THE AXIS POWERS:

The flags of the UAE and Israel fly at the Expo 2020 Dubai in the gulf emirate on 31 January 2022. [Getty]

Israel's burgeoning relationships with various autocratic Arab regimes represent one of the most significant developments in the modern Middle East. 

Though these high-level connections have been broadening considerably for over two decades, they have evolved from largely behind-the-scenes cooperation to more overt forms of coordination, particularly following the 2011 Arab Uprisings and culminating in the 2020 "Abraham Accords," originally signed between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, and later expanded to include Morocco and Sudan.  [...]

"Understanding this shared desire of both Tel Aviv and various Arab regimes to maintain the regional authoritarian status quo is critical to understanding the full scope of these relationships.

Though the lens of realpolitik certainly captures critical elements of these relationships, they extend beyond just geopolitics: there is a strong normative component rooted in a shared counterrevolutionary ethos among these actors that views democracy -- anywhere in the region -- as anathema to their own survival. 

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