Browsing by Author "Munassar, Omar"
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Item National role conceptions and orientations of Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia as competing regional powers in the Middle East: 1979-2020(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2021-02-11) Munassar, Omar; Arı, Tayyar; Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi/Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü/Uluslararası İlişkiler Anabilim Dalı/Uluslararası İlişkiler Bilim Dalı.; 0000-0002-3663-7973This study utilizes role theory to examine the role conceptions and behavior of the three competing regional powers in the Middle East, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia since 1979. Theoretically, the research aims at developing a contest-based regional role approach by highlighting four role behavior dimensions to study Middle Eastern regional powerhood and competition. Such role behavior applied to the Middle East revolves around four role behavioral dimensions that shape competing regional powers as a causal dimension (role sources), orientational (role orientations), expectational (role expectations), and contestational (role challenges). Being the Middle East a conflictive region, this thesis argues that regional powers seek regional power status by playing leading regional roles that vary between cooperative, competitive, and status quo. These cooperative roles are expected to contribute to regionalism, competitive roles are expected to bid hegemony, and status quo roles are expected to either maintain or challenge the regional power status quo. Analytically, the primary purpose of the study is to contribute to the Middle East IR scholarship by debating and understanding the regional role competition for regional power status by Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia since 1979. By reflecting on the structural and ideational sources of roles, the study aims to explain how the shift and consistency of national role conceptions—those regionaloriented roles—shape foreign policy orientations and expectations and thus influence the dynamics of regional cooperation and competition. The study also explores how the Islamic Revolution of Iran shaped Iran’s revisionist regional roles that affected the regional security order and triggered counter-regional roles of other regional powers, especially Saudi Arabia. Finally, it seeks to clarify that, while Turkey and Saudi Arabia are two Sunni status quo regional powers, they have acted differently since the Arab Spring uprisings and played competing roles; the former plays revolutionary liberal roles, and the latter plays counter-revolutionary conservative roles. Thus, such regional dynamics have transformed the regional status quo and these three regional powers’ roles.Publication Two stages of Turkey's quest for a regional power status in the middle east: An integrated role-status-seeking approach(Hale Sivgin, 2020-12-01) Arı, Tayyar; Munassar, Omar; ARI, CAFER TAYYAR; MUNASSAR, OMAR MOHSEN MOHSEN; Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi/İktisat ve İdare Bilimler Fakültesi/Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü; 0000-0002-3874-3622; AAW-4644-2021; U-6256-2019Since 2002, Turkey has actively been seeking a regional power status in the Middle East through the articulation of regional roles based on historical legacy and liberal experience. Theoretically, the paper seeks to contribute to regional power literature by integrating role theory with status-seeking theory and examining the interactions between them. This integrated approach suggests that the role orientations of aspiring regional power and regional counter-roles determine the level of status recognition of that regional power in a given regional power hierarchy. Using this approach, the paper examines the fluctuations in Turkey's pursuit of regional power status in the Middle East over two uneven stages before and after the Arab Spring. It shows that Turkey was able to play regional cooperative roles and improve its regional power status during the first stage (2002-2011) while has stumbled over the period since the Arab Spring.