Beyond Sectarian Identity Politics in the Middle East: The Case of Iran-Saudi Arabia’s Rivalry
Iran – Saudi Arabia’s rivalry hasbeen behind conflicts and instabilities in the region. However, the politicalnature of this rivalry is often over-simplified by mainstream media outlets.Similarly, a major part of literature on identity politics in Iran – SaudiArabia’s rivalry has mainly provided a c...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sakarya University
2019-10-01
|
| Series: | Akademik İncelemeler Dergisi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/867302 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Iran – Saudi Arabia’s rivalry hasbeen behind conflicts and instabilities in the region. However, the politicalnature of this rivalry is often over-simplified by mainstream media outlets.Similarly, a major part of literature on identity politics in Iran – SaudiArabia’s rivalry has mainly provided a comprehensive and descriptive account oftheir history as well as current conditions with ethnic and sectarianidentities as roots and origins of regional instabilities; or focused mainly onthe politicization and manipulation of Sunni and Shia Islam by actors in theirstruggles for power.Synthesizing the theories onidentity politics already in existence, namely Primordialism, instrumentalism,and social constructivism, this research constructed an integrated theoreticalmodel. In this model, sectarian identity - one essence intrinsic to MiddleEastern societies and constructed alongside regional history – is not onlymeasured by its tremendous influences on political processes; but also comparedin the usage of political actors of all levels in political practices. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1306-7885 |