University of Sussex
Browse
DWearing - Myth of the Reforming Monarch.pdf (175.03 kB)

The myth of the reforming monarch: orientalism, racial capitalism, and UK support for the Arab Gulf monarchies

Download (175.03 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 04:40 authored by David WearingDavid Wearing
The narrative of ‘reform’ in Saudi Arabia, recently recurring in British political discourse around the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is situated within wider Orientalist themes, wherein a progressive and modern West is juxtaposed with an Arabian peninsula mired in backwardness. In this context, the purported Arab ‘reformer’ is presented as the ideal ally of the West, attempting to haul his society up to the West’s supposed standards, for example on women’s rights. This racialising narrative serves to legitimise British support for authoritarian Gulf regimes, thus helping to sustain the political economy of this set of international relations at the political level. It does this by obscuring the important role the United Kingdom plays in sustaining authoritarianism in the Arabian peninsula by externalising the explanatory focus onto the terrain of cultural difference. This article contributes to the literature on UK relations with the Arab Gulf monarchies by critically analysing the ways in which racialising discourses dovetail with material interests to reinforce and sustain these ties. In doing so, it also contributes to the emerging literatures on ‘racial capitalism’ and ‘race’ in international relations, through its exploration of the role of Orientalist discourse in this significant empirical case study.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Politics

ISSN

0263-3957

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Page range

a026339572110415 1-6

Department affiliated with

  • International Relations Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2022-09-06

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2022-09-06

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2022-09-05

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC