Islamic Middle East: Characteristics and Some Features of Modern Transformations of Political Identity

Alekseev Nikolai Nikolaevich ORCID: 0000-0002-5154-7554 Assistant, Department of Russian History and Politics, Institute of International Relations and World History, National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod  603005, Russia, Nizhny Novgorod region, Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanova str., 2 kseven@mail.ru Other publications by this author

IntroductionThe Middle East region is traditionally one of the most attractive objects for research among specialists in historical and political sciences, due to the permanent relevance and fundamental nature of the processes taking place in this region, as well as the importance of this region for global stability and security.

The regional system of international relations, as well as the entire socio-political environment of the Middle East, is characterized by a special identity. Due to these characteristics, the Middle East in the civilizational aspect can be considered almost a key non-Western region that has a serious impact on all spheres of world politics and international relations.

In domestic and foreign science, the geographical framework of the Middle East has a certain dynamic. The subject field and boundaries of Middle Eastern studies are determined by geographical, ethno-cultural, economic and political factors. This paper focuses on general trends and some particular features of identification transformations in the traditional Arab Middle East with the inclusion of Turkey and Iran as important actors in the regional system of international relations. The present study is based on theoretical approaches to the analysis of ethnos, nation, nationalism and national identities, presented in the fundamental works of B. Anderson, K. Calhoun, K. V. Deutsch, F. Barth, F. Fukuyama, Y. Habermas. Transnational identity transformations and their functional content in the region were considered by E. S. Nisbet, A. M. Teresa, M. Lynch, E. Westnidge. The constructs of religious and sectarian identities were studied by U. Makdisi, T. Dodge, R. Brubaker, A. Suleimenov. A comprehensive analysis of socio-political and ethno-cultural processes in the Middle East region is presented in the works of famous Russian researchers: I. V. Ryzhov, M. Y. Borodina, N. A. Berenkova, D. V. Zhigulskaya, S. M. Henkin, I. V. Kudryashova. Separately, I would like to highlight the fundamental work of the IMEMO RAS research team led by I. D. Zvyagelskaya – "The Middle East: Politics and Identity", in which the problems of Middle Eastern identities are comprehensively considered.        

In the context of global socio-political trends, as well as taking into account the peculiarities of regional MO, processes of identification transformations are observed in numerous heterogeneous communities of the Middle East. A number of researchers note the strengthening of transnational Islamic and Arab identities in the Middle East region, to the detriment of national and state identity. In this paper, the emphasis is on the analysis of political identities existing in the Middle East region, however, identity transformations today are complex and are influenced by many factors, therefore, when exploring various categories of identity, it is necessary to place them in a broader theoretical, comparative and historical context ^[1].

Political identity in the context of this work is considered within the framework of theoretical approaches used by leading researchers of this problem. Thus, political identity is understood as a form of collective, social identities existing in a political context – social categories, attributes and components of self-understanding within the political system, shared by other members of the community and allowing them to define themselves as part of this community ^[2]. In a sense, political identities are best viewed as individual schemes that organize information about our political preferences, status, social relations, as well as defining some aspects of our collective world — nation state, culture, race, gender, language, religion, nationality, class, etc. Also, some identities are more "politically applicable" than others ^[2]. I. S. Semenenko identifies a political dimension in the composition of social identity ^[3]. Such an approach makes it possible to include in the complex of political identifications processes that are not related to the national state and even ethnic attachment, for example, a person's commitment to certain transnational political views, trends. It should be emphasized that in English-language literature the term "identity-based" is often found, often literally translated into Russian as "based on identity". In this context, we should recall the recent work of F. Fukuyama – "Identity: the desire for recognition and the policy of rejection." Identity, as a catalyst for socio-political activity, according to a number of experts, is used primarily for the purpose of gaining recognition by the community, namely, in the form of legitimization and institutionalization of one's own uniqueness within the existing system ^{[4, 5]}. Thus, "based on identity" today is nothing but "striving for recognition", which determines the main directions of functional features and transformations of identity in the modern world.

