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Saudi Arabia’s Policy toward the Rohingya Crisis (2012–19): Omnibalancing Diplomacy for Interregional Crisis
Abstract
This paper aims to reveal Saudi Arabia’s domestic and foreign policies toward the Rohingya Crisis in 2012–19 using Arabic sources. It examines Saudi Arabia’s domestic protection of the Rohingya and its foreign policy of engaging the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to pressure the Myanmar government. Saudi Arabia’s actions constitute omnibalancing behavior. The Rohingya have been repeatedly exposed to human rights violations and violence in Myanmar since the 1970s and forcibly displaced internally and externally. According to English-language international media, Saudi Arabia has done nothing to support the Rohingya. However, such reports are false. Saudi Arabia's comprehensive project on improving the life standards of the Rohingya residents in the Mecca slum district was praised by an UN officer for being the “first in the world” of its kind. Saudi Arabia supports Rohingya who do not engage in terrorism. Saudi Arabia does not have leverage in Southeast Asian politics unilaterally but has condemned the Myanmar government for committing genocide. Saudi Arabia chose the OIC as a tool to engage in the Rohingya crisis after it failed to mobilize the United Nations for this purpose. The OIC has addressed the Rohingya crisis more efficiently than the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; in 2019, the Gambia sued the Myanmar government for the crime of genocide in the International Court of Justice, which issued a provisional order directing the Myanmar government to stop its repeated violence against the Rohingya. Thus, Saudi Arabia has been effectively supporting the Rohingya in the domestic and international spheres. This paper applies and adopts omnibalancing theory to explain Saudi Arabia’s domestic and external behavior in supporting the Rohingya. Omnibalancing theory was proposed in 1991 in the field of international relations. It criticizes both classical realism and structural realism, stating that states in the Third World have to balance internal and external threats rationally rather than balancing external threats only. However, this theory has been largely neglected, and only a limited number of case studies have been published. The policy implications of omnibalancing theory should be revised to cover Global South issues, including refugees, and include an analysis of the interactions of states and regional organizations.
Discipline
International Relations/Affairs
Geographic Area
Islamic World
Sub Area
None