Digest of Middle East Studies最新文献

{"title":"Editor's introduction","authors":"Catherine Warrick","doi":"10.1111/dome.12307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12307","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This issue of the Digest of Middle East Studies offers articles on topics that range from foreign and defense policy to poetry, and as is often the case, these wide-ranging topics have more in common than one might expect at first glance. In one way or another, the scholarship in this issue all addresses the question of how social scientists and policymakers understand what states and political leaders do. Two of the articles in this issue examine the factors that shape regional and international relations with other governments; one investigates the state's domestic use of violence, and two study the issue of leaders' communications with their supporters and wider publics.</p><p>In “Reckoning with ‘New’ Turkey: Modes of US reaction to unwanted policy shifts in the Middle East,” Michalis Kontos and Zenonas Tziarras examine how relations between the United States and Turkey have changed as Turkish policy has shifted in ways that are at odds with current American interests. Historical comparisons with particular moments in US relations with Egypt and with Iran help to shed light on the implications for the current trends in US-Turkish relations.</p><p>Our second article also lies at the intersection of policy and scholarly relevance: Fariborz Arghavani Pirsalami and Ehsan Shirzadi's “Regional deterrence, strategic challenges, and Saudi Arabia's missile development program” investigates important recent developments in Saudi defense policy as the country moves to strengthen its domestic missile program. The authors explain the several factors underlying Saudi policy and its significance for regional strategic concerns and argue that regional deterrence best explains Saudi policy interests and decisions here.</p><p>Shifting from the international and regional to the internal and domestic, Samer Bakkour argues in “Beyond Genocide: Towards an improved analysis and understanding of the Syrian regime's mass atrocity crimes in the Syrian Civil War” that the concepts of genocide and ethnic cleansing are not adequate for a full understanding of the politics of regime violence toward civilians. Instead, he proposes and develops the alternative concept of “strategic displacement” as a basis for both understanding regime choices in this regard and directing further attention toward internal displacement as an understudied aspect of regime violence.</p><p>The final two articles in this issue both address the question of what we can understand about political leadership from their choices in communications with their publics. In “Populism, jihad, and economic resistance: Studying the political discourse of Iran's Supreme Leader,” Sara Bazoobandi examines ten years of speeches by the Supreme Leader of Iran to shed light on both the unilateral method of communication in this authoritarian context and the particular populist rhetoric deployed. Rhetoric and ideology are also at issue in Elad Ben-Dror's study “The Hamas War against Israel as Reflected in the Poetr","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 4","pages":"260-261"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12307","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50120865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Populism, jihad, and economic resistance: Studying the political discourse of Iran's supreme leader","authors":"Sara Bazoobandi","doi":"10.1111/dome.12303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12303","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Political leaders of pariah authoritarian states communicate their political discourse unilaterally, in a closed environment without free and open media access or the space for public scrutiny or debate. They use their speeches for various aims such as to respond to external shocks, justify hardship, appeal to domestic and international sympathy, assert autonomy and power, and influence policy and governance. This research uses Iran as a case study and offers an in-depth analysis of 10 years of speeches by the country's Supreme Leader. In a case study of unilateral political communication method in an authoritarian environment, it sheds light on various aspects of the discourse generated by the country's Supreme Leader over a decade. It also analyzes the Leader's effort to influence policymaking and governance structure through practical official guidelines. Building upon existing theories of populism, the study seeks to unpack an understudied approach in populist politics that is based on a political discourse by the leadership which defines the populist dichotomy of people versus elite at the global level.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 4","pages":"321-339"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12303","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50120864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regional deterrence, strategic challenges, and Saudi Arabia's missile development program","authors":"Fariborz Arghavani Pirsalami,&nbsp;Ehsan Shirzadi","doi":"10.1111/dome.12305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12305","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The turbulent security environment of the Middle East has been the most crucial factor influencing the behavior of governments in this region. Saudi Arabia, as one of the most important countries in the area, has embarked on a nontransparent effort to develop its missile program in recent decades, raising significant concerns about the security of the Middle East. This article adopts the regional deterrence approach and strategically examines the various dimensions of Saudi Arabia's missile program to explain the driving factors behind its development. The research argues that the regional deterrence concept has been the primary impetus pushing Saudi Arabia to invest in its missile program, aiming to counter strategic challenges at the regional level. The findings indicate several key drivers motivating Riyadh, including the development of missile programs by Iran and Turkey, the balance of power concerning Israel, responses to transformational discourses, offering alternatives to expansionist approaches in the region, addressing Iran's nuclear program, and the desire to reinforce regional deterrence capabilities. Understanding these factors sheds light on Saudi Arabia's trajectory towards strengthening its missile program and its strategic outlook in the Middle East.