Routledge Handbook of International Relations in the Middle East

456 Pages·2019·5.533 MB·English

by  Shahram Akbarzadeh (editor)

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
This handbook examines the regional and international dynamics of the Middle East. It
challenges the state society dichotomy to make sense of decision-making and behavior by
ruling regimes. The 33 chapter authors include the world’s leading scholars of the Middle East
and International Relations (IR) in order to make sense of the region. This synthesis of area
studies expertise and IR theory provides a unique and rigorous account of the region’s current
dynamics, which have reached a crisis point since the beginning of the Arab Spring.
The Middle East has been characterized by volatility for more than a century. Although the
region attracts significant scholarly interest, IR theory has rarely been used as a tool to understand
events. The constructivist approach in IR highlights the significance of state identity, shaped
by history and culture, in making sense of international relations. The authors of this volume
consider how IR theory can elucidate the patterns and principles that shape the region, in order
to provide a rigorous account of the contemporary challenges of the Middle East.
The Routledge Handbook of International Relations in the Middle East provides comprehensive
coverage of International Relations issues in the region. Thus, it offers key resources for
researchers and students interested in International Relations and the Middle East.
Shahram Akbarzadeh is Research Professor in Middle East and Central Asian Politics at
Deakin University and the Deputy Director (International) of the Alfred Deakin Institute
for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University (Australia). He held a prestigious ARC
Future Fellowship (2012–2016) on the Role of Islam in Iran’s Foreign Policy-making and
recently completed a Qatar Foundation grant on Sectarianism in the Middle East.

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Edited by Shahram Akbarzadeh
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 selection and editorial matter, Shahram Akbarzadeh; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Shahram Akbarzadeh to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Akbarzadeh, Shahram, editor.
Title: Routledge handbook of international relations in the
Middle East / edited by Shahram Akbarzadeh.
Other titles: Handbook of international relations in the Middle East
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge,
2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018050299 (print) | LCCN 2018055868 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781315229591 (master) | ISBN 9781351859530 (Adobe Reader) |
ISBN 9781351859523 (Epub) | ISBN 9781351859516 (Mobipocket) |
ISBN 9780415317283 | ISBN 9780415317283 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315229591 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Middle East—Foreign relations—21st century. |
International relations.
Classification: LCC JZ1670 (ebook) | LCC JZ1670 .R68 2019 (print) |
DDC 327.56—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050299
ISBN: 978-0-415-31728-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-22959-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
List of figures viii
List of tables ix
Notes on contributors x
1 The blurred line between state identity and realpolitik 1
Shahram Akbarzadeh
2 Neoclassical realism: domestic politics, systemic pressures, and
the impact on foreign policy since the Arab Spring 8
Thomas Juneau, Steven E. Lobell, Norrin M. Ripsman, and
Lawrence P. Rubin
3 What constructivism? 23
Vendulka Kubálková
4 Historical sociology and Middle East international relations 46
Ewan Stein
5 Subaltern realism meets the Arab world 59
Mohammed Ayoob
6 Islam, political Islam, and the state system 69
Frédéric Volpi
7 Don’t shoot the elephant: Middle East stability after the Iranian
nuclear deal 82
Karim Kamel and Patricia M. Lewis
v
Contents
8 The revolutionary guard in Iranian domestic and foreign power politics 96
Farzan Sabet and Roozbeh Safshekan
9 The Arab uprising and regional power struggle 110
Raymond Hinnebusch
10 US–Israel relations during the Obama administration: fundamental
shift, or adaptation to new realities? 125
Robert E. Looney
11 Saudi Arabia and Iran: Islam and foreign policy in the Middle East 138
Simon Mabon
12 The Arab Spring and Russian foreign policy toward the Middle East 153
Mark N. Katz
13 China’s foray into the Middle East: from ambivalence to ambition? 164
Michael Clarke
14 Oil production, innovation, and politics in the Middle East 184
Hamid E. Ali and Nesreen N. Al Anbar
15 Qatar: an ambitious small state 195
Matthew Gray
16 GCC foreign policy: the struggle for consensus 209
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
17 EU policy in the Middle East: unfulfilled aspirations 222
Christian Koch
18 Old and new challenges for ethnic and religious minorities
in the Middle East 237
Jordi Tejel
19 UN Security Council Resolution 1325: a framework for women’s
peace activism in the Middle East? 252
Sophie Richter-Devroe
20 The demise of the Arab strongman? Authoritarianism and
the future of the Middle East 265
Pietro Marzo and Francesco Cavatorta
vi
Contents
21 Armed non-state actors and strategic decision-making 279
Wietse van den Berge
22 Islamic State: aberration, or accelerant of system-wide changes to come? 300
Michael S. Smith II
23 Proxy relations: Iran and Hezbollah 321
Shahram Akbarzadeh
24 The Muslim Brotherhood and An-Nahda after the Arab Spring:
a failed project 330
Alison Pargeter
25 Transition and the Arab Spring 350
George Joffé
26 Shock absorption: Palestinian–Israel status quo 2009–17 362
Philip Leech-Ngo
27 The rise and fall of Turkey in the Arab Spring 376
Paul A. Williams
Bibliography 391
Index 421
vii
FIGURES
3.1 The three-pillar US IR pantheon 32
3.2 Secular and post-secular 35
14.1 Oil production in the Middle East 185
14.2 Crude oil price and USA shale oil production 186
14.3 Budget deficits for Middle East countries 189
14.4 Real GDP growth and oil rents 191
viii
TABLES
3.1 Questions asked before the Third Debate and the arrival of constructivism 30
3.2 Questions asked in the Third Debate: ontology, epistemology and
methodology of US IR and the answers by constructivism(s) 31
3.3 A summary of a comparison between mainstream constructivism and
neoliberal institutionalism 34
14.1 Youth unemployment in the Middle East 193
21.1 Rational Actor Paradigm: aspects concerning key event 1, filling the void
left behind by the ISF 290
21.2 Rational Actor Paradigm: aspects concerning key event 2, IS’ attack
on the KRI 291
21.3 Rational Actor Paradigm: aspects concerning key event 3, the KRI’s
involvement in Kobanî 292
ix