Shaken Piers of the Middle East
Peninsular Pipsqueaks and Hegemons
Public Lecture - Vol.
X No. VI, CXXI, MMXVI
Costantinos Berhutesfa
Costantinos, PhD,
Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies,
College of Business & Economics, AAU,
Abstract
Samuel P.
Huntington in his work The Clash
of Civilizations proposed
that people's cultural and religious identities would be the primary source of
conflict in the post-Cold War world. In this, Huntington believed that while
the age of ideology had ended, the world had only reverted to a normal state of
affairs characterized by cultural conflict.
In his classic The Anarchical Society,
the scholar Hedley Bull argued that there was a perennial tension in the world
between forces of order and forces of disorder, with the details of the balance
between them defining each era’s particular character. This lecture is
premised on ‘Shaken Stalwarts of Arabia, Western Islamophobia & Quo Vadis
Middle East’ addresses the challenges faced by the Arab states in the brutal
wars they are involved literally throughout the region. The Arabian pillars
shaken today are the international
community normalises diplomatic and trade ties with Iran, the US engages Iran
as a partner toward restoring stability in the region and the US-Iranian nuclear
deal moves forward. US legislators appear willing to mirror the anti-Saudi
ground sentiment by passing a bill that opens The peninsular hegemon to
lawsuits by families of the 9/11 victims. Another pillar
that is being shaken is the Wahhabi pillar that has been inculcated as part of
the Saudi national identity (Saleem, 2016). Islamophobia has become a
significant factor driving politics in many Western countries. Islamophobia –
fear of Muslims – is now highly visible among European populations concerned
about terrorist responses from Islamic groups claiming Jihadi links.
Key words: Middle East, Shaken Piers, Islamophobia,
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