@article{article_494934, title={Beyond Sectarian Identity Politics in the Middle East: The Case of Iran-Saudi Arabia’s Rivalry}, journal={Akademik İncelemeler Dergisi}, volume={14}, pages={77–120}, year={2019}, DOI={10.17550/akademikincelemeler.494934}, author={Turan, Yıldırım and Nguyen Hoang, Lan}, keywords={Sectarianism,Identity Politics,Iran,Saudi Arabia}, abstract={<p> <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <span lang="en-gb" style="line-height:150%;font-family:’Times New Roman’, serif;font-size:12pt;" xml:lang="en-gb"> <font color="#000000">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. </font> </span> </font> </p> <p> <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <span lang="en-gb" style="line-height:150%;font-family:’Times New Roman’, serif;font-size:12pt;" xml:lang="en-gb"> <font color="#000000">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. </font> </span> </font> </p>}, number={2}, publisher={Sakarya University}