scholarly journals The Islamic Republic of Iran in Search of its Foreign Policy Identity: Revolutionary Innovation or Continuity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-162
Author(s):  
N. A. Kozhanov ◽  
A. S. Bogacheva

Self-perception in the international arena plays a great role in the development of a country's foreign policy strategy. Not all states can answer the question «who are we in relation to others»? In particular, we can describe the past 20 century and the first decades of the 21st century as the time of Tehran's search for its foreign policy identity, which is not finished even today. Despite many discussion, the Iranian political elite has not only failed to find a single definition of its foreign policy selfhood, but has produced several more formulas of its own identity, which often contradict each other, although they coexist. The events of 1979, when the new leadership that came to power in the course of revolutionary upheavals announced the rejection of the traditions of the Shah's Iran and the building of a new "revolutionary" nation with its own special foreign policy identity, had a significant impact on the process of forming the Iranian selfhood. The article analyzes the main trends that exist in the Iranian foreign policy self-perception, in order to confirm the hypothesis that the «revolutionary experiment» did not lead to a break in the continuity in the issue of Iranian self-identification. On the contrary, there is an attempt by the country's leadership to combine Islamic, revolutionary and nationalist principles in determining the role of their country in the international arena, which let us speak about the multi-component foreign policy identity of modern Iran.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-238
Author(s):  
S. M. Mirmohammad Sadeghi ◽  
R. Hajimineh

«Soft power» is a set of activities designed by a government or regional and international actors aimed to influence external public opinion, promote external image or attract support for a particular policy, which is implemented through all the available tools and new technologies. The non-governmental actors also play an effective and important role in this diplomacy. Considering the public diplomacy and soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a deliberate and conscious approach can be of great importance in the country's grand strategies that will strengthen national interests in the domestic sphere and influence them at regional and global levels. The article analyzes the role of Iran’s soft power in confronting Iranophobia. The study is aimed at presenting a theoretical definition of public diplomacy and soft power in foreign policy and international system, and then examines its role in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran with an emphasis on confronting Iranophobia.The authors answer the research question: “What is the role of soft power in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in confronting Iranophobia?” The research method is descriptive-analytical based on historical evidence, documents, and analytical issues of theorists, authors, and media being expressed in the theoretical framework of soft power. The paper is based on a synthesis of Stephen Walt’s “balance of threat” theory with Alexander Wendt’s social constructivism to explain the Iranian “threat” in American foreign policy.The findings of this research show that without the use of force and disturbing the balance in the international relations, using a variety of tools and instruments the Iranian public diplomacy and soft power might be effective to reduce the global and regional atmosphere of Iranophobia and undermine anti-Iranian solidarity.


Author(s):  
Ardavan Khoshnood

The establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in 1979 had a great impact on the question of security in both the region and outside of the Middle East. The foreign policy of the new republic would show hostility and aggression as terrorism became its modus operandi. In order to safeguard the newly established regime and the revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran) was established, of which its external branch was named the Qods Force (QF). By reviewing scholarly works and regime publications, the current article aims to study and analyze the foreign policy of the IRI and the role of the QF in it. As the IRI is today deemed to be a sponsor of terrorism, and as the tensions between the IRI and the United States have increased since the Pasdaran and its QF was designated a terrorist organization, the role of the QF in the foreign policy of the IRI is even more important. This article shows that even though terrorism through the QF is still the modus operandi of the IRI, the QF has through the years evolved and uses other methods in order to influence and cement the power of the IRI in the international arena. The article also concludes that it is highly unlikely for the IRI to be reformed as long as the current leadership and establishment continue to rule, and if the regime feels threatened, it will almost certainly use terrorism and violence in order to guarantee its survival.


1987 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 85-96
Author(s):  
William O. Beeman

In the past nine years the Islamic Republic of Iran has posed the most difficult of all foreign policy problems for the United States—a problem usually confronted by marriage counselors rather than diplomats, for Iran is the nation that the United States cannot live with and cannot live without.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyhan Barzegar ◽  
Seyyed Morteza Kazemi Dinan

In recent years, the role of non-state political groups, particularly in the Middle East has become more prominent. Islamic Republic of Iran has to have a policy toward such groups. One of these groups is Yemen's Ansar Allah who, after the outbreak of protests in the country since 2011, has had a high and effective role in the political arena of Yemen. In this study, based on Constructivist theory of international relations, we attempted to answer this fundamental question that “what is the strategy of Islamic Republic of Iran toward Yemen's Ansar Allah?” Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to the definition of their identity and perceptions of the structure of the international system and the behavior of important regional and international actors as well as their opinions about Ansar Allah Movement as a Shiite, popular, anti-Israel, anti-American, and anti- Saudi group aligned with the values and principles of Islamic Republic System, has taken a supportive stance. Iran's support for Yemen's Ansar Allah is political, diplomatic, media and if possible, material supports (e.g. sending foods and medicine).


