Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Alamer, Sultan

Titel

Minorities Without Majorities: The Politics of Nation-Building in Sub-Nation States in the Middle East

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• States have a wide range of choices when devising nation-building policies for culturally distinct groups residing within their borders. Some of these choices are highly exclusionary, such as genocide and ethnic cleansing, while others are forcefully assimilative, including military conscription or internal displacement. The research question of this dissertation is: What are the conditions that account for both cross-regional and sub-national variations in state-led nation-building policies? To answer this question, I distinguish between two logics of nation-building. The first logic pertains to nationalizing states, and the second to sub-national states. In sub-national states, ruling elites conceive of nations existing both within and beyond the state's borders. These states do not assert themselves as the sole representative of their imagined nation. In contrast, nationalizing states perceive their state as the exclusive representative of a core group residing within their borders. While scholarly attention has predominantly focused on nation-building policies within nationalizing states, there remains a dearth of theoretical exploration regarding sub-national states. Through extensive archival research across seven historical cases from Saudi Arabia and leveraging previously untapped primary and secondary sources, I identify two factors that influence the nation-building decisions of ruling elites in sub-national states. The first factor is the cohesiveness of the ruling elite, and the second factor is the actions of local notables within the targeted community. If the ruling elite is cohesive, I argue that their nation-building policies towards culturally distinct groups are influenced by the decisions of the group's notables. If these notables advocate for unity or joining the new state, the state will adopt a cooperative assimilation approach. Conversely, if the notables lean towards separatism, the state will opt for exploitative assimilation. Lastly, if the notables are autonomy-seekers, the state will adopt an accommodative approach. However, if the ruling elite is polarized, the actions of the notables cease to be the primary driving force behind nation-building policies. Instead, the paramount factor becomes preserving the cohesion of the ruling elite. These differences within the ruling elite are resolved either through compromise or conflict. The resulting nation-building policies will mirror either the spirit of compromise or the logic of the prevailing faction. If the prevailing faction is sub-nationalist, its policies will reflect the actions of regional notables. Conversely, if the prevailing faction is nationalization, the nation-building approach will be driven by a homogenization imperative, or the imperative to turn the core group that the state is perceived to be its sole representative into a national majority within the state’s borders.