From the Islamic Revolution to Regional Wars: The Struggle for the Middle East, 1979-1991

The 1973 October War and the 1979 revolution in Iran were geopolitical crises that disrupted the flow of oil from the Middle East to Europe. They created supply shocks and raised oil prices to levels unseen up to that point. These developments rocked Western economies, which were reliant on oil imports, and worked to the benefit of large energy exporters such as the Soviet Union. As a result, American dominance in the international system seemed to be on the wane. Discussions of American decline proliferated. However, the 1980s were the decade when the superpower struck back. The Middle East was the arena in which this process took place.