The impact of the balance of power on regional security and stability - the Arabian Gulf as an example

This paper attempts to deepen understanding of the concept of "balance of power" as it is one of the pivotal concepts in international relations, especially the realist school, and it is also a key to understanding patterns of behavior in the chaotic international environment. The paper discusses the capabilities of the Arab Gulf states and their external behavior in order to protect their security from internal or external threats, by seeking to achieve a (regional balance of power), if the paper is based on dividing the Arabian Gulf region into the Gulf Cooperation Council states on the one hand and Iran on the other hand, as they are Partners in the Gulf regional system, as this study follows the ability of the region’s powers to achieve a balance of power among themselves, and the constant need for an external player to play the role of a balancer.
Consequently, the paper is divided into two tracks, one of which is theoretical, looking at the multiplicity of aspects of studying the balance of power in the regional pattern and its connection to security and stability. its security and stability with the help of the United States of America.
The paper reaches the conclusion that the Arab Gulf falls within the circle of the struggle of major powers for a long time, even before the discovery of oil, and that the future of stability in the Gulf region does not only require a transition from conflict to cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iraq and Iran, but also requires Shift from cooperation to integration. As for the reasons for the regional imbalance of power in the Gulf, all the countries of the region have worked to increase their capabilities, especially the military ones, in order to achieve a balance, but there is a structural imbalance in the distribution of power among the Gulf countries, and a change in the relative weights of its countries, but in all cases The Gulf needed an external balancer - the United States - that would dominate the military balance in the Gulf and play a pivotal role in the regional balance.