Prof. Banu Eligür

Başkent University

Bio

Banu Eligür is Director of the EU and International Relations Institute and Full Professor in Political Science and International Relations Department at Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey. Eligür received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Brandeis University. Her articles have appeared in Journal of the Middle East and Africa, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Israel Affairs, Middle Eastern Studies, and Turkish Studies. Eligür is the recipient of the inaugural Bernard Lewis Memorial Prize in 2018.

The Abraham Accords: An Assessment of Hard Power and Soft Power in UAE-Israeli Normalization

Abstract

This paper examines the UAE’s normalization of relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords and argues that three factors shaped the decision: the intensified perceived Iranian threat after the 2015 JCPOA, heightened regime security concerns following the Arab uprisings and the rise of MB-led Sunni Islamism, and the pursuit of post-oil socioeconomic transformation. Despite declining public support, bilateral ties have remained resilient through elite-driven foreign policy, combining soft-power legitimation with coercive mechanisms for regime endurance.