Identity transformations in the Middle East region: general trends

Leading Russian experts in the Middle East region, studying identities, confirm the complex nature of modern identification attachments. A team of researchers in the Middle East region led by I. D. Zvyagelskaya examines the complex and often conflicting nature of numerous tribal, ethnic, cultural, religious, linguistic and other identities, highlighting within this construct levels that are able to interact with each other and exist separately, both to be elements of systems and to form their own system constructs ^[6]. H. Kazemi examines the growth of national and transnational identity in the Middle East in the context of social and cultural splits. He emphasizes that the structure of total separation of Middle Eastern societies has always been a key factor in political conflicts and instability in the regional environment, thus emphasizing the defining role of identity as a key conflict-causing force in the region. According to H. Kazemi, in recent years, factors such as imperfect integration into international processes, the ineffectiveness of nationalist and secular authoritarian regimes and, finally, the aggressive policy of the United States in the Middle East have actualized two main splits of Middle Eastern societies: tribal-ethnic (subnational) and religious-fundamentalist (transnational). Thus, a set of forces based on identity has been formed - a kind of "identity of resistance" that does not accept the established order based on the national-state structure ^[7]. In general, it can be stated that the nation-state in the Middle East is still regarded as a colonial product, which does not have sufficient ability to overcome the challenges arising from the dispersed structure, and also cannot perform the expected functions of a modern state. This is mainly because the region is dominated by a complex and "solid" social structure based on tribal, ethnic and religious affiliation. A number of foreign experts claim that the aggravation of identity manifestations in the Middle East region contributes to the transformation of weak states into failed states, the so-called failed states. Despite the fact that this "status" can be disputed, the number of potential applicants among the Middle Eastern states is quite large (Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, etc.) ^[7].

Iranian researcher H. Kazemi argues that the geopolitical crises in the Middle East are the product of a complex interaction of three groups of actors: emerging subnational and transnational forces claiming their own identity, weak nation-states with limited ability to influence the system and powerful regional and trans-regional powers striving for regional hegemony ^[7]. An unavoidable feature of any identification and political environment is the tendency of regional and international actors to use the forces of communities striving for the manifestation of identity. While the weak states of the Middle East are facing an escalating crisis leading to collapse, strong regional powers (especially Saudi Arabia), as well as global actors, tend to use the "identity uprising" as a tool to exert pressure on their competitors. They are also trying to mobilize their available resources and increase their maneuvering power ^[8].

Socio-political conservatism, which unites all Middle Eastern nations, is reflected in the formation of local identity systems. Since this region has long passed the status of a political, economic and, not least, technological leader of the world of Western civilization, a powerful unifying force for the population is attachment not to the present, but to a more glorious past. A similar collective desire to identify with the national past is observed at different levels in Saudi Arabia. In addition, as the authors note, the Persian (Iranian) civilization is rightfully considered one of the most ancient, which predetermined the formation of special narratives associated with the imperial consciousness and specific ideas about the "special mission", and also laid the foundation for one of the key geopolitical contradictions in the region ^[6]. Conservatism, ethnocentrism, the desire for missionary work and the defining role of Islam and Islamic identity, which acts as a kind of link between the past and the present, as well as the core of regional and national identities, arise from the "identity of a special mission" ^{[1, 9]}.

Thus, the authors also distinguish imperial identity as a separate type. Imperial identity can be understood as collective memory and awareness of belonging to a community that once united numerous nations within the empire. Based on further analysis, it can be concluded that "national identity" means precisely national-state attachment, which in turn can be nationalist (based on ethno-national components), imperial (attachment to the empire).

The peculiarity of identification transformations in the Middle East region is inextricably linked with the specifics of the political formation of this region. As T. Dodge notes, since the end of the First World War, the Middle East has been a group of states created through colonial interventions and in the struggle for the transformation of trans-state and sub-state identities into coordinated territorially based nationalisms ^[10]. The special attention paid by the researcher to the territorial validity of nationalisms is noteworthy. The attachment of nationalism and national identity to the territory has many questions in modern identitarian studies. The Middle East region is also marked by constant rivalry and redefinition of identities. Secular identity in the age of nation-states is a function of the rivalry of "national truths" and contested claims to the nation-state to the same extent that it functions in the rivalry of religious truths ^[10]. A series of protracted wars played a special role in the formation of rivalry between different groups of identities: trans-state Arab nationalism (kavmiya), state nationalism (wataniya) and religious and ethnic identity (taifiya) ^[10]. As part of the study of the clash of identities in the Middle East, researchers often use a term that can be translated as "state-centered nationalism" (from the English state-based nationalism) ^[10].

