The importance of identity in Iran's foreign policy (original) (raw)
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Identity and Ideology in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Today, Iran is at the headlines of world media, is the centre of world's attention, is one of the big problematique of the chancelleries of the West and her nuclear programme is hotly debated all over the world and in the Middle East. Iran's bold defiance of the world's only superpower(albeit in slow decline1), its open challenge against Israel ( which the Arab states were unable to cope with since its inception in 1948), its advocating of “Muslim causes” all around the world, its full blown support to anti-Israel forces of non-state actors like HAMAS and Hezbollah and its ongoing uranium enrichment programme coupled with Iranian missile programme of 2500-3000 km range Shahabs cause awe and apprehension all over the world but particularly in the West. Iran is a big, complex country with historical and geopolitical “strategic depth”2 She is an heir to ancient and mighty Persian Empire.3 It has a rich culture, literature and remarkably well-read and educated population. Iran is a predominantly Shiite country which makes her somewhat a stranger in the Muslim world which is predominantly Sunni. At the same time Iran is craving for a place under the sun and wants to be recognized as an 'equal' with the United States and the West. It is the only country where the state is ruled by the Shiite theocracy and by the Shiite clergy (“the mullahs”) and all the key strategic decisions are made by the Supreme Leader.4 However, it is also grappling with economic problems( high unemployment, high inflation and lack of foreign direct investments) and Western economic embargoes sanctioned by the United Nations.Its nuclear programme might be considered an element of prestige and the endorsment of “rightful place under the sun” as well as a realist reading of Iran's trying to counterbalance the threats of nuclear Israel and the nuclear USA.Iran is under close scrutiny of International Atomic Energy Agency and Western intelligence agencies.
CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AND SECURITY POLICIES OF IRAN IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Iran security policies went through accommodation and adjustment during the Shah regime to a reactive policy off late under the Islamic Republic. And the security of the state is closely linked to the perception of threat. But how an objective material condition is perceived as threat or non-threat is a function of identity. The phenomenal change in the security policies of Iran is correlated with the construction of national identity in Iran. But identity is a fluid concept which doesn't take a concrete shape for all eons but it is moulded and reshape from time to time. In course of time, at certain historical political junctures we find that either the ethno Persian identity or the Islamic identity gets legitimated as the state identity of Iran. And as the identity of the state changes, it had ramifications in the security policies. This paper attempts to engage with the linkages between identity construction and the perception of threat.
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies State Identity in Iranian Foreign Policy
This article examines the role of corporate identity in Iran’s foreign policy making. Drawing on interviews with Iranian stakeholders and an analysis of Iran’s political developments, this article surveys the three key elements of Iranian nationalism that shape Iranian foreign policy: Iranism, Islam and Shi’ism. This article finds that each of these is crucial in explaining the apparent contradictions in the approaches of several significant Iranian leaders, especially in cases where Iranism collides with religious values. By highlighting how each component is at once unique but still intrinsically linked to the others, this article demonstrates how Iran’s foreign policy choices can be understood in relation to its corporate identity.
This study aims to problematize the relationship between identity and material interest in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy towards Iraq and Syria especially in the context of the Arab spring and the expansion of the Islamic State (IS). Historical memories and material interests play a significant role in the Islamic Republic’s social construction of itself and others in the Middle East and the Al-Mashreq sub-region. While Iran’s regional identity is studied in the context of the regime’s Islamic ideology, the Islamic regime’s material interests on the regional level are usually overlooked. The problematic relationship between identity and material interest is addressed in this study as mutually constitutive to understand the multifaceted factors that shapes the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy towards the region.
