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Redundancy of Westphalia? The case of Saudi Wahhabism. (Saudi Wahhabism,…
Redundancy of Westphalia? The case of Saudi Wahhabism.
Westphalia
Treaty signed in 1648 after the 30 year was which had brought mass violence and damage to Europe
Motivations for war was mostly fuelled by religious differences
established sovereignty norm (states authority in the international spectrum to have control over its own people and territory)
This, moreover brought the state in as the point of analysis in IR
State legitimacy
legitimate if a basic responsibility towards citizens is upheld (liberal notion) responsibility is put into comparison towards a control which was exercised beforehand
What or who gives out legitimacy? And subsequently sovereignty to states? Who has the power to take it away? How do non-nation-states fit into the picture?
English school
Building on realist school- system is in a state of anarchy.
International system vs society
International system
the space where states are influenced and therefore operate in a certain way within anarchy
International society
is when states agree on certain sets of rules and norms
English school argues that the treaty was the birth of an international society setting the norm of state sovereignty
Saudi Wahhabism
Wahhabism becomes evident in Saudi Arabia in the 18th century
House of Saud vs al Wahhab, rulers and spiritual rulers
Alliance was never tension free
Modern state formation
Power relations and embedded Wahhabism becomes apparent
Oil powerhouse began in the 50s
approach development projects with ambivalence
seen especially in the hesitation of the royal family on how to approach:
a boom of money from the oil boom
preserving the countries values and religious influence
As a result of this hesitation the state developed a two dimensional approach in the 60s and 70s
Adaption of western technology, new economic resources, expansion of oil exploitation and the establishment of new institutions
western idea of modernisation is not applicable for all
government stability and non-western traditions were not acknowledged as development
development discourse reductionist and ahistorical
imposed from above or below?
preservation of traditional societal structures, conforming reliigous and political traditional structures, conforming religious and political traditional structures
Saudi Arabia as a threat
Education in Saudi Arabia
Religious educational books are divided into law, tradition, beliefs regarding monotheism
Critiques by US for promoting violence and shadowing subjects as maths and english as well as historical facts- which are often changed and fabricated to fit a narrative according to Shea (2017)
Books even used by extreme groups such as ISIS
Kissinger
Tension between the world system which the US is apart of (the Westphalian model) and the islamic world view
Ummah, the community is a central belief of the islamic community according to Kissinger- this is strictly in conflict with the Westphalian sovereignty norm
this directly threatens the balance of power for example
Since the '50s there has been a development between the US and Saudi as allies
The siege of Mecca '79
Breaking point for the Westphalian state Saudi Arabia
Kissinger argues that Saudi is playing a 'double game' by subidising Wahhabism internationally, whilst still being incorporated into the international Westphalian community
Resurgence of religion
"the growing saliency and persuasiveness of religion....and this is occurring in ways that have significant implications for international politics"
Previous secularisation that has to happen before
Weber argued that in modernisation there has to be a subsequent rationalisation in this process
rationalisation leads to secularisation
no place for religious conviction in the international context
This alleged resurgence has led to a fear of growing irrationality
often described as a process rather than a event
can be traced back to the 70s
End of cold war
September 11th 2001
Acceleration of the discourse
brought back into academia and the public sphere from the so called 'westphalian exile'
changed the consensus and view of international politics