Salafism and Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Policy Towards Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

2 Ph.D. Student in International Relations, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

Abstract

This article has chosen the theoretical framework of ontological security to explain the impact of Salafism on Saudi Arabia's Middle East policy. The question is why Saudi Arabia has moved towards more support for the Taqlidi Salafist movement over the past decade, and what the identity and security implications of this support have been? The argument of the article is that the role and position of Salafism in Saudi Arabia's Middle East policy should be considered as a continuation of the historical alliance between Al-Saud and Al-Sheikh, which has played an important role in maintaining the identity and security of this actor. But the internal dynamism of the Salafi discourse, the emergence of regional rivalries, and the emergence of the so-called global counter-terrorism literature have shifted the discourse into Saudi Arabia's Middle East policy, leading to differences in identity and security with other Salafi, Sunni, and Islamism currents. The findings of the article show that between 2011 and 2020, Saudi Arabia placed Taqlidi Salafism as a pragmatic current with a conservative reading and close to the official institution of Wahhabism at the center of its Middle East policy, especially in Yemen and Libya. The present article is based on explanatory-analytical approach and the required information has been collected by library method and internet sources.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Article Title [Persian]

سلفیسم و سیاست خارجی خاورمیانه‎ای عربستان درقبال ایران

Authors [Persian]

  • رضا سیمبر 1
  • کامران کرمی 2
1 استاد روابط بین الملل، دانشکده علوم سیاسی و انسانی، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت ایران.
2 دانشجوی دکتری روابط بین الملل، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران
Abstract [Persian]

این مقاله چارچوب نظری امنیت هستی شناختی را برای تبیین تأثیر سلفی گری بر سیاست خاورمیانه ای عربستان سعودی انتخاب کرده است. سوال این است که چرا عربستان سعودی در دهه گذشته به سمت حمایت بیشتر از جنبش سلفی تقلیدی حرکت کرده است و این حمایت چه پیامدهای هویتی و امنیتی داشته است. استدلال مقاله این است که نقش و جایگاه سلفی گری در سیاست خاورمیانه ای عربستان را باید ادامه اتحاد تاریخی آل سعود و آل شیخ دانست که نقش مهمی در حفظ هویت و امنیت این کشور داشته است. اما پویایی هایی درونی گفتمان سلفی، بروز رقابت های منطقه ای و ظهور ادبیات به اصطلاح جهانی مبارزه با تروریسم، این گفتمان را به سمت سیاست خاورمیانه ای عربستان سعودی سوق داده است که منجر به تفاوت هویت و امنیت با سایر جریان های سلفی، سنی و اسلام گرا شده است. یافته های مقاله نشان می دهد که عربستان سعودی طی سال های 2011 تا 2020، سلفی گری تقلیدی را به عنوان یک جریان عملگرا با قرائتی محافظه کارانه و نزدیک به نهاد رسمی وهابیت در مرکز سیاست خاورمیانه ای خود به ویژه در یمن و لیبی قرار داده است. مقاله حاضر از نوع تبیینی- تحلیلی بوده و اطلاعات مورد نیاز به روش کتابخانه ای گردآوری شده است.

Keywords [Persian]

  • سلفی گری. سلفیه تقلیدی.عربستان سعودی.سیاست خارجی.خاورمیانه
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