The Study of the United States' Comparative Policy in the Middle East before and after the Arab Spring

During the past half-century the United States’ policy in the Middle East have had some specific goals, the most important of which includes providing stability and security for Israel in the region, supplying sustainable energy from the region, a plan to democratize the countries of the region, pursuing long-term economic goals in the form of a large market and registering and developing the west culture and policy in the Islamic countries. After the attack happened on September 11, 2001 a new phase was begun in United States’ policy in Middle East that included two important aspects. First, attempts to weaken or, even, change government of different countries such as Iraq and Iran, and second, to pursue the creation of a gradual policy for controlled reforms in countries of the government and traditional strategic ally. However, American authoritarianism succeeded in changing the government in Iraq, but failed to weaken or change the government of Iran during the presidency of Bush. The type of America’s confrontation with the process of the reforms in the future governments’ approach, popular movements and available alternatives, Israel's interests and security, and the contradiction between strategic interests and democratic principles were among the most important issues faced by the United States. The main question of the study is that “Has the United States’ foreign policy in Middle East changed before and after the Arab Spring?” And the hypothesis of the research is that before and after the Arab Spring, the United States’ foreign policy, while having some changes, was in line with its predetermined strategic interests in the region.