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Zusatztext This extraordinary account breaks new ground by drawing upon Arabic and Persian sources to provide an analytically distinct, compelling, and highly original examination of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran and how narratives in each country have evolved and interacted over four turbulent decades. Informationen zum Autor Talal Mohammad Klappentext The fraught relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran is usually attributed to sectarian differences, even by the states' own elites. However, this book shows that in their official speeches, newspaper editorials and Friday sermons, these elites use sectarian and nationalist references and tropes to denigrate each other and promote themselves in the eyes of their respective constituencies in the region. Talal Mohammad, who is fluent in both Arabic and Persian, examines Saudi-Iranian rivalry using discourse analysis of these religious, political and journalistic sources. Tracing what has been produced since 1979 in parallel, he argues for a consistent pattern of mutual misrepresentation, whereby each frames its counterpart as the 'Other' to which a specific political agenda can be justified and advanced. The book covers key events including the Iranian Revolution, the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the Taliban war, the fall of Saddam, the Arab Spring, the rise of Mohammed bin Salman, and the war on ISIS. While until now Saudi-Iranian rivalry has been understood in primarily sectarian or geopolitical terms, the author argues here that the discursive othering serves as a propagandist function that supports more fundamental political and geopolitical considerations. Vorwort An assessment of the trajectory of Saudi-Iranian relations through analysis of how each portrays the other in official discourse, including official statements, media and Friday prayer sermons Zusammenfassung The fraught relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran is usually attributed to sectarian differences, even by the states’ own elites. However, this book shows that in their official speeches, newspaper editorials and Friday sermons, these elites use sectarian and nationalist references and tropes to denigrate each other and promote themselves in the eyes of their respective constituencies in the region. Talal Mohammad, who is fluent in both Arabic and Persian, examines Saudi-Iranian rivalry using discourse analysis of these religious, political and journalistic sources. Tracing what has been produced since 1979 in parallel, he argues for a consistent pattern of mutual misrepresentation, whereby each frames its counterpart as the ‘Other’ to which a specific political agenda can be justified and advanced. The book covers key events including the Iranian Revolution, the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the Taliban war, the fall of Saddam, the Arab Spring, the rise of Mohammed bin Salman, and the war on ISIS. While until now Saudi-Iranian rivalry has been understood in primarily sectarian or geopolitical terms, the author argues here that the discursive othering serves as a propagandist function that supports more fundamental political and geopolitical considerations. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Part I. Khomeini’s Revolution and Islamic Leadership, 1979-1988 Chapter 1. Imam Ali’s Government & The Kingdom of IslamChapter 2. Export of the Revolution and the GCCChapter 3. Iranian Sacred Defence & the Arab Qadissiya Part 2. Vali-ye Faqih II and the de facto King, 1989-2002 Chapter 4. Arab Treachery in the Persian Gulf: Iran’s ‘Active Neutrality’Chapter 5. Against All Odds: Abdullah and Rafsanjani’s Seeds of Détente Chapter 6. ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’ and Islamic Partnership Part 3. The Rise of the Shi’i Crescent, 2003-2010 Chapter 7. Fall of Saddam and the Rise of Iran: Return to Radicalism?Chapter 8. Contest for Arab Leadership: Hezbollah’s 34-Day WarChapter 9. The Road to Jerusalem: A Question of Islami...
