Geocultural Power in the Red Sea Region

Abstract In this research note, we argue that traditional geopolitical and geoeconomic arguments that seek to make sense of growing engagements between countries of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa often ascribe little significance to notions of culture and history that underpin the narratives of collaborations that have developed across the Red Sea. To address this shortcoming, we turn to the concept of geocultural power—understood as the mobilization of cultural and historical attributes, both symbolic and material, in the pursuit of foreign policy agendas—as a particularly useful heuristic for making sense of the wealth of historical and cultural claims invoked in foreign policymaking in the Red Sea region. We illustrate the utility of the concept through a short discussion of geocultural narratives related to Ethiopia's shifting relations with the Gulf States and Turkey's increasing engagement in the Horn of Africa. While the research note's primary contribution is to outline a research agenda for using the lens of geocultural power, we also argue that states are not the sole arenas in which geopolitical claims are formulated. Hence, future studies should examine how geocultural claims encounter affirmation, contestation, and subversion in different societal arenas.