This exploratory research deals with identity discourses in Iran in relation to the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The four identity discourses - Iranism, Islam, anti-hegemony and...Show moreThis exploratory research deals with identity discourses in Iran in relation to the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The four identity discourses - Iranism, Islam, anti-hegemony and hyperindependence are examined based on contemporary studies on this topic.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
2023-01-29T00:00:00Z
During the summer of 1958 Iran, Israel and Turkey concluded a secret agreement to share intelligence data and information gathering techniques. This agreement, the Periphery Pact (‘Pact’), was...Show moreDuring the summer of 1958 Iran, Israel and Turkey concluded a secret agreement to share intelligence data and information gathering techniques. This agreement, the Periphery Pact (‘Pact’), was initiated by Israel who was anxious to establish relationships with countries on the periphery of the ring of hostile Arab countries that encircled it. The Pact signatories, engaged in a diplomatic marketing initiative to sell the Pact to their Cold War sponsor, the United States in the belief that US support for the Pact was beneficial. Existing research tells us little about how the United States reacted to this sales pitch or what US policy was towards the Pact. My research of the US diplomatic archives indicate that the US response to the Periphery Pact arrangements was decidedly lukewarm. This appears inconsistent with US regional policy which was to stimulate the creation of regional defense arrangements by its regional allies to counter Soviet threats to the region. I argue that the response of the United States to the Pact may not be a complete surprise if analyzed in the light of the US response to the Baghdad Pact, a contemporaneous defense arrangement in the region. I also investigate how the US intelligence services reacted to the Pact. This aspect of the US policy towards the Pact is under-researched. This is surprising given Israel’s track record in clandestine diplomacy and its use of its regional intelligence gathering capabilities as an argument when marketing the Periphery Pact to US officials. My research indicates that the CIA displayed more interest in and provided resources to the intelligence sharing mechanism of the Periphery Pact. It may well be that the United States used clandestine diplomacy in parallel, rather than as a substitute, for normal diplomatic channels.Show less
Five terrorist attacks in Casablanca on 16 May 2003 alarmed the Moroccan state of the presence of religious extremist ideas in Morocco. As a measure, an anti-terrorism policy was launched to reduce...Show moreFive terrorist attacks in Casablanca on 16 May 2003 alarmed the Moroccan state of the presence of religious extremist ideas in Morocco. As a measure, an anti-terrorism policy was launched to reduce the chances of future attacks. Morocco’s number of attacks is relatively low compared to other North African countries from 2003 onwards. The aim of this thesis is to investigate to what extent Morocco’s anti-terrorism policy explains this low number of attacks. This policy consists of legal, religious, and socio-economic measures. Legislative amendments have strengthened the powers of security services and the police. In addition, the state has provided an alternative to religious extremist ideas by promoting the ‘Moroccan Islam’ in mosques, schools, and media. Furthermore, the state has tried to remove the likelihood of radicalization by reducing poverty and improving housing. As a result of these measures, it is possible that the size and activity of religious extremist groups have been reduced, and less Moroccan citizens are susceptible to religious extremist ideas. Moreover, many extremist cells have been dismantled and arrested since 2003. Although these arrests are criticized from a humanitarian viewpoint, they validate the success of the state in arresting a significant number of possible extremists. Nevertheless, since quantities are problematic indicators to measure effectiveness of anti-terrorism policies, caution should be exercised when attributing Morocco’s number of attacks to its anti-terrorism policy. This thesis is a multidisciplinary historical source research, analyzing a wide range of sources by using the qualitative research method ‘document analysis’.Show less