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 4","pages":"281-299"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50120866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of the Middle East and Gulf states' involvement on the Horn of Africa's peace and security: Applying regional security complex theory","authors":"Micheale K. Gebru,&nbsp;Getachew Zeru,&nbsp;Yohannes Tekalign","doi":"10.1111/dome.12301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12301","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Middle East and the Horn of Africa are distinct but interdependent Regional Security Complexes (RSCs) whose security interaction and beyond has increased over the last two decades. Recent interactions between the two RSCs, particularly the increased involvement of Middle Eastern and Gulf states, have raised concerns about the Horn of Africa's peace and security. This paper examines the impact of the Middle East and Gulf States' involvement on peace and security in the Horn of Africa using RSC Theory (RSCT). The findings indicate that the Middle East and Gulf States' involvement, rooted in rivalry and competition, has become a source of instability and conflict in the Horn of Africa. These extra-regional powers have played a critical role in escalating conflicts and instilling insecurity in the region by focusing solely on their national security, geopolitical, and economic interests. Their destabilizing impact is particularly visible in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 3","pages":"223-245"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50148375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digest of Middle East Studies","authors":"Catherine Warrick","doi":"10.1111/dome.12302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12302","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Editor's Introduction&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this issue of the &lt;i&gt;Digest of Middle East Studies&lt;/i&gt;, we are pleased to present five articles on subjects both timely and important. From the theoretical and reflective to the practical and policy-developing, this issue offers, as always, works that engage both policy and social science concerns. This issue's articles have a broad geographical reach from Morocco to Iran and an equally broad range in terms of topical focus, but within this diversity they all address in one way or another issues of security, policy formation, and identity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Said Khanafira Mavadat's “Iran in the Sadrist Version of Iraqi Nationalism” investigates and explains Muqtada Sadr's construction of an Iraqi identity that is both specifically Arab and specifically Shiite, through the reshaping of the politically contingent narrative about Iran and Shiite identity and authority in the post-war Iraqi context. National identity issues are also the subject of Tuğçe Ersoy-Ceylan's article “Social Identities in Conflict: Israeli Palestinians and Israeli Jews.” Ersoy-Ceylan takes on a subject matter deeply familiar to observers to draw out new insights about similar identity dynamics in very differently-positioned peoples, offering an analysis grounded in recognition of the common human dynamics of security fears and their consequences.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In “Discursive Delegitimization of Rouhani's Nuclear Diplomacy and the Iran Nuclear Deal by Iranian Conservatives on Twitter,” Hossein Nourani, Mohammad Mohammadian, Reza Sarhaddi, Afsaneh Danesh, and Farzaneh Latifi present an interesting analysis of social media statements by Iranian public figures as a basis for understanding competing discourses with regard to domestic actors and nuclear policy. This research provides insight into both the discourse itself and the use of social media as a tool not only for popular protest but for what might be termed more ordinary political competition among public figures, as actors recognize the utility of Twitter for shaping public narratives of criticism of their opponents.