The Arab World and Iran: A Turbulent Region in Transition

228 Pages·2016·2.41 MB·English

by  Amin Saikal (eds.)

THE ARAB
WORLD
AND IRAN
A Turbulent Region in Transition
EDITED BY AMIN SAIKAL
MET
Middle East
Today
Middle East Today
Series Editors
Fawaz     A. Gerges
Department of International Relations
London School of Economics
London ,  UK
Nader   Hashemi
Center for Middle East Studies
University of Denver
Highlands Ranch , Colorado, USA
Aims of the Series
The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the
US invasion and occupation of Iraq have dramatically altered the geopolitical
landscape of the contemporary Middle East. The Arab Spring uprisings have
complicated this picture. This series puts forward a critical body of fi rst-rate
scholarship that refl ects the current political and social realities of the region,
focusing on original research about contentious politics and social movements;
political institutions; the role played by non-governmental organizations such
as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood; and the Israeli–Palestinian
confl ict. Other themes of interest include Iran and Turkey as emerging pre-
eminent powers in the region, the former an “Islamic Republic” and the lat-
ter an emerging democracy currently governed by a party with Islamic roots;
the Gulf monarchies, their petrol economies and regional ambitions; potential
problems of nuclear proliferation in the region; and the challenges confront-
ing the USA, Europe, and the United Nations in the greater Middle East. The
focus of the series is on general topics such as social turmoil, war and revolu-
tion, international relations, occupation, radicalism, democracy, human rights,
and Islam as a political force in the context of the modern Middle East.
Titles include:
Ali Shari’ati and the Shaping of Political Islam in Iran
Kingshuk Chatterjee
Religion and the State in Turkish Universities: The Headscarf Ban
Fatma Nevra Seggie
Turkish Foreign Policy: Islam, Nationalism, and Globalization
Hasan Kösebalaban
Non-violent Resistance in the Second Intifada: Activism and Advocacy
Edited by Maia Carter Hallward and Julie M. Norman
The Constitutional System of Turkey: 1876 to the Present
Ergun Özbudun
Islam, the State, and Political Authority: Medieval Issues and Modern Concerns
Edited by Asma Afsaruddin
Bahrain from the Twentieth Century to the Arab Spring
Miriam Joyce
Palestinian Activism in Israel: A Bedouin Woman Leader in a Changing
Middle East
Henriette Dahan-Kalev and Emilie Le Febvre with Amal El’Sana-Alh’jooj
Egypt Awakening in the Early Twentieth Century: Mayy Ziyadah’s
Intellectual Circles
Boutheina Khaldi
The Social and Economic Origins of Monarchy in Jordan
Tariq Moraiwed Tell
Palestinians in the Israeli Labor Market: A Multi-disciplinary Approach
Edited by Nabil Khattab and Sami Miaari
State, Religion, and Revolution in Iran, 1796 to the Present
Behrooz Moazami
Political Islam in the Age of Democratization
Kamran Bokhari and Farid Senzai
The Role of Ideology in Syrian-US Relations: Confl ict and Cooperation
J. K. Gani
“Dual Containment” Policy in the Persian Gulf: The USA, Iran, and Iraq,
1991–2000
Alex Edwards
Hezbollah, Islamist Politics, and International Society
Filippo Dionigi
Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War
Bryan R. Gibson
Jimmy Carter and the Middle East: The Politics of Presidential Diplomacy
Daniel Strieff
Contentious Politics in the Middle East: Popular Resistance and Marginalized
Activism beyond the Arab Uprisings
Edited by Fawaz A. Gerges
From the First World War to the Arab Spring: What’s Really Going On in
the Middle East?
M. E. McMillan
More information about this series at
http://www.springer.com/series/[14803]

The Arab World

and Iran
A Turbulent Region in Transition

Edited by A min Saikal
Amin Saikal
Australian National University
Canberra, Australia
Middle East Today
ISBN 978-1-137-56124-4 ISBN 978-1-137-55966-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-55966-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016939208
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016
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C
ONTENTS
Foreword ix
The Hon. Julie Bishop
Preface xi
Contributors xiii
Abbreviations xv
1 The Middle East and North Africa: An Arena
of Change and Transition? 1
Amin Saikal
Part I The Arab World: Prospects and Challenges
in Transition 7
2 Prospects for Democratization in the Middle East
Post-Arab Spring 9
Fethi Mansouri
3 The Post-uprising Arab World and the West:
Mythology and Cultural Challenges 29
Robert Bowker
vii
viii CONTENTS
4 Political Economy Dynamics in the Arab Gulf
States: Implications for Political Transition 45
Matthew Gray
Part II Islamism and Sectarian Politics 67
5 Islam, Islamism, Muslims, and Governance:
Beyond “Islam and Democracy” 69
Hisham Hellyer
6 The Saudi ‘ulama and the Syrian Civil War 83
Raihan Ismail
7 Sectarian and Ethnic Politics: The Syrian Confl ict 103
Minerva Nasser-Eddine
Part III Iranian Domestic Politics and Regional Infl uence 125
8 Iran’s Syrian Foreign Policy Objectives 127
Shahram Akbarzadeh
9 Iran’s Relations with Afghanistan’s National
Unity Government 145
Bruce Koepke
10 Iranian–Saudi Relations in a Changing
Regional Environment 165
Amin Saikal
11 Conclusion 181
Amin Saikal
Bibliography 187
Index 209
F
OREWORD
The Hon. Julie Bishop, Foreign Minister of Australia
I was delighted to speak at the opening of the conference on the Arab
World, Iran and the Major Powers: Transitions and Challenges, on 26
June 2014.
The Middle East is a rich and wonderfully diverse part of the world.
The region is growing, with a middle class predicted to rise to over 234
million by 2030. Australia and the Middle East have very strong cultural
and economic links and it is my hope to see those links strengthen further
over the years ahead. There is also no doubt that the region faces serious
security challenges, especially in Iraq and Syria.
The conference attracted a number of respected scholars, including
Australian experts. This collection of papers will be a valuable resource for
academics and policymakers. The conference also marked the twentieth
anniversary of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, which has played
a leading role in academic and public policy debate about Australia’s
engagement with the Middle East and Central Asia.
I particularly acknowledge the work of Professor Amin Saikal, the
Centre’s Director. An expert in the politics, history, and international rela-
tions of the Middle East and Central Asia, and the role of Islam in these
regions, Professor Saikal is one of Australia’s most distinguished academ-
ics, a well-known public commentator, and a prolifi c author. The Centre
has been at the forefront of research, teaching, and policy on Arab and
Islamic issues in Australia and internationally, under Professor Saikal’s
leadership.
ix