Die saudische Wahl und Trumps Realismus

Writing at *The Caravan*, Hoover Senior Fellow [Russell A. Berman](https://www.hoover.org/profiles/russell-berman) argues that in Middle East foreign policy, “the Trump strategy is characterized regionally by a focus on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf and therefore with less attention to Europe, and conceptually by the emphasis on interests rather than values.” Berman’s essay focuses on the role of Saudi Arabia in particular as a keystone of Trump administration foreign policy across his first and second terms. Berman notes that real material interests, like “the energy market, investment in the US, attracting the Kingdom into the Abraham Accords, and ultimately competing against China” are important drivers of the US-Saudi bilateral relationship. But, according to Berman, the Saudi kingdom’s rise in US foreign policy prominence also “indicates a relative decline in the importance of the traditional relations with Europe.” Looking ahead, Berman suggests that managing the “fundamental competition for hegemony” in the region between Saudi Arabia and NATO ally Turkey will prove challenging for Washington policymakers.