A Habermasian analysis of Arab-West inter-governmental and inter-ambassadorial relations: implications for Western diplomatic training

Throughout history, socio-political experts in the Arab-Islamic and Western worlds have embraced the prospect of fruitful Arab-West inter-governmental and inter-ambassadorial relations. In the fields of international relations and education, there is substantial research conducted for reconciling the socio-political and religious dilemmas in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Nonetheless, pondering the intransigent deterioration of affairs and the rise of extremism and terrorism, the region has become a focal point of mainstream Western media without evidence of political resolutions or sensible Western foreign policies. Moreover, much of recent critical Western works on the interpretations of political Islam from ontological perspectives require further attention. Nevertheless, misapprehensions about both historical and contemporary Islamic thought are evident, particularly among prominent Western diplomats and politicians. Therefore, it has become vital to devise a contemporary diplomatic training program for future Western representatives to the MENA region, largely since the methods of Western international relations theory (IRT) have been labelled as Eurocentric, unaccommodating and insufficient. The main objectives of this dissertation are as follows: to provide elucidations on how political Islam is observed, especially when Jürgen Habermas’s descriptive, interpretive and critically self-reflective methods of analysis are applied to it; to provide a holistic analysis of the historical factors that influence political Islam among Arab Muslims; to explore how these factors diverge from existing assumptions about political Islam in the Western setting; and, to pinpoint and elaborate upon extant hindrances in Western inter-governmental and inter-ambassadorial discussions. The findings revealed numerous shortcomings in current approaches to political Islam and also highlighted the factors behind its popularity among Arab Muslims. The findings also identified apprehensions towards Islamic thought in the Western setting and pinpointed effective political and educational notions through the application of Habermas’s critical theory and theory of communicative action. Finally, the dissertation outlined the rationale for a diplomatic training program for future Western diplomats and politicians.