Trump-administrasjonens politikk overfor Iran, Saudi Arabia og Tyrkia

Abstract

The administration of Donald J. Trump appears to have made extensive changes to Washington´s policies towards many of the conflicts and issues plaguing the Middle East, and particularly those connected to Iran and the Iranian nuclear deal, the JCPOA. This thesis examines the extent of these changes by comparing the policies of the current administration with those pursued by the Bush and Obama administrations. Specifically, this thesis asks how the Trump administration have affected the countries of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey, and the relations between Riyadh, Tehran and Ankara. These three states have been chosen because they are the most important regional powers at present, and because the ongoing power struggle between them is an important determinant to the political development of the Middle East as a whole. Iraq, Syria and other regional states will also be mentioned frequently, as a lot of this competition is about influence and conflicting interests in those states. This thesis is only intended to examine the effects of American policies in the Middle East, and therefore does not attempt to explain the reasons behind Washington´s shifting approaches to the issues at hand.