An Analysis of Geopolitical Meta-Narration Governing the Middle East (A New Approach to Studies on Territoriality in Geopolitics)

Geopolitical developments and dynamics southwest of Asia are affected by diversity of discourses and pro-discourses (halo discourses). Three dominant discourses, i.e. Islamic Republic of Iran's "Shiite Islam Discourse", Sunni Arabs' "Anti-Shiia Discourse" and West's "Anti-Terrorism Discourse", are the most distinguished types of discourses in the series. All the three discourses enjoy dominant identity; On the basis of the dominant identity, the discourses try to define the identity of the `Other` as the enemy. On the same basis, the Sunni Arabs' "Anti-Shiia Discourse" considers "Shiism" and "Iran" as the `Other,' whereas the Islamic Republic's "Shiia Islam" Discourse takes "Secularism" and "the US" as the `Other'. The Western Discourse, however, considers "Campaign against Terrorism" and "Campaign against Islamic Fundamentalism" as the `Other.' That's exactly the key point. Based on the theory of the vigilant power of the `Self' and considering the components of the soft war, the Western Discourse does not believe in having any friend or enemy to the `Self' in any time or location; rather, it does so based on its pragmatic or functional foreign policy depending on the type of the strategies it takes and the geopolitical goals it follows. The geopolitical discourses of both Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran believe in a fixed identity and take a single country as the `Other' and consequently, on the basis of the same `Other" they provide their geopolitical narration under all times and circumstances.