9 Djibouti - Bridging the Gulf of Aden?
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Robert Mason
Abstract
This chapter examines intra-Gulf rivalry in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa through the prism of Djibouti’s foreign policy. As a member of the Arab League how does one of Africa’s smallest states defy diplomatic gravity; balancing intra-Arab regional competition alongside diverse local logistical and political pressures within the Horn of Africa; as well as global rivalry between US and Chinese naval powers? The text argues that part of the answer reflects the manner in which Djibouti’s leaders have generated political capital and lucrative rents from intensifying superpower surveillance of shipping lanes; piracy and Islamists in neighbouring Yemen and Somalia. Djibouti now hosts military bases of the US; China; Japan; France and the European Union. Recent Chinese rail and port projects consolidated Djibouti as the fulcrum of Asian; Arab and western commercial rivalry and geostrategic cohabitation in the region.
Abstract
This chapter examines intra-Gulf rivalry in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa through the prism of Djibouti’s foreign policy. As a member of the Arab League how does one of Africa’s smallest states defy diplomatic gravity; balancing intra-Arab regional competition alongside diverse local logistical and political pressures within the Horn of Africa; as well as global rivalry between US and Chinese naval powers? The text argues that part of the answer reflects the manner in which Djibouti’s leaders have generated political capital and lucrative rents from intensifying superpower surveillance of shipping lanes; piracy and Islamists in neighbouring Yemen and Somalia. Djibouti now hosts military bases of the US; China; Japan; France and the European Union. Recent Chinese rail and port projects consolidated Djibouti as the fulcrum of Asian; Arab and western commercial rivalry and geostrategic cohabitation in the region.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Illustrations vii
- Contributors viii
- Acknowledgements x
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: The view from the Gulf
- 1 Patterns of external involvement in the modern political history of the Horn of Africa states 15
- 2 Pushing the envelope of national security and state influence at the margins 36
- 3 Iran’s foreign policy and developmental activities in Africa 68
- 4 Extended states 99
- 5 The Turkey–Qatar alliance 127
- 6 Interregional embedded security model 151
- 7 Strategic geography in jeopardy 171
- 8 Kuwait’s foreign relations with East Africa 199
- 9 Djibouti - Bridging the Gulf of Aden? 229
- 10 Engaging foreign powers for regime survival 249
- 11 Sudan’s foreign policy predicament in the context of the GCC diplomatic rift 272
- Conclusion 295
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Illustrations vii
- Contributors viii
- Acknowledgements x
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: The view from the Gulf
- 1 Patterns of external involvement in the modern political history of the Horn of Africa states 15
- 2 Pushing the envelope of national security and state influence at the margins 36
- 3 Iran’s foreign policy and developmental activities in Africa 68
- 4 Extended states 99
- 5 The Turkey–Qatar alliance 127
- 6 Interregional embedded security model 151
- 7 Strategic geography in jeopardy 171
- 8 Kuwait’s foreign relations with East Africa 199
- 9 Djibouti - Bridging the Gulf of Aden? 229
- 10 Engaging foreign powers for regime survival 249
- 11 Sudan’s foreign policy predicament in the context of the GCC diplomatic rift 272
- Conclusion 295
- Index 303
