A Comparative Study of the Action Pattern of Israel and Saudi Arabia Against the Syrian Crisis (2016-2011)

The Syrian crisis, rather than being the result of internal political and social factors, was caused by the competition of important regional and international powers, which made it a battleground for a political settlement. In this regard, there are two outstanding regional actors, namely Israel and Saudi Arabia, whose policy toward the developments in Syria has been very important in terms of their specific impacts on the political-security equations of the region, as well as the interests and security of IRI. In a comparative context, the present article seeks to answer the main question of what policy Israel and Saudi Arabia has adopted regarding the Syrian crisis over the period 2011-2016. In response, the hypothesis raised that Israel and Saudi Arabia, despite their shared goal for weakening Syria as a country of the Axis of Resistance, had a contradictory approach to the future of the Syrian regime, how to intervene in it, and support for the terrorists. By applying the theoretical framework of neoclassical realism and adopting a comparative-hypothesis research strategy and a comparative-explanatory research method, this paper aims to answer the main question and test the respective hypothesis.