Abstract:
This article enters into the debate on the link between security and identity by looking at the security context in the states surrounding the Persian Gulf, particularly Iran. Earlier scholarly works have approached security and identity separately, but lack a framework that connects them in a single account. The process tracing method offers a scientific approach to connect various notions in a single study, allowing the synthesis of diverse disciplines to establish links connecting them. Applying the method to the current security and identity issues of the regional states with Jundallah _a terrorist group in the eastern border of Iran_ has established a link between them and has thus enriched the current studies of the region. The main findings are that the Persian Gulf region is a heterogeneous security complex with diverse actors wielding power, and thatsocietal threats have increased since the 2003 Iraq War. Since that year, a conflictual security complex has predominated in the region, which has destabilized the region more than before.
Machine summary:
Applying the method to the current security and identity issues of the regional states with Jundallah _a terrorist group in the eastern border of Iran_ has established a link between them and has thus enriched the current studies of the region.
In the aftermath of the Iraq War, the perceived security and identity have gained shape and importance, and this phenomenon is perhaps more evident in the Persian Gulf region, specifically in Iran, with the emergence of the new terrorist group of Jundallah in the eastern border.
Making this claim, the main research question in this article is: how does process tracing contribute to understand security and identity in the Persian Gulf region, specifically Iran, as it stands after the Iraq War. It is suggested that the region is a security complex because the security threats perceived by each regional state depend on and affect the threats of the others in a way that no single state’s security issues and threats can be resolved unless those of the other states are also resolved (Buzan & Wæver 2003, p.
In the final sections, the hypothesized causal processes are examined within the context of the current security complex in the Persian Gulf and the case of Jundallah – a recently emerged terrorist group in the eastern border of Iran.
The terrorist group Jundallah, with its status as a threat, was supported by external states and has committed numerous acts of terror in Iran (For example see Rokna and Fars News Agencies).