Securitisation and De-securitisation in the Middle East and North Africa: Relational Spatialisiation within and beyond the Gulf

Securitisation and, more recently, de-securitisation, have characterised and shaped the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional space. Examples of securitisation in the 2000s and 2010s include coercive policies adopted by Saudi and Emirati kingdoms against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Qatar, responding either to a sectarian (anti-Shia influence) or ideological (anti-political Islam) logic. In the post-2020 regional order, these regimes’ changing regional conceptions and threat perceptions have paved the way for new diplomatic agreements contributing to regional de-securitisation. Combining Regional Security Complex theory and liberal international political economy approaches, these political and spatial shifts are illustrated through process tracing and the analysis of key strategic documents produced by Saudi and Emirati kingdoms. The analysis points to how expectations of positive trade exchanges have reduced the propensity for conflict and have acted as a further incentive for fostering trade ties as a stabilisation tool. While the volatility of the region has seemingly spiked since the 2023-24 Gaza war, leading to conflict spillover and new processes of securitisation and exclusionary spatial politics, these do not offset the parallel processes of relational spatial politics and de-securitisation initiated by Sunni Gulf monarchies since the late 2010s.