Introduction

In Isaac Asimov’s The Foundation, the science fiction author presents a world in which social sciences are so developed that they can predict the future. Foreseeing the inevitable fall of the “Empire”, the protagonist creates a small political community called the “Foundation” which would, according to plans, replace the Empire as the new hegemon. Correlating size with relative importance affected Middle Eastern Studies, despite numerous contradictory observations. Contemporary studies of the regional order usually point out the diffusion of power and the rising role of small- and medium-sized countries: competitive multipolarity or heteropolarity, the rise of swing states, the Gulf moment, the phenomenon of spoilers and other descriptions all refer to the growing role of smaller and weaker entities.