Description
President D. Trump's decision on American troops withdrawal became shocking to many U.S. allies and provoked discussion about the meaning of "small allies" in current and future U.S. policy in the face of permanent competition in the Middle East with the compelling example of war in Syria. Author's paper is mainly focused on the analysis of current U.S. strategy towards Syria and the Middle East, in comparison with Russian activity in this region, in particular. The overall mosaic of U.S. and Russian interests and rivalry for influences in Syria and the Middle East are also a key aspects of the paper.
The paper is based on neorealist approach with the analysis of usefulness this theory in such a region of multiple interests and interdependencies as the Middle East. Besides that, the comparative method (in case of U.S. and Russian activities in Syria) and predictive analysis based on key facts and findings are also applied.
The main aim of the paper is to explain reasons of U.S. recent decision on Syria and characterise possible implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East after its trouble-free troops’ withdrawal, leaving "small allies" alone. Potentially, U.S. credibility might be decreased what can lead further to loss of influences in the Middle East. The decision taken by U.S. government, especially in the time of global power's competition, might not be regarded as standard behaviour of global/regional power what also inspired Author to present complex explanation. In comparison to U.S action, Russian opportunity for expansion of permanent influence will be analysed in terms of domination over U.S. or dragging Russia into Syrian imbroglio with all the consequences.
