Political identity refers to the partisan identity which can be precisely aligned to a political party, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or economic class leading to the formation of exclusive political alliances. In consists of individual belief system and social affiliation build through the factors of race, nationality, gender sexuality. Political identity influences how members of the group express their political opinions and attitudes. Therefore Understanding the politics of identity helps to shed light on what people expect their government to do and who, in particular, the government is tasked to protect. Identity politics are also triggered by social injustices and inequalities which subjects’ individuals to divisions based on poverty, violence, and marginalization.
In the gulf the main agency structures which shapes the collective identity is linked to the history of the region. The state lacks a fundamental alignment between the local, state and transnational identities and the modern systems after World War 1. Identity in the gulf is also constructed through constructs dependent on external factors which are prone to change over time. Therefore in addition to the government, political characters are also formed through the interaction of individual interplay with identities that realize aspirations and those that defend against threat. As a result, the political identities along the Gulf are highly influenced by politics with the breakdown in national identity associated with the uprising Arab spring.
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Individuals build their identities in a structure of power through access to information. As a result, many people in the gulf identify as Arabs and Muslims compared to the use of their national identities. The increased levels of identification as Arabs or Muslims are associated with the reliance on Aljazeera as the primary source of information. Thus Aljazeera as a transnational channel acted as the unifying factors in the many regions on issues related to foreign policy which reinforced and created a shared identity a Muslims or Arabs.
Political identity among the gulf countries has been affected by gender, class, national identities and other factors in various ways. In terms of gender both men and women are facing challenges as result of the Arab spring and rise of sectarian divisions and violence against women. For a long time women have held to identities defined in the traditional concepts of race, culture and economic class. However, after the Arab uprising the role of the women has changed redefining the concepts in resistance, self-assertion, and violence.
Previously, views on women in the Gulf have been biased due to their focus on material success without considering the effect of globalization on family society and women. In the Gulf regions for example, United Arab Emirates with 31% are women, consider them as wives and mothers despite their constitution upholding equal treat men foe all citizens. The constitution also upholds the reinforcement of traditional gender roles which fail to support equality between men and women. The women face legal, social, and family restrictions on marriage and employment restraining them to domestic work.
Khaleeji means of the gulf in Arabic and refers to social political regional identity which is shared by the citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The Khaleeji identity has led to the emergence of political identity in the gulf growing from tribal to include national identity. The personality of the Khaleejis lies in the secure cultural connection due to extensive social engagement and intermarriages. The Khaleejis identity is defined in the creation and decision making of the government in the creation of the GCC which is the most stable and functional regional institution which holds the states together. The Khaleeji is a vital component of gulf politics functioning as a cornerstone in local awareness which represents the culture, history, traditions and heritage giving the states a national identity.
