Battle of Sects? Iran and Saudi Arabia’s Role Conflict in the MENA

Babak RezaeeDaryakenari, Özgür Özdamar and Yasemin Akbaba
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Babak RezaeeDaryakenari: Leiden University

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Abstract: This paper examines the impact of faith-based national role conceptualizations (NRCs) in the Iran-Saudi Arabia rivalry in recent history. We build on the previous scholarship that merges the influence of power politics and religion with a focus on how instrumental motivations shape religion-based policymaking. Employing automated content analysis, we quantify religious and secular foreign policy role conceptualizations ascribed to Iranian and Saudi foreign policy by their officials from 2015 to 2021. We analyze eight official Twitter/X accounts to illustrate role conceptualizations. Results reveal the coexistence and frequent, dynamic, and selective use of both types of NRCs by both states’ officials. Also, each state’s utilization of specific NRCs correlates with responses to the rival’s adoption of competing NRCs, offering insights into the nature of Iran-Saudi competition in the region. We conclude by discussing the role of religion in the foreign policies of Saudi Arabia and Iran, two MENA states with theocratic structures. Methodologically, this study contributes to the emerging field of political analysis of social media data in International Relations and represents a pioneering effort within religion literature in political science.

Date: 2024-10-10
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DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/rt2pb

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