Description
This paper outlines the contributions political sociology can make to re-defining the field of international relations of the Middle East. As a field of study political sociology has become associated with the study of power in social relations. More recently scholars have begun to re-assess the field’s neglected history of theorizing the state as a constellation of institutions and actors which shape and are shaped by gendered, racial and classed power relations. This reappraisal of the centrality of the state formation within social life highlights the synergies between political sociology and political science. The paper wishes to argue that political sociology can make a critical contribution to the international relations of the Middle East by foregrounding the contemporary study of the role played by postcolonial social movement actors in the evolution of the state/society relation. As such, the paper argues that the study of the International relations of the Middle East requires an approach which combines the lenses of political economy, postcolonial and decolonial critical theories, and social movement studies as central to understanding socio-political relations in the region.
