ABSTRACT
The subject of this study was the cultural genealogy of international politics in the Persian Gulf. I have started from the epistemological contention that anarchy cannot be subsumed under one narrative and has a cultural genealogy which requires investigation. In order to frame the empirical analysis, an epistemological discussion was presented. That discussion offered three principal methodological questions for studying conflict in the Persian Gulf: (1) What are the dominant political norms, institutions, values, identities and other cultural artefacts at a given period of time? (2) How are they invented, changed, reified and transcended by dominant political actors, most notably the state? (3) How do cultural artefacts condition the appearance of power and interest and how do they manifest themselves in strategic preferences?