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K. Scherer

The mid-1990s through the first decade of the new millennium marked an increase in publications pertaining to war and violence in the ancient past. This review considers how scholars of the past decade have responded to that work. The emerging consensus is that war and violence were endemic to all societies studied by archaeologists, and yet the frequency, intensity, causes, and consequences of violence were highly variable for reasons that defy simplistic explanation. The general trend has been toward archaeologies of war and violence that focus on understanding the nuances of particular places and historical moments. Nevertheless, archaeologists continue to grapple with grand narratives of war, such as the proposition that violence has decreased from ancient to modern times and the role of war and violence in state formation and collapse. Recent research also draws attention to a more expansive definition of violence. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 50 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Author(s):  
Marina Kameneva ◽  
Elena Paymakova

The article notes that the theme of culture and cultural policy for modern Iran is not a marginal issue. Culture is seen by the country’s leadership as an important component of its state political and ideological doctrine. There is analyzed the role of the Islamic factor and cultural heritage in the cultural policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran over four decades of its existence. Particular attention is paid to the role of the theory of the dialogue of civilizations proposed by M. Khatami as well as to the changing attitude towards it in the public consciousness of Iranian society. It is emphasized that the theme of “Iran and the West” is becoming particularly acute in the country today, contributing to its politicization. An attempt is being made to show that Iranian culture is increasingly becoming an important factor in the foreign policy activities of the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, contributing to the strengthening of the country’s position in the world arena as a whole and the country’s leading role in the region, the realization of the idea of exporting the Islamic Revolution and implementing Iranian cultural expansion outside the country.


Author(s):  
Oleksandra Nikolova ◽  
Kateryna Vasylyna

: The article is aimed at the study of Ukrainian quasi-historical novels of the early 21st century, characterized by the renunciation of “objectivity” of the narrative and emphasized the role of imagination. These are the pieces by Bakalets and Yarish (“From the Seventh Bottom”), Vynnychuk (“The Pharmacist”, “Lutetia”), and by Yatsenko (“Nechui. Nemov. Nebach”). The study reveals the features and functions of fantastic characters in the abovementioned novels. These fictional images of modern Ukrainian quasihistorical literary discourse are characterized by infernality, grotesque anthropomorphism, destruction of traditional antinomy “otherworldly– earthly/human”, philosophical and ironic coloring. Interpreting the fantasy in quasi-historical novels is expedient in the context of the global problem of perception of historical past by people of the 21st Century, with an emphasis on significant changes in public consciousness motivating writers to “Re-write/Reimagine the past”. The spread of this phenomenon reveals public distrust of the authorities, offering “correct” answers to the questions about past events, protest against permanent manipulation of historical facts (the tendency of growing consciousness and intellectualization of society).


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
Ognjen Pribicevic

Leaving the EU is one of the major political decisions made in the UK over the past half-century. Brexit brought about a virtual political earthquake not only in EU-UK relations but also in terms of UK future place and role on the international scene. Immediately after the decision of UK citizens to leave the EU at a referendum held on 23 June 2016, the question arose as to whether the UK will lose some of its international influence, whether Scotland will remain part of the Union, whether the UK will retain its privileged relations and special status with the USA, and what its future relations with the EU will be. The purpose of this article is to point to the basic priorities of the contemporary British foreign policy as well as to place and role of the UK on the contemporary international scene particularly in view of its decision to leave the EU. We shall first try to define the status of present-day Britain in international relations. Second, we shall address the traditional dilemma of the UK foreign policy - what should be given priority - relations with the USA, Europe or the Commonwealth? After that, we shall discuss in more detail the phases the UK foreign policy went through following the end of the cold war. In the third phase, we shall analyze the British contemporary foreign and economic policy towards Gulf countries and China. In the fourth part of the article, we shall discuss relations with the USA. It should be pointed out that the article does not seek to analyze all aspects of British foreign policy, even if we wanted to, due to a shortage of time. Of course, the topic of Brexit will be present in all chapters and especially in the last one and conclusion remarks. By its decision to leave the EU, the UK appears to have given priority to its relations with the USA, China, Gulf countries as well as Commonwealth countries instead of the EU which has been economically and politically dominant over the past few decades. This decision taken by UK citizens will no doubt have a great impact not only on their personal lives and standard of living but on the UK role in international relations. Despite its military, political, economic and cultural capacities, it is highly unlikely that the UK will manage to overcome the consequences of an exit from the single market, currently generating 18 trillion dollars on an annual basis as well as the loss of a privileged partner role with the USA within the Union. We are, therefore, more likely to believe that in the foreseeable future, the role of the UK on the international scene will continue to decline and be increasingly focused on its economic and financial interests. Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. III 47010: Drustvene transformacije u procesu evropskih integracija - multidisciplinarni pristup]


2018 ◽  
pp. 185-192
Author(s):  
Farzad Ameri ◽  
Farzaneh Golaghaie ◽  
Mehdi Harorani ◽  
Hossein Poorcheraghi ◽  
Amir Rahbarian ◽  
...  

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