recent developments and maintain their independent foreign policy. The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, are among the most successful actors in this regard. One key element of their strategy has been to build relations with China as a superpower, despite their traditional alliance with the United States. This endeavour has not solely been a result of the need to accommodate the global transformation, but a conscious decision to build interdependence and influential capacity with China. The chapter will focus on how asymmetric yet interdependent relations between China, a Superpower, and the GCC, a group of small and middle-sized states evolve in the context of the Multipolar World Order 2.0 in the Eurasian continent. The main argument of the paper is that despite traditional expectations in International Relations, small states and middle powers can build influence vis-á-vis great powers and shape their foreign policy in direct and indirect ways without compromising their security. Building on a realist assessment of the changing world order and the possibility of junior partners in asymmetric relations, the chapter argues that the relations between China and the GCC do not show a clear hierarchy, and Gulf states have successfully built up their derivative power vis-á-vis China. Consequently, in some cases, I can see indications that Saudi Arabia and its neighbours actually have some influence on Chinese foreign policy, for instance in the case of Yemen or the Saudi-Iranian normalization deal.
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