Religious and sectarian identities in the Middle East region

In general, studies of identities in the Middle East inevitably show the defining, system–forming role of the Islamic - religious identity. Since national states, in their European understanding, were formed in this region much later, the foundations of social interaction, and with them the foundations of identity, were laid on the basis of confessional attachments ^[11]. The initially nomadic nature of Islam plays a special role here. Pan-Turkism-pan–Arabism-Pan-Iranian - the acute struggle for dominance in the region is rooted in the period of intertwining Islamic identity with the national identities of the peoples and states of the Middle East. At the moment, we can state the strengthening of the positions of various kinds of transnational religious identities in the fight against national ones in the Middle East region ^[10]. Also, various approaches to understanding and interpreting Islam are rooted in history. Such heterogeneity has always had an impact on the Muslim vision of their own community, identity and boundaries between religious and secular. Modern Islamic communities also remain influenced by the diversity of Islamic identities ^[1]. In the modern Middle East, religious identities and their competitive interaction with secular nationalism have become two main rivals in the political field. However, according to Hinnebush and Haddad in their works, the religious-symbolic context is not dominant in interfaith clashes in the Middle East. It is based on the struggle for the definition and control of specific practical categories and their imposition in the political field of the country ^[10]. Also, A. R. Suleimenov, studying the symbolic field of modern Islamism, emphasizes the close connection between the religious-symbolic and practical-political dimensions ^[12]. 

Despite the long processes of secularization in all spheres of public and private life, the principles of secularism and their place in the political space still cause fierce disputes in the Arab Middle East. The reasons are both cultural and political. In the era of colonialism, followed by authoritarianism and accelerated globalization, Islamists were able to position themselves as defenders of people's rights against foreign domination and despotic rule, as well as to mobilize broad segments of the population in the name of religion and the aforementioned connection with the past. In the Arab Middle East, as in other parts of the Muslim world, the relationship between the state and religion forms a peculiar configuration of secularity, which also includes the relationship between public order and Sharia or "Islamic references" in a more general sense ^[1]. We can talk about the existence of various configurations with the corresponding distribution and correlation of identities in the religious and secular dimensions. 

The "import" of the constructs of the national state and the institution of representation in the ruling circles contributed to the creation of state-centric communities in the region with a new, inverted sense of ownership and belonging to the state, but without losing significant religious attachment. As C. Eriksen noted, "while the state openly strives to manage the community, it simultaneously makes claims to represent this society as such, speaking on behalf of the people ... the actions of the state are presented as the actions of the community" ^[13]. With sufficient stability of the political system, there is a fusion of ethnic, national and state identities.      

Special attention should be paid to sectarianism.In the context of this work, the term "sectarianism", which is well-established in the Russian-speaking scientific community, is deliberately not used, which has a predominantly religious meaning, while sectarianism (from the English sectarianism) includes equally strong commitment to political groups. Sectarianism in the Middle East is considered as a relative practical category, which, along with nationalism and ethnicity, competes with other forms of identification attachment for the loyalty of the population in the political field ^[14]. Against this background, according to T. Dodge, Arab nationalism, state nationalism, Islamism and sectarianism in the Middle East are in interactive competition for the imposition of specific practical categories, institutions, ideology ^[10]. In general, sectarianism as a category of identity is actively involved in the political dimension of the Middle East. In particular, in Iran, this is manifested in the legitimization of some religious sects ^[15]. U. Makdisi notes that politicians and sectarian figures seek to impose religious differences as "the main marker of modern political identity" ^[16]. Thus, sectarian political activity is aimed at the formation of radical forms of religious and political identity. The researchers emphasize that such identities seek primarily to consolidate and intensify the complex of differences existing between religious and political communities ^[17]. The most famous "gap" is the differences between Sunni and Shiite Islam ^[10].

Modern Sunni-Shiite differences also relate to competing national narratives in different proportions, including and excluding, legitimizing and marginalizing certain sectarian identities. At the same time, it is emphasized that sectarian identities of the Middle East often do not reject the institution of the nation-state and actively participate in the struggle for access to national-state institutions, strive to have influence and presence in the national narrative and be included in the prevailing concepts of civic identity (in the work of F. Haddad from German – staatsvolk – "the state people"). Similarly, myths about national exclusivity and ethnic purity are used to elevate or devalue communities within the national state ^{[18, 19]}. According to T. Dodge, identities compete for the right to impose a dominant vision of what a country and its population are ^[19].

Mass Media in Modern Identification Transformations in the Arab Middle East

Among the reasons for modern identification transformations, the active work of transnational Arab media is also called ^[2]. The problem of defining, interpreting and correlating processes with national and non-national origins, as well as the resulting conflict of identities at various levels, is the socio-political reality of the Middle East. The era of transnational media deconstructs the information space, strengthening transnational attachments, despite the comparative "isolation" of national discourses in this region. It is noted that the degree of strengthening influence of the media on transnational identification varies depending on the level of education ^[2]. Pre-globalization media had a national character, and therefore played a significant role in the formation of national identity. The defining role of the media in the growth of nationalism was spoken about by the most honored scientists whose works have made a huge contribution to the formation of the problems of identity and related issues in political science (B. Anderson, K. Calhoun, K. V. Deutsch, Y. Habermas) ^{[20, 21, 22, 23]}. As P. Schlesinger notes, "mediated communication is of central importance" in the formation of a political identity focused on the nation-state ^[24]. In other words, communicative and interactive processes within the boundaries of a modern nation-state, connected by both political territory and culture and/or language, strengthen the role of a common national identity, common consciousness or an imaginary community ^[24]. The transnational nature of modern media contributes to the identification of common features at the transnational level, often weakening national attachment ^[24]. Studies have shown that mass media can contribute to the adjustment of the balance of power among competing political identities through a combination of social and psychological mechanisms.

