To answer the question posed by the title of this thesis, which is "In what ways is China's rising influence in the Lebanese economy and society altering the identity formation of the militant...Show moreTo answer the question posed by the title of this thesis, which is "In what ways is China's rising influence in the Lebanese economy and society altering the identity formation of the militant group Hezbollah?," this thesis employs a social-constructivist method. Accordingly, it concentrates on the overlap and interaction between domestic society and foreign policy, which is defined in the overall aims of this seminar. In recent years, China has established commercial links with a number of the nations in the region, and the One Belt, One Road program is intended to foster further collaboration in the future(Gresh, 2016). OBOR is focused on securing a stable energy supply for China's rapid economic development and comprises a wide range of investment projects that might be advantageous to the region (Horesh, 2016). China participates in the politics of neighboring countries on a very seldom basis and has no intention of unseating the United States. Despite the fact that the emergence of an increasing Chinese influence is easily recognised, the implications of this influence on identity and culture are rarely mentioned in constructivist literature on the Middle East and Lebanon. That is because the body of constructivist analytic literature is still relatively limited when compared to the neoliberal approach, which is the predominant school of thought in the field of international relations. It was discovered that this is the case in each and every one of the domains that were examined, including constructivism and IR theory, constructivism in the Middle East, and China and the Middle East. Constructivist research in the subject of International Relations theories has garnered the attention of an ever-expanding corpus of published work since the 1990s. This thesis will build on the work accomplished by Raymond Hinnebusch, David Campbell, and Alexander Wendt adopting constructivism as perspective, and therefore will primarily involve Joseph Alagha and Pol Bassedas in the research on the identity formation of Hezbollah. There is still a great deal of ambiguity regarding the connection between international politics and the role that the influence of China plays in the process of identity creation inside Hezbollah. With the use of Hezbollah as a case study, the purpose of this study will be to make a contribution to the existing body of knowledge in an effort to address a knowledge gap relating to expanding Chinese participation and identity creation in the Middle East.Show less
The first elections after the anti-establishment Arab Spring protests resulted in a victory for Islamist political parties in a number of MENA countries. This came as a surprise to the West, which...Show moreThe first elections after the anti-establishment Arab Spring protests resulted in a victory for Islamist political parties in a number of MENA countries. This came as a surprise to the West, which points of view are known to contradict Islam with the democracy and civil liberties that the Arab Spring protests called for. It comes as no surprise then that Islamist political success is often contributed to the inclusion of these parties in a pluralist and democratic playfield. Allegedly, this forces them to bargain and negotiate with other actors, resulting in the disappearance of Islamist ideological elements and making them viable options for the electorate. This prominent way of thinking - which has been called the moderation through inclusion theory - is much critiqued for being too shortsighted in its view of political Islamism. That is why this thesis argues in favor of an alternative approach that shifts the focus from the outcome of a period of political transition and whether or not this is moderate, to one that emphasizes the processes and internal and external factors that shape the ideological transformations of these parties. By looking at the most prominent Islamist parties of three countries (Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt) and tracing their historical developments and contexts based on these internal and external factors, this thesis then offers an alternative explanation to the popularity of political Islamism in the first elections after the Arab Spring uprisings.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
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When the reformist Mohammad Khatami (b. 1943) became president of Iran in 1997, most socioeconomic strata, workers and students in particular, expected changes to Iran’s political and economic make...Show moreWhen the reformist Mohammad Khatami (b. 1943) became president of Iran in 1997, most socioeconomic strata, workers and students in particular, expected changes to Iran’s political and economic make-up. These expectations were largely grounded in Khatami’s rhetoric of social justice and the promises of more socio-political and cultural freedoms that he voiced during his electoral campaign. In practice, however, these promises did not materialise and disappointed workers and students alike. Khatami continued the economic neoliberalisation that his predecessor Rafsanjani (r. 1989-1997) had begun and the supreme leader, Khamenei (r. 1989-), heavily