Work

The ‘Greater Middle East’ as a ‘Modern’ Geopolitical Imagination in American Foreign Policy

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: This article aims at analysing how the September 11 terrorist attacks have caused the formation of a new geopolitical vision of an area called the ‘Greater Middle East’ and how this formation has led to changes in US foreign policy towards this region. To do that, the article first presents a theoretical background against which the modern geopolitical imagination of the USA is formulated. It considers the links between national traumas/myths, geopolitical codes and visions, and foreign policy actions. The article then applies this analysis to the case of the Greater Middle East with respect to how this imagined geography shapes the foreign and security policy of the USA. It concludes that even though this imagined region has been presented in texts as justifying US-led policies with liberal underpinnings, it has in reality laid the ground for and been used for justifying US extra-territorial intervention in the region.

Source: Geopolitics

DOI: 10.1080/14650040903420370

Authors: Aylın Güney, Fulya Gökcan

Institution: Bilkent University

Language: English

Topic: International Relations and Foreign Policy

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi