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Compartive review essay -- Middle Eastern Politics - Coggle Diagram
Compartive review essay -- Middle Eastern Politics
Islamist violence and regime stability article
Whats it about
Saudi Arabia
Reasons for the rise in al-Qaeda's violence in early/mid 2000s.
Rejects current litreature on why the surge in violence occured.
Divisions in the jihadist camp between those focused on the near and far enemy.
Marks an engagement with theory.
Engaging with groups that are seeking to change the Saudi government.
Enagages with why 'reform' attempts failed.
Rejects the idea that calls for reform were economic, instead placing the blame at the feet of the War in Iraq.
Seeking social contract article
Whats it about
Growing calls for reform in areas of the press and public life.
Highlights economic issues as a reason for reform.
Intresting difference and area of comparison
Enagement with previous reform movements.
The role of the government/prince Abdullah in the push to reform.
Abdullah has been accomdating.
Still limited.
The role of peaceful opposition in calling for reform through petitions.
Threats posed by te War on Terror (Saudi bashing and thr power of reactionary forces).
There has been a rise in radical Islamist clergymen.
Thematic connect = state-opposition contention and challenges to authoritarian survival
Similaritites
The same country case study and the same focus on opposition groups and how they are seeking to change the country.
No engagement in social movement theory such as resource mobilistion theory or deprivation theory.
Differences
The types of groups they are looking at: peaceful reformers vs militants
Different perspectives as to why reform movements have picked up: economic vs political
reformist vs radical
talk about enagement with relevant theory
look at the key differences.
Introduction
Synopsis of the articles
Both Jones and Hegghammer seek to enage with the issue of political reform in Saudi Arabia in the pre-Arab Spring Middle East (2003 and 2008). Jones seeks to explore the role of civil society and reformist movements in pushing for political change in conjuction with prince Abdullah (2003, p43) with most focus being applied to liberalising and de-secterian movements over those of the conservtives Islamist movements (2003).
Meanwhile Hegghammer, writing a few years after and therefore after the surge in reactionary Islamist violence, looks at al-Qaeda's attempts to push for political reform (2008). His focus is on why there was a movement from classical jihadism that focused on the far enemy to global jihadism that focused on the near enemy (Hegghammer, 2008, p706).
Whilist both articles discuss the issue of opposition in Saudi Arabia, the key thematic connect, both offer different justifications for the rise in these opposition groups.
Provide a very minimal explanation of what they are then they straigh into the argueent and article outline.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both articles pursue different logics to explain the rise of their chosen opposition groups with Jones arguing that a faltering economy has forced reform into the necissity, therefore opening up space for the opposistion (2003, pp42/43) whilist Hegghamer points to the fall of the Taliban and a changing political enviroment for al-Qaeda as the reason for their redeployment to Saudi Arabia and their surge in violence (2008, p709).
Arguement
Hegghammer politics vs Jones economics
Whilist both articles enage with the same broad topic of political opposition in Saudi Arabia, both articles seek to explain the rise of their respective political movements differently.
At the core of Hegghammer's analysis of the rise of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia is the changing political dynamics across the region following the fall of the Taliban (2008, p709). This is instead of looking to explain the rise of al-Qaeda on any socio-economic problems in Saudi Arabia or as a reaction to the war in Iraq (Hegghammer, 2008, p714).
Meanwhile Jones takes a different approach as to explain the rise in the rise and strenghtening of the opposition. Although he enages with the importance of prince Abdullah in creating space for political opposition to be active (Jones, 2003, p43), this is only able to occur because of a weakening Saudi economy which is streching the government (Jones, 2003, p42).
This offers a completely different explanation to Hegghammer, who categorically rejects the idea that economics is driving the rise in al-Qaeda (2008, p714) and therefore the opposition.
While not mentioning it directly Hegghammer's explaination for the rise of al-Qaeda is Resource Mobilistion Theory, which argues that social movements emerge, or take action in al-Qaeda's case, when they develop the connections, assets and resources to act (
al-Qteishat, 2024, pp34540-34542
). The recall of al-Qaeda militants following the fall of the Taliban and their redeployment to Saudi Arabia, alognside effective organisers in the country, enabled this (Hegghammer, 2008, pp709-711).
Include strengths and weaknesses in the bits discussing their engagement with theory and their arguements.
Strengths and weaknesses of the articles
Whilist both articles are relatively strong and look at key opposition groups in Saudi Arabia, Jones' article does fall short due to its limited focus on reactionary Islamist forces (2008, pp44-45). The article dedicates less than a single page to the role of reactionary Islamist to reform movements in Saudi Arabia and therefore largwly ignoring a key political movement (
Robbins, 2023
and
this should be able to support it as well
)
Could talk about the lack of enagement with social movement theory.