“Dual Containment” Policy in the Persian Gulf, 2014 The USA, Iran, and Iraq, 1991-2000 Middle East Today Series

This book offers a concise account of US "dual containment" policy towards Iran and Iraq during the 1990s, an overlooked era between the tumult of the liberation of Kuwait and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In particular, it uses a theoretical framework derived from neoclassical realism to examine the impact of domestic US politics and interest groups on policymaking, as well as perceptions of threat derived from two decades of mutual hostility between the US and Iran.

1. Introduction 2. US Foreign Policy in the Persian Gulf, 1945-1991 3. The Balance of Power in the Persian Gulf, 1945-1991 4. Dual Containment: Conception, Evolution, Implementation 5. A Triumphant America and a Villainous Iran: Perception as an Intervening Variable 6. Two Voices: Domestic Institutions as an Intervening Variable 7. "Mischiefs of Faction": Interest Groups as an Intervening 8. Conclusions and Intervening Variables Assessed

Alex Edwards is a desk editor at the English editions of the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat and The Majalla magazine. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics, UK.