Challenges of National Identity in Iran
Pensee
The current variety of ethnic and cultural differences in Iran is the legacy of the ancient Iranian emperors. The relationship between ethnic identities and national identity may appear in three forms of contrast, simultaneous, and resonator. National identity in the frame-work of nation-state is a modern concept attempts to create national solidarity which may be in conflict with ethnic identity and solidarity. Ethnic and national identities also may coexist peacefully and create a dyadic identity for the people. And finally, ethnic identity may accelerate national solidarity by strengthening national identity. Obviously, all nation-states, by managing ethnic diversity, attempt to avoid tensions among ethnic identities and create parallel relationships or even strengthen relationships among them. This article seeks to explain the existing relationships among ethnic identities and national identity in Iran and the potential threats that may lead to contrast and conflict between ethnic identities and national identity. Accordingly, this article is to explain how it may be possible to develop an equitable strategy to avoid contrast between ethnic and national identities. The first part of the article summarizes concepts and theories that can explain the relationship between ethnic and national identities, while the second part of the article identifies the main threatening factors to positive – parallel or escalating - relationship of ethnic and national identities in Iran. The third part of the article describes the characteristics of an equitable strategy in Iran for managing ethnic diversity that leads to national solidarity.
Discourse and Identity in Iran’s Foreign
This article tries to apply discourse analysis, as a research framework, to Iran's foreign policy. Discourse analysis of foreign policy mostly focuses on language and rhetoric used by policy makers. Discourse analysis is not only related to comments and speeches made by Iranian officials, it also puts to test behavior which takes place in social context. To this end, the author explores main political discourses shaping Iranian identity and foreign policy behavior since the Islamic Revolution. These discourses impose a particular revolutionary language on Iranian foreign policy, and give meanings to the country's foreign policy behavior. This article assumes Iran's foreign policy, initially and before starting its interactions with the international community, has been subject to revolutionary discourses as major resource for the country's definition of its identity and interests. This discourse assumed to be a revolutionary identity: it is occasionally strengthened or moderated due to aggressive or nonaggressive normative environment at the international level. The discursive context at both the domestic and international levels will help us understand confrontational and non-confrontational relations between Iran and the western countries in post revolutionary era.
SECTARIAN DILEMMAS IN IRANIAN FOREIGN POLICY: WHEN STRATEGY AND IDENTITY POLITICS COLLIDE
The Islamic Republic’s foreign policy is a product of its self-interest. Striving to protect Iran’s Islamic theocracy from external threats drives the country’s approach to foreign affairs. That approach can, at times, look aggressive or pragmatic. A sectarian angle also exists. Given its relative alienation from its neighbors since the 1979 revolution, Iran has relied on a strategy of forming relationships with nonstate groups to help promote its strategic interests. Although it supports Sunni groups, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, Iran’s backing of Shia organizations has most angered its neighbors. That practice, often fused with the unofficial policy of exporting the revolution, has paid dividends for Iran strategically but has also hardened perceptions of its confessional bias.
Geopolitics Quarterly, Volume: 17, No 4, Winter 2021 PP 231-262, 2021
Iraq is a prominent identity crisis example. Ethnic and religious multiplicity have caused political and social conflicting divisions. Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis are the main group players. Kurdish and Arab are ethnic, Shiite and Sunni are religious groups. Islamic Revolution made fundamental changes in Iran's foreign policy orientation. In Iraq simultaneously, Saddam took power. Different ethnicities and identities had no expressing opportunity. US invasion and Ba'athist overthrow brought Iraq into a new and unstable phase, and various groups and ethnicities expressed their conflicting political and social identity goals and demands. Regional countries particularly Iran have expanded their influence in Iraq by changing the foreign policy orientation, to prevent others from increasing their effect. This study is to analyze and investigate identity crisis impact in Iraq on Iran's foreign policy orientation emphasizing post-Saddam era (2003-2020) applying Constructivism Theory. The descriptive-analytical method and library resources used in collecting data and information.
Between Darius and Khomeini: exploring Iran's national identity problematique
Iran, since the advent of its nation-state building process, has struggled to define its national identity in a relevant and resonant way. This article, while acknowledging the multi-dimensional nature of Iran's national identity, focuses on its two most profound components: Nationalism and Islamism. It explores how the tensions between these two are at the heart of not only the problem of Iranian identity but also of Persian identity. Examining how these two bases of identity also rely on similarity as well as difference the article argues, through the use of the tool of a problematique, that a coherent Iranian national identity, inclusive of all including ethnic minorities, is not possible until the tensions between Nationalism and Islamism at the heart of Persian identity are resolved.