Political Constructivism in the Relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran from Post-Islamic Awakening to Post- JCPOA

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD of communication sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University

2 Corresponding author: PhD candidate of communication sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University

Abstract

Following the outbreak of the Islamic awakening in West Asia (the Middle East) and North Africa, a new approach was established in the relationship between regional powers, especially between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Although the relationship between the two countries had previously been based on a kind of mistrust and close political, geopolitical and ideological rivalries, the important characteristics of this era was the change of power and politics in the West Asian region, especially since 2012. From 2012, the region countered major regional security and political challenges, placing the two countries far away from each other.  This research is an attempt to answer the question of what causes made two countries go back to previous mistrust in their relationship. Furthermore, what are the possible scenarios for the continuation of the two countries relationship? The findings, based on the theory of political constructivism and derived from written and virtual sources as well as the combined methods of historical and futuristic sociology, indicated that the major causes of backward movement in the relationship between the two countries can be categorized as soft and hard factors. The hard components include the development of heavy military and weaponry contracts and the militarization of West Asia (the Middle East), the attempt to develop terrorism in the political geography of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the effective role of Riyadh in the Syrian crisis, Saudi’s pragmatic positions in the Iraqi crisis, the military aggression against Yemen and Ansarollah movement, and Riyadh's standpoint on the Palestinian issue and the repression of the Saudi Shiites. Soft components include the expansion of security coalitions with the Zionist regime, Saudi’s hostile position towards Iran's nuclear dealing (JCPOA), and splitting the Shiite resistance front focusing on Iraq.

Keywords

References

 
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Security Horizons
Volume 12, Issue 43
September 2019
Pages 139-165

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History

  • Receive Date: 29 July 2019
  • Revise Date: 13 December 2019
  • Accept Date: 16 February 2020

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