Between the Domestic and the International: Ideational Factors, Peacebuilding and Foreign Policy in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf

This Special Issue examines post-2011 dynamics and the plethora of changes in the regional and domestic order in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. It argues that ideational factors are instrumental in both the building of peace and the construction of threats. Consequently, ideational factors are constitutive in inciting or pacifying cases of tension and conflict. Departing from the inherent connection between the domestic and the international, the Special Issue analyses the reconfiguration of the region through the lens of possibilities rather than impediments and centres on the role of ideational factors in foreign policy and their impact on peacebuilding in the region.
Keywords: ideational factors; foreign policy; peacebuilding; Middle East; Persian Gulf