The effect of Saudi ideological conflicts on behavioral tensions with Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Political Science, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran

Abstract

Objective: Saudi Arabia is considered as an effective regional actor in the Middle East, which uses friendly and hostile tactics in its foreign policy. The aim of the current research is to investigate the impact of Saudi ideological conflicts on the tension with Iran.
Method: The data collection method is based on documentary method, comparative research strategy, data analysis method is process tracking and inspired by constructivist security theory.
Findings: The findings of the research show that Saudi Arabia, with the support of the United States of America, uses ideological contradictions such as identity, ideological confrontation, hostility, a certain type of political culture, security community, sectarianism, mental images of political actors, to confront the Islamic Republic of Iran with the support of the United States of America. It has played a significant role in the continuation of confrontation and divergence with Iran. These conflicts of thought have led to behavioral tensions such as preventing the revolution, opposing the nuclear program, transferring responsibility to America, cooperating with Israel, etc.
Conclusion: The root of Saudi Arabia's behavioral tensions with Iran lies in ideological contradictions and the nature of the Islamic revolution, which originates in the disruption of the former order of the Middle East and the formation of a new order on top of it. Although in some cases relatively good relations have been formed between the two countries, ideological conflicts prevent a strong union between them.

Keywords

References

Abbasi Ashqali, Majid and Farkhi, Morteza (2009). “Analytical framework for the concept of security from a constructivist perspective”, Political Studies Quarterly, second year, number 6, winter: 71-96. (In Persain)
Abdullah Khani, Ali (2011). Theories of security, Tehran: Abrar Mazazer. (In Persain)
Afzali, Rasul; Najafi, Sajjad (2018). “Explanation of the key indicators affecting the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the time horizon of 2022”, Defense Research Quarterly, No. 9, summer: 7-34.
Aghaei, Dawood (2015). Politics and Government in Saudi Arabia, Tehran, Mizan Publishing House. (In Persain)
Aghaei, Dawoud; Rasouli Thaniabadi, Elham (2011). “The effect of the information revolution on national security from the perspective of international relations theories”, Law and Political Science Faculty Journal, fall, Volume 41, Number 3: 23-37. (In Persain)
Ahmadian, Hassan (2016). “Evolution in the regional policy of Saudi Arabia; King Salman's remarks”, Foreign Relations Quarterly, No. 32, winter: 97-122. (In Persain)
Ale Seyed Ghafoor, Seyed Mohsen; Kazemi, Ehsan; Mousavi Dehmourdi, Seyed Mohammad (2015). “Explanation of the strategic competition between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia in Yemen”, Foreign Policy Quarterly, Year 29 - Number 2, summer: 145-167. (In Persain)
Ansari, Ali & Kasra, Aarabi (2019). “Ideology and Iran’s Revolution: How 1979 Changed the World”, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, https://institute.global/sites/default/files/articles/Ideology-and-Iran-s-Revolution-How-1979-Changed-the-World.pdf. (In Persain)
Azghandi, Alireza; Agha Alikhani, Mehdi (2013). “Investigating regional factors of divergence in Iran-Saudi relations (2014-2015)”, Political Quarterly, No. 26, summer: 225-244. (In Persain)
Baiedi-nejad, Hamid (2016). “Iran's precondition for Saudi Arabia”, retrieved on November 5, 2015 from tararu.com/fa/293749
Andrew; Checkel, Jeffrey T (2015). Process Tracing From Metaphor Analytic Tool, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cerioli, Luíza Gimenez (2018). Roles and International Behavior: Saudi–Iranian Rivalry in Bahrain’s and Yemen’s Arab Spring, Brazil: Pontifical Universidad Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Relações Internacionais.
Coates Ulrichsen, Kristian (2016). The Gulf States in International Political Economy, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.
Davodi, Ali Asghar (2012). “Security from the perspective of constructivist school”, political studies quarterly, fourth year, number 16, summer: 29-50. (In Persain)
Dehghani Firouzabadi, Seyyed Jalal; Rostami, Farzad; Daneshnia, Farhad (2022). “The perspective of Iran-Saudi relations; Future Scenarios and Solutions”, World Politics, No. 36, summer: 245-288. (In Persain).
