REFLECTIONS ON FOREIGN POLICY AND REGIMESURVIVAL: SUDAN’S AND ERITREA’S RELATIONS WITHTHE LEADING GULF STATES IN THE CONTEXT OF THEARMED CONFLICT IN YEMEN

The expectation and materialization of the lifting of multilateral sanctions on Iran, subsequent efforts to curb Iran, and the armed conflict in Yemen have had important implications for relations between the Arab States. However, they have also had wider repercussions, particularly in the Horn of Africa. In the context of these two international events, the growing interest of the powerful Gulf States in the Horn of Africa has contributed to the shake-up of foreign relations and political alliances in the sub-region. This article deals with Sudan’s and Eritrea’s foreign relations towards the leading Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. It highlights the shift from their alliance with Iran to embracing relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the leading states in the coalition intervening in the conflict in Yemen. The article shows that when faced with internal difficulties and external pressure, the Sudanese and Eritrean governments re-evaluated and shifted their foreign policy orientation significantly in an effort to ensure the continuation of obtaining material resources from the exterior that have been important for regime survival. It argues that the extent to which Sudan and Eritrea have pursued foreign policy orientation towards the leading GCC states reflects the level of domestic difficulties and external pressure faced by each state.