Nevertheless, the media's going beyond the national discourse has contributed to the release of key identification attachments beyond the national identity. "Electronic media are beginning to suppress group identity on the basis of "joint presence" and create many new forms of access and self—determination that have little to do with physical location," writes Meyrowitz ^[25]. In other words, electronic media, such as television, can become a "symbolic space" in which people form their collective political identity, currently completely unlimited by the national context. In addition, these "symbolically placed" identities can be changeable or, more specifically, less stable and stable ^[2].  Needless to say, this feature, originally attributed to television, is presented in a much more perfect form on modern digital platforms. The construction of identity based on joint presence in the digital space by identifying common values, views and preferences is a universal trend observed globally and the Middle East is no exception. At any given time, we have many competing social selves formed on the basis of common social, political, cultural and geographical attributes — and if the "symbolic location" of our identity changes, then the significance of a particular social identity may change relative to other competing social identities ^[25]. In this sense, mediated collective political identities can be rooted in a "symbolic space" not necessarily limited by traditional national borders or political institutions, but rather socially located in common regional, cultural, linguistic or religious contexts ^[2].

Researchers from Ohio University directly compare the processes of formation of European identity with transnational Islamic and Arab identities, speaking about the special role of media spaces in the formation of a "discursively connected community" and a strong political identity ^[2]. They also distinguish primary and secondary processes of socialization, linking them with the formation of political identity. Within the framework of the primary processes of socialization, identity formation occurs with the help of educational, family, political and other institutional socializing "agents". Institutional attachment in this case contributes to the formation of state-centric identities. It should also be emphasized that the stability of such identities is based on the ability of "agents" to form feelings of correctness, obligation and legitimacy of the political order. On their basis, the level of mediated (through the media space) socialization processes that form political identity is built. Transnational media contribute to the strengthening of transnational identity ^[2].

There is concrete evidence of the strengthening of transnational Arab and Islamic political identities in the Arab community in recent years. According to a 2008 interethnic survey, 39% indicated national identity, 36% indicated Muslim identity, and 29% indicated Arab identity in six Arab States ^[2]. In 2019-2020, 81% of respondents to the Arab Opinion Index supported the view that various Arab peoples constitute a single nation, and 86% also noted a significant commitment to transnational religious identity (The 2019-2020 Arab Opinion Index: Main Results in Brief. Arab Center Washington). In addition, the intensification of transnational Arabic discourse is noted in the international Arabic-language media. Accordingly, M. Lynch writes that "local problems are reinterpreted — formulated in terms of a broader large narrative", which deterritorializes political discourse and places it inside a common transnational symbolic space in which political identities can be located ^[26].

Identity Transformations in Public Policy: Examples of Turkey and Iran

Then we can turn to specific national examples of modern transformations of identity. The history of Turkey, rich in events related to various transformations of ethno-confessional and political courses, is one of the examples of the adaptation of identity politics as a conceptualized set of actions, as well as the process of searching for this identity as an independent socio-political process to the realities surrounding the nation. It is obvious that the influence is exerted both externally and internally by the political context. The Ottoman Middle East, and with it the identities of its population, certainly transformed in the context of the region's integration into the globalizing capitalist market in the middle of the XIX century. This process was accelerated by the defensive modernization of the Ottoman Empire, personified by the reforms of the Tanzimat during the same period ^[10]. A team of researchers led by I. D. Zvyagelskaya, as well as a number of other specialists, notes another reversal of the course of national identity towards the so-called "neo-Ottomanism", i.e. with a claim to regional dominance ^[6]. Two dimensions of the development of a new identity are interesting in the context of this study. On the one hand, experts see the revival of the imperial idea, linking it with Turkey's willingness to be even more active in the international arena ^[27]. On the other hand, in the rhetoric of President R. T. Erdogan, there is a clear course for historical continuity, an inextricable link with the past ^[6]. Such a conservative bias can also be attributed to the manifestations of the general tendency of non-Western communities to protect their own "self" - identity. Turkey is a vivid example of radical reversals of state policy and the restructuring of identity systems with various configurations of imperial (Ottoman), national (Turkic) and religious (Islamic) accessories. Such transitions were applied using, in fact, universal tools: language policy, active introduction of new historical concepts and a strong leader (M. K. Ataturk and R. T. Erdogan). At the moment, one can observe an attempt to construct a Turkish "mega-identity" based on the entire aforementioned complex of empire, religion and secularism. The defining role of values is also emphasized, and Turkish researchers are beginning to talk about the national identity of the upper and lower levels ^[6].         