Ekhtiyari Amiri, Reza (2015). “The effect of Saudi Wahhabism's confrontation with Iran's Islamic Revolution discourse on the new geopolitics of the Middle East”, Political Thought in Islam, No. 6, winter: 125-149. (In Persain)
Ghaddar, H. (2018). “Iran’s foreign legion: The impact of Shia militias on U.S. foreign policy”. (Policy Notes, number 46). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Gharayag Zandi, Dawood (2015). “Prospects of the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia: Possible scenarios”, Political Science Quarterly, Volume 19, Number 73, spring: 101-128. (In Persain)
Glenn, Cameron (2016). “Iran v. Saudi Arabia: Four-Part Series”, URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org, uploads/2016/01/ (accessed: 16.03.2021).
Guzzini, Stafano; Leander, Anne (2006). Alaxanderwent and His Critics, Constructivism and International Relations, London and New York; Routledge.
‌Hegghammer, Thomas (2010). Jihad in Saudi Arabia Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979, Cambridge University Press.
Hinnebusch, Raymond (2003). The international politics of the Middle East, Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York.
Hosseini, Seyyed Mohammad (2019). “Structural determination in Iran-Saudi relations; From Dostuni doctrine to after the Arab spring”, Hajj and Pilgrimage research magazine bi-quarterly, year 4, number 4, autumn and winter: 123-148. (In Persain)
Jansiz, Ahmed; Bahrami, Sajjad (2013). “the regional competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East from 2011 to 2013”, Middle East Studies, No. 73, Summer: 29-54. (In Persain)
Karami, Ali; Aghareb Parast, Mohammad Reza (2022). “Threat perception in Iran-Saudi relations in the Middle East and Central Asia”, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Quarterly, No. 118, summer: 139-166. (In Persain)
Khalili, Reza; Mehraban Inchebrun, Hamed (2019). “International social capital; A framework for explaining Iran-Saudi relations”, Geopolitics Quarterly, No. 54: 118-144. (In Persain)
Khalili, Reza; Yazdanfam, Mohammad; Mehraban Inchebrun, Hamed (2019). “The impact of international social capital on the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia after the Islamic Revolution”, Contemporary Political Essays Quarterly, 10th year, spring: 127-157. (In Persain)
Khan, I. (2014). “Why is Iraq so important to Iran?”. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/8/10/why-is-iraq-so-important-to-iran.
Khatib, lina (2021). “Political Culture in the Arab World: Assumptions and Complexities”. URL: https://www.kas.de/documents/282499/282548/.
Khezri, Ehsan; Safavi, Seyyed Hamzeh; Parhizgar, Amin (2015), "Rooting Iran-Saudi Arabia conflicts (a case study of the three countries of Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen)", Political and International Research, No. 23, Summer, pp. 179-208, in persain.
Knights, M., & Levitt, M. (2018). The evolution of Shia insurgency in Bahrain. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Lawrense, Rubin (2014). Islam in the Balance Ideational Threats in Arab Politics, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Maasoumi, Mohsen (2015). “Wahhabism and the spread of radical Islam in Southeast Asia”, Historical Studies of the Islamic World, No. 6, autumn and winter: 109-132. (In Persain)
Mansouri Moghadam, Mohammad (2013). “The identity component and its influence on the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia towards the Islamic Jamhvi of Iran”, Perelman and Strategy Quarterly, No. 72, winter: 77-100. (In Persain)
Massoudnia, Hossein; Forozan, Younes; Alishahi, Abdul Reza (2016). “Transfer of power in Saudi Arabia: The effects of the change of fiefdom on the foreign policy structure of Saudi Arabia”, Political and International Approaches, fall, No. 47: 137-172. (In Persain)
McDonald, M (2008). “Securitization and the Construction of Security”, European Journal of International Relations, 14(4).
Mirza, Muhammad Nadeem, Abbas, Hussain, Qaisrani, Irfan Hasnain (2021). “Structural Sources of Saudi–Iran Rivalry and Competition for the Sphere of Influence”, URL: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage.
Moshirzadeh, Hamira (2005). Evolution in theories of international relations, Tehran: Samt. (In Persain)
Motaghi, Ebrahim (2016). “Saudi Arabia's strategic actions to confront Iran”, Bimonthly Diplomatic Hamshahri, No. 93, October and November. (In Persain)
Mousavi Shahidi, Seyed Mehdi; Zarei, Bahad; Pishgahi Fard, Zahra; Badi Azandahi, Marjan; Vasheq, Mahmoud (2022). “The rotation of Iran-Saudi relations in two dimensions of geopolitical interaction and confrontation and the fields of their formation”, human geography researches, fifty-fourth volume - number 2, summer: 457-478. (In Persain)