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Micheale Gebru addresses security-related issues in “The Impact of the Middle East and Gulf States' Involvement on the Horn of Africa's Peace and Security,” making use of Regional Security Complex theory to analyze the growing Middle Eastern state presence in the Horn of Africa. This article offers a detailed account of external involvement in the region motivated by economic and foreign policy goals, the latter of which are both locally-centered and also at times connected to proxy competition with other Middle East actors. He finds that on balance, the effect of Middle East presence in the Horn of Africa has exacerbated local conflict and tended to destabilize rather than secure the region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We are also pleased to offer an article in our occasional “scholarly commentary” category, Jack Kalpakian's “The Lack of Environmental Cooperation in the Maghreb.” As always, these are peer-rev","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 3","pages":"162-163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12302","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50118020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Social identities in conflict: Israeli Palestinians and Israeli Jews","authors":"Tuğçe Ersoy-Ceylan","doi":"10.1111/dome.12300","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12300","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is generally referred as a territorial conflict, but it is also a conflict over the preservation of identity. This study analyzes the relations of Jews and Palestinians in Israel from an identity security perspective. It sheds light on how the communities perceive actions, discourses, and symbols as a mutual threat to their own identity. Adapting the concept of societal security dilemma (SSD), this study seeks to reveal the patterns of feeling insecure between the groups and to put forth the measures and countermeasures taken to secure identity. This approach contends that the measures and countermeasures taken to reduce the perception of threat do not lead to a feeling of security; on the contrary, it creates a cycle of constant threat perception, making the groups feel more insecure in terms of identity. I argue that this is the case for the Jews and Palestinians in Israel. The analytical dimensions of SSD are applied to the case via process tracing and historical analysis. However, I identify a gap unaddressed by these dimensions of the concept. The present study proposes an additional dimension—<i>confrontation</i>—to fill this gap.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 3","pages":"206-222"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50118021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digest of Middle East studies","authors":"C. Warrick","doi":"10.1111/(issn)1949-3606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/(issn)1949-3606","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75920551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discursive delegitimization of Rouhani's nuclear diplomacy and the Iran nuclear deal by Iranian conservatives on Twitter","authors":"Hossein Nourani,&nbsp;Mohammad Mohammadian,&nbsp;Reza Sarhaddi,&nbsp;Afsaneh Danesh,&nbsp;Farzaneh Latifi","doi":"10.1111/dome.12297","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12297","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The reformist-moderate and the conservative discourses have co-existed and contended for primacy in the Iranian foreign policy since the 1979 revolution. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, has been at the core of this discursive contest in recent years. This article investigates how Iranian conservative tweeters delegitimized the JCPOA and President Rouhani's nuclear diplomacy. We use Van Leeuwen's discursive construction of legitimacy (2008) to analyze three popular conservative Twitter accounts. Findings show that the Iranian conservatives used the strategies of authorization, moral evaluation, and rationalization for legal and political criticism of the JCPOA, offending Rouhani's administration and allies, and questioning their political competence. This research partly reveals the conservatives' anti-negotiation and anti-West logic and their refusal to offer a diplomatic alternative to the JCPOA.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 3","pages":"184-205"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50133884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Iran in the Sadrist version of Iraqi nationalism","authors":"Said Khanafira Mavadat","doi":"10.1111/dome.12299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12299","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Unlike many other Shiite political factions in Iraq, the Sadrist movement has become increasingly vocal in its criticism of Iranian influence in Iraq. Anti-Iran chants have become almost ubiquitous in Sadrist demonstrations over the past few years, and prominent Sadrist politicians have unabashedly pointed the finger of blame for Iraq's crises at Iran. The growing Sadrist criticism of Iran has simultaneously come with the gradual ascendance of nationalist narratives in the religious movement. This article aims to study these narratives and their correlation with Iran. It argues that the Sadrist version of Iraqi nationalism encompasses three components that aim to differentiate Iraqi Arab Shiite identity from Iran. It also studies how Sadrist nationalism contributed to the rise of the Iran-bashing trend among Iraqi Shiites.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 3","pages":"164-183"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50133883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The lack of environmental cooperation in the Maghreb","authors":"Jack V. Kalpakian","doi":"10.1111/dome.12298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12298","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This policy paper uses the Eightfold Path method developed by Bardach and Patashnik to study the problem that is the lack of Maghrebian trans-boundary cooperation on the environment. It argues that political conflict has been allowed to obstruct a field that should remain nonpolitical. The paper concludes with policy recommendations intended to generate debate among decision makers and lead to more effective water management policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"32 3","pages":"246-256"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50126232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}