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

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. 

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

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.

___

  • Abdo, Geneive. “How Iran Keeps Assad in Power in Syria (2011)”. Foreign Affairs. Access: (22 October 2017). https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/2011-08-25/how-iran-keeps-assad-power-syria.
  • Ahmed, Nafees. “Syrian Intervention plan Fueled by oil interest not chemical Weapons (2013)”. The Guardian. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/aug/30/syria-chemical-attack-war-intervention-oil-gas-energy-pipelines.
  • Alikuzai, Hamid Wahed. A concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes: Volume 1. Trafford Publishing, 2013.
  • al-Khalidi, Ashraf – Tanner, Victor. Sectarian Violence: Radical groups Drive Internal Displacement in Iraq. University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement, the Brookings Institution, 2006.
  • BBC News, “Saudi – Iran row: Iraq offers to mediate as tensions soar (January 2016)”. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35241398.
  • Black, Ian – Dehghan, Saeed Kamali. “Bahrain, Sudan and UAE follow Saudis in Diplomatic action against Iran (2016)”. The Guardian. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/04/bahrain-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-iran-in-row-over-saudi-execution-of-shia-cleric.
  • Blanchard, Christopher M. “Saudi Arabia: Background and US Relations”. (Congressional Research Service, June 2010). Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a523583.pdf.
  • Byman, Daniel. “Understanding proto-insurgencies”. The Journal of Strategic Studies. 31/2 (2008): pp.165-200.
  • Cleveland, William L. – Bunton, Martin. A history of the Modern Middle East. Boulder: Westview Press, 2009.
  • Cook, Jonathan. Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East. London: Pluto Press, 2008.
  • Corbin, Henry. History of Islamic Philosophy. New York: Routledge, 2006.
  • Curtis, Mark. Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role in the World. London: Vintage, 2003.
  • Deutsch, Karl. Nationalism and Social Communication: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Nationality. Massachusetts: The M.I.T. Press, 1966.
  • Escobar, Pepe. “Blood for Oil: Syria is the Ultimate Pipelineistan War (2015)”. Russian Insider. Access: (22 October 2017). http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/blood-oil-syria-ultimate-pipelinestan-war/ri11709.
  • Euban, Roxanne L.– Zaman, Muhammad Qasim eds. Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought: Texts and Contexts from Al-Bannato Bin Laden. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009.
  • Foreign Relations of the US. Washington: Government Printing Office 8 (1945): 45. cited in Sheldon L. Richman. ““Ancient History”; US conduct in the Middle East since WWII and the folly of intervention”. Cato Policy Analysis 159 (16 August 1991).
  • Gaub, Florence. “Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Alliance”. European Institute for Security Studies (2016).
  • Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
  • Gelvin, James. The Arab Uprisings: What everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press, 2012.
  • Gengler, Justin. “How Bahrain’s crushed Uprising spawned the Middle East’s sectarianism”. in Project on Middle East Political Science. “Reflections Five Years After the Uprisings”, (2016): pp.45-47.
  • Haddad, Fanar. Sectarianism in Iraq, Antagonistic Visions of Unity. London: C.Hurts & Co., 2011.
  • Hartman, Leda. “Islamic Sectarianism: Can Shunni- Shiite hostilities be resolved?”, SAGE Publications. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Access: (22 October 2017). http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqrglobal2012080700.
  • Hashmi, Taj. Global Jihad and America: The Hundred-Year War beyond Iraq and Afghanistan. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2014.
  • Hegel, G. W. Friedrich. “The German Constitution”. Political Writings. eds. Laurence Dickey and H.B. Nisbet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • Herath, R. B. A new Beginning for Humankind: A Recipe for Lasting Peace on Earth. Bloomington: iUniverse, Inc., 2012.
  • Hiltermann, Joost. “A new Sectarian Threat in the Middle East?”. International Review of the Red Cross 89/868 (2007): pp. 795-808.
  • Hofman, Bruce. Holy terror: the Implications of terrorism motivated by a religious imperative. Virginia Beach: Worldwide Department of Defense Combating Terrorism Conference, 1993.
  • Hubbard, Ben. “Iran and Saudi Arabia Squabble as Millions of Muslims begin Pilgrimage (2016)”. The New York Times. Access: (22 October 2017). https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/world/middleeast/hajj-saudi-arabia-iran.html?_r=0.
  • Hubbard, Ben. “Iranian Protesters Ransack Saudi Embassy After Execution of Shiite Cleric (January 3, 2016)”. The New York Times. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-executes-47-sheikh-nimr-shiite-cleric.html.
  • Hunter, Shireen T. The Future of Islam and the West: Clash of Civilization or Peaceful Coexistence?. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 1998.
  • Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
  • İsmail, Salwa. “The Syrian Uprising: Imagining and Performing the Nation”. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 11/3 (2011): pp.538-549.
  • Kant, İmmanuel. “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose”. Kant: Political Writings. ed. Hans Reiss. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
  • Kaplan, Micheal. “Could Saudi Iran Tensions Destabilize Bahrain? Unrest Sparks Protests in Sectarian – Divided Gulf State (2016)”. International Business Times. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.ibtimes.com/could-saudi-iran-tensions-destabilize-bahrain-unrest-sparks-protests-sectarian-2248342.
  • Khalaf, Roula. “Arms Deliveries too Syrian Rebels Delayed (July 2012)”. Financial Times. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/36d84430-cb11e1-b896-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2xlJMaFMy.
  • Khatib, Lina. “Saudi Arabia’s Comeback Via Yemen (2015)”, Carnegie Middle East center. Access: (22 October 2017). http://carnegie-mec.org/publications/?fa=59556.
  • Kinzer, Stephen. All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008.
  • Klare, Micheal T. “Debacle at Doha: The Collapse of the Old Oil Order (2016)”. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176134/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_the_coming_world_of_%22peak_oil_demand%2C%22_not_%22peak_oil%22/#more.
  • Lebow, Richard Ned. “Identity and International Relations”. International Relations 22/473 (2008): pp.473-492.
  • Lesch, David W. “Fight or Talk: US-Syria Relations since 2000”. The Middle East and the United States. eds. David W. Lesch – Mark L. Haas. Philadephia: Westview Press, 2015.
  • Leverett, Flynt – Noel, Pierre. “The new Axis of Oil”. The National Interest 84 (Summer 2006): pp.62-70.
  • Leverett, Flynt. “The Race for Iran (2006)”. The New York Times. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/opinion/20leverett.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
  • Lewis, Bernard. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. New York: Modern Library, 2004.
  • Macaskill, Ewen. “UN report into Saudi-led Strikes in Yemen raises questions over UK role (January 2016)”. The Guardian. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/27/un-report-into-saudi-led-strikes-in-yemen-raises-questions-over-uk-role.
  • Malming, Helle. “Coming in from the Cold: How we may take sectarian Identity Politics seriously in the Middle East without playing to the tunes of Regional Power Elites”. POMEPS. “International Relations Theory and a Changing Middle East” (September 17, 2015): https://pomeps.org/2015/08/19/coming-in-from-the-cold-how-we-may-take-sectarian-identity-politics-seriously-in-the-middle-east-without-playing-to-the-tunes-of-regional-power-elites/.
  • Mathiesen, Toby. Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring that wasn’t. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013.
  • Mcelroy, Damien. “Iran nuclear deal: Saudi Arabia warns it will strikeout on its own (2013)”. The Telegraph. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10472538/Iran-nuclear-deal-Saudi-Arabia-warns-it-will-strike-out-on-its-own.html.
  • Mooney, Chris. “Doha oil meeting ends without a deal to freeze production (2016)”. the Washington Post. Access: (22 October 2017). https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/17/whats-so-important-about-the-oil-meeting-in-doha/.
  • Mufti, Mariam. “Religion and Militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan”. A Report of the CSIS Program on Crisis. Conflicts and Cooperation. Center for Strategic & International studies (2012).
  • Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. ABC International Group, Inc., 2013.
  • Naysan, Rafati. “Iran and the Arab Spring”. (LSE Research online – London School of Economics and Political Science, 2012): 49-50. Access: (22 October 2017). http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/43466/1/After%20the%20Arab%20Spring_Iran%20and%20the%20Arab%20Spring%28lsero%29.pdf.
  • Nicole, Gaouette. “Saudi Prince: Getting Nukes an Option if Iran Breaks deal (2016)”. CNN. Access: (22 October 2017). http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/06/politics/saudi-israel-officials-talk-nuclear-u-s-/.
  • Parker, Richard D. “Five theses on Identity Politics”, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 29/1 (2005): pp.53-59.
  • Pernin, Christopher G. – Nichiporuk, Brain – Stahl, Dale – Beck, Justin – Radelli-Sanches, Ricky. “Unfolding the Future of the Long War”. RAND Corporation 2008.
  • Pew Reasearch Center. “Mapping the Global Muslim Population (2009)”. Pew Forum on Religion. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/.
  • Phillips, Christopher. “Sectarianism and Conflict in Syria”. Third World Quaterly, 36/2 (2015): pp.357-376.
  • Qaidaari, Abbas. “Does Iran have a Card to Play in Bahrain? (2015)”. Al-Monitor. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/iran-bahrain-saraya-mukhtar.html#.
  • Qassem, Naeem. Hizbullah: The Story from Within. London: Saqi, 2005.
  • Quandt, William B. Saudi Arabia in the 1980s: Foreign Policy, Security, and Oil. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1981.
  • Ramazani, Rouhollah K. The Persian gulf: Iran’s role. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1972.
  • Sherif, Muzafer – Sherif, Carolyn W. Groups in Harmony and Tension: an Integration of Studies on Inter-group Relations. New York: Harper, 1953.
  • Shkolnik, Micheal. “Arab Uprisings and al-Qeada’s Peripheral Infiltration: A Tour d’ Horizon”. Security and Defence Officer. United Nations Association in Canada (2012).
  • Sievers, Marc J. “Questions About Eygpt’s Syria Policy (2015)”. The Washington Institute Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/questions-about-egypts-syria-policy.
  • Tayler, Letta. “Yemen’s Hijacked Revolution: New protests Pushed aside by Old Rivalries in Sanaa (2011)”. Foreign Affairs. Access: (22 October 2017). https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/persian-gulf/2011-09-26/yemens-hijacked-revolution.
  • Taylor, Alan. “The Soviet War in Afghanistan, 1979-1989 (2014)”. The Atlantic. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/the-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-1979-1989/100786/.
  • Terrill, Andrew. “The Saudi-Iranian Rivalry and the Future of Middle East Security”. US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute (2011).
  • Times of Israel Staff. “Time is right for Arab partnerships, Israeli minister tells Saudi-owned website (2016)”. The Times of Israel. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.timesofisrael.com/time-is-right-for-arab-partnerships-israeli-minister-tells-saudi-owned-website/.
  • Tirman, John – Maleki, Abbas. US-Iran Misperceptions: A Dialogue. New York and London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.
  • Trofimov, Yaroslav. “Political Deadlock Leaves Lebanon to Unravel (2016)”. The Wall Street Journal. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.wsj.com/articles/political-deadlock-leaves-lebanon-to-unravel-1462440603.
  • Vakil, Sanam. “The Saudi-Iran standoff is not really Sectarian (2016)”. Middle East Eye. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/saudi-iran-standoff-not-really-sectarian-706746842.
  • Verma, Nidhi. “Exclusive: Iran wants Euro payment for New and Outstanding Oil Sales- Source (2016)”. Reuters. Access: (22 October 2017). http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-iran-exclusive-idUSKCN0VE21S.
  • Went, Alexander. Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • Williams, Micheal – Carrion, Doris. “The Perils of Lebanon’s Deepening Sectarianism (2015)”. Chatham House,.The Royal Institute of International Affairs. Access: (22 October 2017). https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/perils-lebanons-deepening-sectarianism#.
  • Yang, Philip Q. Ethnic Studies: Issues and Approaches. State University of New York Press, 2000.
  • Yergin, Daniel. The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power. New York: Free Press, 2008.