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DISCOURSES IN THE DESERT: IRAQ, THE WEST, AND THE PERSIAN GULF WAR
Author(s) -
Abdulla Louay,
Davis Thomas C.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
southeastern political review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 0730-2177
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.1997.tb00453.x
Subject(s) - persian , hegemony , opposition (politics) , sovereignty , middle east , political science , international relations , state (computer science) , iraq war , gulf war , political economy , international law , dominance (genetics) , law , politics , ancient history , sociology , history , philosophy , linguistics , biochemistry , chemistry , algorithm , computer science , gene
The Persian Gulf War of 1990–1991 is examined through an analysis of the discourses within which the United States and its allies, and Iraq operate. The West, under the leadership of the U.S., acts within the assumptions and constraints of a Western discourse which privileges state sovereignty, international law, national interests, and balances of power. This discourse currently occupies a position of hegemony in the perception and conduct of international relations. In contrast, Iraq functions under the assumptions of the pan‐Arabist discourse which emphasizes a rejection of current state boundaries in the Middle East, a belief in the unification of all Arabs within the framework of a single Arab state, and opposition to Western intervention in Arab affairs. The pan‐Arabist discourse, manifested through the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, posed a direct threat to the survival of the Western discourse both within the region and beyond. Thus, the Persian Gulf War can be understood as a clash between two fundamentally different understandings of international behavior, and their competition for dominance in the practice of Middle Eastern inter‐state relations.