Raymond hinnebusch raymond
“Sectarianism tends to internally fracture societies. It’s extremely dangerous,” says Raymond Hinnebusch. “Compare that to the way pan-Arabism was used to integrate the various Arabic speaking minorities who previously felt excluded, but if Arab identity was the common identity, it didn’t matter if you were a Sunni or Shia, an Alawite or Druze, you were included in the community.”
Marc Lynch speaks with Hinnebusch about international relations in the Middle East and emerging sectarianism in the region. Hinnebusch is a professor of international relations at the University of St. Andrews.
“People have many identities and sect may only be one of them. For quite a long time, people embraced Arab nationalism as an inclusive identity,” says Ray Hinnebusch.
But what went wrong in the Middle East to see the rise of sectarianism we see today?
“If you got a similar situation to what we had in Iraq— namely, people in a failed state where people can’t depend on the state for security so they fall back on their sectarian group, armed if possible. If you had a situation like that, then you would get the replication of the Iraqi disaster. And we have seen that— particularly in Syria and one could say in Yemen.”
“You have Al Qaeda and the Islamic State taking advantage of this,” Hinnebusch says, “The invasion of Iraq created this environment where Al Qaeda could regain its stature and its never looked back since then.”
Looking to the future, Hinnebusch says: “I think people still have many identities, and the sectarian one is perhaps the most salient one at present. There is the risk a new generation will be brought up with only that one, but clearly there are other potential identities: Syrian, Arab, Sufi…there are many that are in competition and they could come back in a period of reconstruction and peace. That’s what I hope.”
Music for this seasonR International Relations, Comparative Politics and Political Economy in the Middle East. Also an interest in Third World development. Work has focused on Middle East international relations and foreign policy; rural politics and agrarian development, elites, authoritarian regimes, political parties, and economic liberalisation in the Middle East. Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article See more publications .Raymond Hinnebusch
His books on Syria include Turkey-Syria Relations: between enmity and amity, Ashgate 2013; "Syria, Revolution from Above," Routledge, 2000; "The Syrian-Iranian Alliance: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System," with Anoushiravan Ehteshami, Routledge, 1997; "Syria and the Middle East Peace Process," with Alasdair Drysdale, Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1991; "Authoritarian Power in Ba'thist Syria: Army, Party and Peasant," Westview.1990; "Peasant and Bureaucracy in Ba`thist Syria: The Political Economy of Rural Development," Westview Press, 1989. His recent articles on Syria include: "The Foreign Policy of Syria," in Raymond Hinnebusch and A. Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East States, Lynne Rienner Press 2002; "Globalization and Generational Change: Syrian Foreign Policy between Regional Conflict and European partnership," in The Review of International Affairs, v 3, n 1, winter 2003; “Modern Syrian Politics,” History Compass, Blackwell Synergy, 6/1, February 2008,; “Defier l’hegemonie americaine: la diplomatie Syrienne de l’Irak au Liban,” Les Cahiers de L’Orient, n 87, September 2007
He is also the author of books and articles on the international politics of the Middle East and on Egypt. These include The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences, co- edited with Rick Fawn, Lynne Rienner Press, 2006; The International Politics of the Middle East, Manchester University Press, 2003; Th
Research areas
PhD supervision
Selected publications
Understanding state weakness in the Middle East and North Africa
Hinnebusch, R., 15 Jul 2024, Making sense of the Arab state.Heydemann, S. & Lynch, M. (eds.). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, p. 55-8430 p.(Emerging Democracies series). Syria and the 1973 Arab-Israeli war
Hinnebusch, R., 1 Sept 2023, The 1973 Arab-Israeli war.Jackson, G. (ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield International, p. 93-12230 p.Middle East: oil and political order
Hinnebusch, R., 1 Sept 2022, Handbook on oil and international relations.Dannreuther, R. & Ostrowski, W. (eds.). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, p. 142-159Understanding Syria's sectarian wave
Hinnebusch, R.& Rifai, O., 9 May 2021, E-International Relations , p. 1-77 p.