| The concept of identity became popular among International Studies scholars in the aftermath of the Cold War, an era rife with ethnic confrontations across th world. Post-modern scholars brought the Foucauldian concept of identity making through the relationship with the “Other” to international relations. According to this modern concept of identity making, foreign policy is an identity making political performance. In this dissertation, I agree partially with this definition, and I qualify it in order to fit international relations. After reviewing the theoretical basis of the argument, I apply it to US foreign policy towards political Islam in the post-Cold War era. One of my main conclusions is that the concept of identity, as understood by post-modern scholars, requires a redefinition of International Relations as a field of study in order to deal with the issue of identity. |
