Abstract

Objective: This article examines how has the Iraq War changed the balance of power and the relationship of power among the different actors in the Persian Gulf region? Different avenues of research have shed light on the relationship of power in the region among the regional states. However, this article explores the relationship between the Iraq War and the shift in the power of the states and transnational actors in the region.
Method: Margaret Levi’s analytic narratives methodology (2002) is applied in this article to first, extract the actors, their goals, their preferences and the rules that influence their behavior. Second, a shift in equilibrium at one point in time that produces new outcomes at a different point of time is identified. Third, constraints and incentives by narrating the sequences and processes of events are explored.
Results: The article explores: first, the period between 2000 and 2003, the three polarity powers of Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were balanced by the United States (US). This is a continuation of the balance of power policy that dominated in the region during the past decades. Second, between 2004 and 2011, a security shift changed the distribution of power among the small and great regional states, the US and the transnational actors in the Persian Gulf.
Conclusion: The findings, hence, indicate more heterogeneous and multi-angular actors are exercising power in the region, such as the small state of Qatar. The transnational actor, not only now exercises power in the region but they are also threatening regional states.