Commodities
US Hegemony in the Middle East Erodes Amid Shift to Regional Security Order
The Middle East has been a battleground for global powers since World War II. The region was shaped by the US policy of containing communism and the Soviet Union's efforts to expand into it.
The US eventually won this battle, but at a cost. Arab nationalism accelerated Soviet expansion into the region until it was halted by the Six-Day War in 1967.
However, the US reestablished its dominance after the Yom Kippur War and the subsequent oil shock turned out to be a blessing in disguise for US hegemony.
The US guaranteed the security of Saudi Arabia and launched the petrodollar system, which settles oil transactions exclusively in the greenback.