resisted his attempts to create more relaxed academic settings. Although the existing literature explains why Khatami and Khamenei, which respectively represented the reformist and conservative sides of the political spectrum, embraced different labour policy-paths, it does not seek to understand how both officials constructed their social reality such that it made sense for them to do so. Presuming that the meaning of political factions is objectively defined, the literature therefore foregoes enquiring after the discursive context in which they constructed their ideologies and how these related to their policy-paths. However, as policies do not originate in an intellectual and institutional vacuum but are made possible in a political context where competing discourses interact, examining them from a discursive perspective clarifies how rather than why these officials perceived them as meaningful paths to pursue. This focus on ideology construction then leads to enquiring how both constructed Iran’s identity and, by implication, that of workers and students. Taking a poststructuralist approach, this thesis therefore enquires how Khatami’s and Khamenei’s evolving discursive negotiation on Iranian identity was co-constitutionally related to the approved labour policies that concerned workers and students during Khatami’s presidency (r. 1997-2005).Show less
In 1952 the royal Mohammed Ali-dynasty of Egypt is swept away by revolution. Since then no restoration movement has emerged. Restoration movements are an understudied phenomenon and no overarching...Show moreIn 1952 the royal Mohammed Ali-dynasty of Egypt is swept away by revolution. Since then no restoration movement has emerged. Restoration movements are an understudied phenomenon and no overarching theoretical framework exists via which their relative strength can be explained. This thesis investigates the reasons behind the lack of an existence of a restoration movement for the Mohammed Ali-dynasty. It does so via a partial application of Grounded theory, which enables the emergence of an explanatory theory via continuous analysis and the use of a wide array of sources. Through a thorough analysis of the existing academic literature concerning the Mohammed Ali-dynasty, Post-revolutionary Egyptian politics an extensive overview is provided of all known restoration sentiments concerning the Mohammed Ali-dynasty. This overview is expanded by analyzing previously unused sources, such as the Dutch national archives, and via an investigation of the political actions of several prominent members of the dynasty. This detailed description of restoration sentiments enables a comparison with the restoration movements for the Bourbons, Senussis and Pahlavis. This comparison finds several crucial factors which are not present in the case of the Mohammed Ali-dynasty and therefore help explain the lack of a restoration movement for this dynasty. In doing this this thesis also provides an initial outline for a broader theoretical framework concerning restoration movements.Show less
This study has examined the role of the Kurds in the Syrian Civil War and their several encounters with Turkey. As part of Turkey’s foreign policy, the government has launched a series of military...Show moreThis study has examined the role of the Kurds in the Syrian Civil War and their several encounters with Turkey. As part of Turkey’s foreign policy, the government has launched a series of military incursions in Rojava. Central to this study has been the analysis of the extent to which the Turkish government’s military incursions in Rojava were related to Turkey’s domestic policies towards the Kurds in Turkey.Show less
A thesis with the goal of proving how the international arms trade has influenced the regional balance in the Gulf region, using as examples Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia and their relations from 1991
This Thesis focuses on the regional effects of the Saudi regional foreign policy in reaction to the Arab Spring. Establishing the legitimacy of the Saudi regime in the transnational Wahhabi Sunni...Show moreThis Thesis focuses on the regional effects of the Saudi regional foreign policy in reaction to the Arab Spring. Establishing the legitimacy of the Saudi regime in the transnational Wahhabi Sunni Islam, the Arab Spring is viewed as an ideological and existential threat to the regime in Riyadh. On the other hand, the transnational character of the regime’s legitimacy contains the important connection between its survival and its regional foreign policy. These theoretical assumptions justify the Thesis’ focus on the sectarian dimension of the Saudi policies’ effects. As the research shows, continuously blaming Iran for the protests in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Yemen or Syria and, simultaneously, portraying these protests as a “Shi’a revival”, has reinforced Saudi and regional identification of Iran with Shi’a Muslims’ struggles. Consequentially, Saudi policies have inevitably facilitated the determination of any struggle mainly involving Shi’a, regardless of any sectarian dimension in its nature, as exclusively based on religion and, therefore, unquestionably supported by Iran. In this sense, as well, Saudi actions have determinately layered Middle Eastern conflicts after the Arab Spring with an increasing sectarian tone.Show less
