MIDDLE-EAST CONFLICTS AND MIDDLE LEVEL POWER INTERVENTION IN THE HORNOF AFRICA

This article examines political-military intervention by Middle Easter n states in the Horn of Africa during the post-Suez (1956) period. Fiv e Middle Eastern conflicts/rivalries have been played out in the Horn through the years: the Arab Cold War (1958-67), the Arab-Israeli confl ict, the post-1973 ''moderate'' versus ''radical'' Arab conflict, the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), and the secularist-Islamist conflict which co ntinues today. The alliances that were formed between local actors in the Horn and Middle Eastern powers have been motivated less by ideolog y than by pragmatic geopolitical considerations.