A Comparative Study of Middle Eastern Foreign Policy: How Middle Eastern Intelligence Agencies Shape Current Events

This study monitored the intelligence and foreign policy actions of Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia from August 2013 to August 2014. Data was collected from coverage by Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, and Al-Jazeera, three reliable and respected news sources that cover global events. The actions taken by foreign policymakers in these countries were recorded throughout the study period.These actions were organized into a taxonomy based on whether they were intelligence-based or non-intelligence based. Within those broad categories, more distinguishing characteristics were analyzed to show patterns of behavior within national intelligence services of the nations studied. These patterns show a lot about how these nations approach diplomacy and national security.Conclusions were drawn with respect to these nations' intelligence communities by focusing through the lenses of comparative religion, economic considerations, colonial background, and cold war history. By concentrating on the socioeconomic environment behind these foreign policy actions, political scientists and policymakers can more completely analyze foreign affairs, particularly in the Middle East, and can make more valuable contributions to the global intelligence community and to cultural understanding between nations.