Mousavi, Seyyed Mohammad; Bakhshi Taliabi, Ramin (2012). “The impact of ideological issues on Saudi foreign policy towards Iran from 2003 onwards”, Political and International Research Quarterly, No. 11, summer: 61-100. (In Persain)
Naderi, Abbas; Ahmadiyan, Ghodrat; Daneshnia, Farhad (2021). “Conflicting social and identity construction and the recurrence of crisis in Iran-Saudi relations after the Islamic revolution, bi-quarterly journal of politics and international relations”, spring and summer, fifth year, number 9: 142-159. (In Persain)
Nasr Esfahani, Mohsen (2020). “Analysis of the social structure governing the Persian Gulf region with an emphasis on Iran-Saudi relations”, Islamic Revolution Studies Quarterly, No. 63, winter: 55-74. (In Persain)
Nazemi Qarabagh, Mehdi (2011). “Neo-Wahhabism as a quasi-modern discourse”, Islamic World Strategic Studies Quarterly, Year 12, Number 48, and winter. (In Persain)
Nazer, Fauad (2015). “Saudi-Egyptian Relation at the Crossroads”, the Arab Gulf State Institute in Washington, winter.
­Onuf, Nicholas (2013). World of Our Making; Rules and Rule in Social Theory and International Relations,
Parsaii, Jafar (2021). “Analysis of the factors of divergence and confrontation in Iran-Saudi relations”, Foreign Policy Quarterly, 35th year - No. 1, spring: 83-114. (In Persain)
Pasha, A. K. (2016). “Saudi Arabia and the Iranian nuclear deal. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 3(4), 387-404. https://doi.org/10.1177/234779891666461.
PourAkhoundi, Nader (2016). “The alliance between Saudi Arabia and Israel; Efforts to maintain the regional balance”, estimate, Qalam Applied Studies Research Institute, No. 43-44, Mehr and Aban. (In Persain)
Qaidaari, A. (2015). “Does Iran have a card to play in Bahrain?”, Al-Monitor. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/iran-bahrain-saraya-mukhtar.html.
Qavvam, Seyyed Abdul Ali (2011). International Relations: Theories and Approaches, Tehran: Samt Publications, in persain.
Rubin, A. J., Hassan, F. (2019). “Iraq protesters burn down Iran consulate in night of anger”. The New York Times.
Rubin, B. (2011). The Middle East: A Guide to Politics, Economics, Society, and Culture. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe.
Saberfard, Alireza; Kabiri, Hassan (2018). “Crisis-causing components in Iran-Saudi relations (2000-2017)”, Islamic World Political Studies, No. 30, summer: 128-147. (In Persain)
Sadeghi aval, Hadi; Naqdi Ishrat Abad, Jafar; Mirkoshesh, Amir Houshang (2014). “Analysis of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia from the perspective of motivational realism theory; (2005-2015)”, Political and International Research Quarterly, No. 25, winter: 129-156. (In Persain)
Saei, Ahmed; Alikhani, Mehdi (2012). “Studying the cycle of conflict in relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia with an emphasis on the period 2014-2015”, Political Science Quarterly (Azad Karaj University), Year 9 - Number 22, Spring: 103-130.
Samiie Esfahani, Alireza; Rajaee, Mohammad Sadegh (2017). “Explanation of the mechanism of reproducing the rule of the Saudi king in the light of the Arab Spring”, World Politics, No. 12, summer: 149-182. (In Persain)
Scahill, J., Hussain, M. (2019). “The changing of the overlords: From the rubble of the U.S. war in Iraq, Iran built a new order”. The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2019/11/18/us-iraq-invasion-iran/.
Scott Cooper, A. (2011). The Oil Kings, How the US, Iran & Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East. London: One world Publications.
Shihabi, Ali (2018). The Iranian Threat: The Saudi Perspective, the London School Economic and Political Science.
Shirzad Neshli, Hamidreza; Bagherizadeh, Ali; Vafaei, Khosrow (2020). “Analysis of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia; West Asian region, a case study of Yemen”, Political Science Quarterly (Karaj Azad University), No. 52, and fall: 1-24.
Torabi, Qasem (2016). “Saudi Arabia's competition with Iran from a military perspective”, Tehran, Ezada, Qalam Applied Studies Research Institute, No. 43-44, Mehr and Aban.
Yari, Ehsan; Mohammadipour, Fatemeh (2022). “The regional deterrence system in the Persian Gulf and its impact on the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia”, Security Research, No. 73, spring: 131-151.
Volume 13, Issue 46
June 2023
Pages 109-132

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics