Beyond Sectarian Identity Politics in the Middle East: The Case of Iran-Saudi Arabia’s Rivalry

Year 2019, Volume: 14 Issue: 2, 77 - 120, 31.10.2019

Yıldırım Turan , Lan Nguyen Hoang

https://doi.org/10.17550/akademikincelemeler.494934

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Iran – Saudi Arabia’s rivalry has
been behind conflicts and instabilities in the region. However, the political
nature of this rivalry is often over-simplified by mainstream media outlets.
Similarly, a major part of literature on identity politics in Iran – Saudi
Arabia’s rivalry has mainly provided a comprehensive and descriptive account of
their history as well as current conditions with ethnic and sectarian
identities as roots and origins of regional instabilities; or focused mainly on
the politicization and manipulation of Sunni and Shia Islam by actors in their
struggles for power.

Synthesizing the theories on
identity politics already in existence, namely Primordialism, instrumentalism,
and social constructivism, this research constructed an integrated theoretical
model. In this model, sectarian identity - one essence intrinsic to Middle
Eastern societies and constructed alongside regional history – is not only
measured by its tremendous influences on political processes; but also compared
in the usage of political actors of all levels in political practices.

Keywords

Sectarianism, Identity Politics, Iran, Saudi Arabia

ORTADOĞU’DA MEZHEPSEL KİMLİK POLİTİKALARININ ÖTESİNDE: İRAN-SUUDİ ARABİSTAN’IN REKABETİ ÖRNEĞİ

Abstract

Ortadoğu bölgesindeki çatışma ve istikrarsızlık
ortamının ardında İran - Suudi Arabistan rekabeti bulunmaktadır. Bununla
birlikte bu rekabetin politik doğası, çoğunlukla ana akım medya tarafından
aşırı derecede basitleştirilmiştir. Benzer biçimde İran – Suudi Arabistan
rekabetinin içindeki kimlik politikaları üzerine yazılmış literatürün büyük bir
kısmı bölgesel istikrarsızlıkların kökeni ve kaynağını ağırlıklı olarak
tarihlerinin genel ve betimleyici bir hesabını sunmuş veya oyuncuların iktidar
mücadeleleri içerisinde Sünni ve Şii İslam’ın politikleşmesine ve
manipülasyonuna odaklanmıştır.

Halen mevcut olan kimlik politikaları üzerine teorileri sentezleyen, yani
Primordializm, araçsallık, ve sosyal inşacılık, bu araştırmanın teorik modelini
oluşturmaktadır. Bu modelde, mezhepsel kimlik – Ortadoğu toplumlarının ve yanı
sıra bölgesel tarihin bir gerçeği olarak – sadece politik süreçler üzerine
muazzam etkileri ölçülmedi, ayrıca politik
uygulamalarda her düzeydeki politik aktörlerin kullanımıyla karşılaştırılmıştır. 

Keywords

Mezhepçilik, Kimlik Siyaseti, İran, Suudi Arabistan

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