The union of Persian and Islamic identities within the framework of the Iranian cultural tradition began in the VII century . Also, the Iranian identity, in addition to the Islamic one, also has imperial "Great Persian" and nationalist "Aryan" components ^[6]. The modern national identity of Iran is a complex that includes historical memory, Western-style nationalism and Shiite Islam. I. D. Zvyagelskaya notes the systemic, complex nature of the Iranian identity, highlighting as elements Iranian-Persian, Islam-Shiite, Islam-Sunni, national, numerous tribal, folk, religious and other identities. From this set of identities, depending on certain circumstances, components are selected that are subsequently included in a certain common identity. The ratio of components, their significance and configuration are individual in each case ^[6]. The Islamic Republic of Iran stands out even against the background of ethnocultural Middle Eastern states with an even greater concentration of ethnic and national identities within the country. In the ethno-national palette of the Iranian state, in addition to the titular Persian nation, Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmens, Lurs, etc. are represented ^[15]. The situation is complicated by the fact that these nations are distinguished by noticeable aspirations for isolation and segregation, hence, aspirations for recognition and politicization of their communities in terms of identity ^[15]. Pursuing the policy of "One country, one nation, one language", the state tried to impose the Persian identity as an integral Iranian identity and systematically marginalize and criminalize non-Persian identities, considering them as "fabricated ethnic identities"^[28]. Despite certain transformations in the domestic political course, K. Suleimani and A. Muhammadpour note that almost the entire Persian intelligentsia, even the majority of left-wing intellectuals, advocate adherence to statist views, the "sanctity" of territorial integrity and devotion to the "sweet Persian language" as a "national language" ^[28]. Thus, the problem of harmonization of multiple identities is extremely acute in the political dimension of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is emphasized by domestic, Western and Middle Eastern researchers ^[15].

ConclusionThe specifics of regional international relations characteristic of the Middle East region, the peculiarities of its historical, socio-political development have a serious impact on the transformation of identity in Middle Eastern communities.

The high conflict potential of the region, the presence of unresolved ethnic, ethno-political and religious conflicts rooted in history, determines the importance of studying identity in the Middle East, and also actualizes the interpretation of these conflicts in modern categories of identity and self-determination.

As in Europe, there is a weakening of the positions of national identity and the national state. The nation-state in its "Western" sense is often perceived by many in the Middle East as a "colonial product". This contributes to the actualization of primordial pre-national and transnational attachments in the region – ethno-cultural, Islamic and, in some cases, imperial. Religious identity not only retains its positions, but also strengthens in the conditions of the active work of transnational media and original ideas about the institution of the national state in the region. Thus, Islamic identity is of enormous importance for the complex of identifications in the Middle East.      

In the Middle East region, the key conflict of identity in the political sphere is clearly manifested, which consists in the need to harmonize identification attachments to non-institutionalized communities and to specific political entities. The multinational and multi-confessional composition of the Middle Eastern states and communities actualizes the conflict of civil-political and ethno-cultural identifications. The understanding of the nation as both an ethno-cultural and civil-political entity in the Middle East is complicated by a complex of strong tribal, religious, subnational and imperial accessories. All this causes a high conflict potential of the region. Thus, one can see both Turkey and Iran aspiring to be regional leaders, as well as perceiving themselves as centers of a broader, cultural cultural affiliation in religious, ethnic or both dimensions. According to E. Westnidge, such transformations of identity are realized in multifaceted, complex networks that change in time and space and react to regional geopolitical shifts ^[29]. Claims to transnational identity challenge fixed, spatial representations of identity, which are usually associated with the nation-state and are a challenge for modern States. Being practically applicable, such identities are already being actively used, in particular as a tool for building an alliance, which brings an additional destabilizing effect to the already complex geopolitical picture of the region. Increasingly, socio-cultural and civil-political moral choice, the determination of belonging to a particular community is carried out on the basis of common values, collective experience. Values, as the basis of modern identities, can both unite people at different ends of the planet and divide the nearest neighbors. This is the extreme relevance and necessity of identitarian research in the context of modern political transformations.