Interlinkages between Marginalisation of Bedouins and Security Crisis in Sinai Peninsula

Abstract

The Sinai Peninsula has always served as a geo-strategic pivot point in power struggles between opposing major players. Throughout the fight for domination between ancient Egypt and the Assyrians, the Ottoman and British Empires, and more recently the ongoing confrontation between Israel and Egypt, the peninsula has served as the focal point of the regional balancing forces. The study makes an effort to investigate the Sinai Peninsula’s security crises as a function of power tussle between states and quasi states. It will examine the Bedouins who live in Sinai and their interactions with the state, the persistent pattern of Bedouin marginalisation in Sinai, together with their opposition to or difficulty participating in official Egyptian decision making. It will test the premise that both Egypt and Israel have failed to adequately address the needs of the local Bedouin population in Sinai and have instead chosen to ignore them. Thus, the formation of militant groups and their function as third parties will be examined in the same framework