In international politics and throughout academic literature, the current civil war in Yemen (2015-present) has regularly been discussed as being a proxy war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and...Show moreIn international politics and throughout academic literature, the current civil war in Yemen (2015-present) has regularly been discussed as being a proxy war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a consequence, the international community’s military interference in what has been labelled by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world has been rather limited. This research aims to counter the general proxy warfare narrative, and to provide an alternative explanation of the causes and dynamics of Yemen’s devastating conflict. Therefore, this thesis will critically analyze the context, development of events, and transformation of the war in Yemen and discuss how to characterize the internationalization of Yemen’s internal conflict over the period 2014-2018. To formulate an answer to this question, the thesis will first discuss the Saudi-Iranian rivalry in the contemporary Middle East and the use of proxy warfare in their regional balance of power. Then, the theoretical framework of internationalization of civil war will be discussed to explicate the connection between domestic and international dimensions of conflicts. Next, the thesis will analyse the internal social and political causes of the war in Yemen to assess the original nature of the conflict, and discuss the developments from the outbreak of the civil war to its present internationalized condition. Together with an analysis of the extent and motivations of the Saudi and Iranian military interventions in the conflict, this research will develop the argument that the war in Yemen (2014-2018) is essentially an internationalized civil war. The proxy warfare narrative fails to accurately describe the causes, dynamics, and international intervention processes of this internationalized internal conflict, and the use of this rhetoric by Saudi Arabia should be interpreted as a political tool to justify its military intervention in Yemen’s domestic struggles to secure its own regional strategic objectives. Moreover, the limited support of Iran to the Houthis remains far too marginal to have any significant impact on the balance of power in Yemen. The research and arguments will be substantiated by academic study of regional politics experts and by analysing UN reports, reportages from independent journalists, and interviews with policymakers. Understanding the highly local and non-ideological origins and dimensions of the war in Yemen is fundamental to any future attempts at conflict resolution at the international level. Analysing the process of internationalization, as well as the contemporary nature of the conflict, will provide significant insights regarding what type of mediation would be most effective. Furthermore, emphasizing the escalated and internationalized nature of the Yemeni civil war since its outbreak in 2015, as opposed to the general proxy warfare narrative, will hopefully contribute to the international community’s recognition of the necessity and responsibility to resolve this humanitarian disaster. Academically, the research will contribute to the academic body of literature on the internationalization of internal conflicts. In addition, 1 this thesis will generate a greater understanding of proxy warfare and expose the dangers of the use of proxy war frames.Show less
De Iraanse socioloog Ali Shari'ati (1933-1977) ontwikkelde in de decennia in aanloop naar de Islamitische Revolutie van 1979 een hervormde versie van de islam. Hierbinnen had hij een sterke visie...Show moreDe Iraanse socioloog Ali Shari'ati (1933-1977) ontwikkelde in de decennia in aanloop naar de Islamitische Revolutie van 1979 een hervormde versie van de islam. Hierbinnen had hij een sterke visie op het martelaarschap. In dit onderzoek wordt deze visie door middel van het ontleden van twee speeches van Shari'ati geanalyseerd. Wat hield zijn visie in? Hoe past deze binnen zijn hervormde islam? En waarom speelt het martelaarschap een rol in aanloop naar de Islamitische Revolutie?Show less
“In a region beset with chronic and widespread problems, ranging from poor governance, war, violent extremism, and resource scarcity, one threat stands above the rest in terms of potential for...Show more“In a region beset with chronic and widespread problems, ranging from poor governance, war, violent extremism, and resource scarcity, one threat stands above the rest in terms of potential for destruction and cost in opportunity: the use of sectarianism as a geopolitical weapon. Sectarianism encourages extremist rhetoric and violence and serves to distract a populations from economic and social concerns by providing a convenient enemy on which to focus.” This quote by the Soufan group, a strategic security consulting group, displays an opinion that is shared by mainstream media across the globe. The Middle East has apparently fallen into a state of religious extremism where violent sectarianism is every day’s business. Current day Syria seems to be the focal point of all this sectarian violence. This paper tries to analyse what exactly that sectarian violence entails in the SYrian Civil War, and whether we should indeed look at it as a sectarian conflict, or rather a conflict with sectarian aspects.Show less
