"Analysing the psychology of fourteen modern leaders from eight countries and three non-state organisations, Özgür Özdamar and Sercan Canbolat reconsider politics and power in the MENA region. Observing commonalities and differences between these leaders, the authors offer novel insights into their foreign policy and how best to negotiate with them"--
Since December 2010, a series of uprisings, revolutions, coups and civil wars have shaken up the Middle East and North Africa region. In this chaotic political environment, several countries have been trying to influence this regional transformation. The implications of this transformation are of great importance for the region, its people and global politics. Using a rich combination of primary and secondary sources, elite interviews and content analysis, Yasemin Akbaba and zgr zdamar apply role theory to analyze ideational (e.g. identity, religion) and material (e.g. security, economy) sources of national role conceptions in Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The authors take a closer look at the transformation of these four powers' foreign policies since the beginning of Arab uprisings, with a specific focus on religion. Each case study is written to a common template allowing for clear comparative analyses. Written in a clear and accessible style, Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa offers a thought provoking and pioneering insightinto the usefulness of role theory in foreign policy making in the developing world. The perfect combination of theoretically oriented and empirically rich analysis make this volume an ideal resource for scholars and researchers of International Relations, Foreign Policy, Middle East Politics and International Security.
Unpacking ego in role theory : vertical and horizontal role contestation and foreign policy / Cristian Cantir and Juliet Kaarbo -- Role contestation in the July 1914 crisis : the British and French cases / Joe D. Hagan -- Active independent or faithful ally? : the domestic contestation of national role conceptions in Australia after World War II / Klaus Brummer and Cameron G. Thies -- Role theory and Japanese security policy / Keiko Hirata -- Contesting Belgium's role in development cooperation / Marijke Breuning -- Domestic sources of changing Turkish foreign policy towards the MENA during the 2010s : a role theoretic approach / Özgür Özdamar -- Intervention : domestic contestation and Britain's national role conceptions / Jamie Gaskarth -- Belief systems and foreign policy roles : role contestation in U.S. foreign policy decisions / Stephen G. Walker, Mark Schafer, and John Beieler -- To be or not to be a state? : role contestation in the debate over Scottish independence / Ryan Beasley, Juliet Kaarbo, and Hannah Solomon-Strauss -- Multi-level role contestation : the EU in the Libyan crisis -- Nicole koenig -- Agents in structures : insights from cases of internal role contestation / Juliet Kaarbo and Cristian Cantir