Multipolarity under construction: New paths and difficult balances in the Argentina-middle east relation during the Kirchner governments

Abstract

The chapter aims at analyzing the Argentinean Foreign Policy towards the Middle East during the Kirchner governments (2003-2015). In doing so, it defines kirchnerism as a project that emerged from the crisis of neoliberalism in 2001 and whose purpose is to undo the neoliberal policies through a new economic, political and social model of development. In the Foreign Policy´s realm, this post-neoliberal model looks for the diversification of Argentina´s international relations, contributing to the multipolarization of the world. In this context, kirchnerism´s Foreing Policy incorporates the Middle East in two ways. First, alongside its South American partners, it establishes a political alliance with the Arab countries, aiming at joining forces in order to strength the multilateral instruments of governance. Second, it aspires at the diversification of its foreign trade relations regarding its exportable products and their destinations. Thus, North African countries and those integrating the Gulf Cooperation Council acquire a renewed importance. In this historical-political frame, the chapter analyzes the kirchnerist Foreign Policy towards the countries affected by the Arab Spring, those that compose the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Israeli-palestinian conflict and Iran.