Iran S Foreign Policy

Iran has emerged from decades of isolation and struggle to become a leading, if not the pre-eminent, regional power. Iran projects its influence throughout the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. Moreover, Iranian diplomacy is active on the world stage, with long-term projects in Africa and South America. The landmark nuclear deal of July 2015 was a major triumph and saw the Islamic Republic successfully negotiate with several world powers to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. Crucially, whilst the nuclear deal restricts Iran's nuclear programmed for at least a decade, it doesn't irreversibly dismantle any part of it. With internal Iranian politics stabilizing around a centrist administration led by President Rouhani, the country is set to continue on a path of regional strategic growth. But with clear signs that the Trump administration is determined to contain Iran's regional influence, what is the risk of a military confrontation? This book argues that Iran has developed sufficient diplomatic strength and credible military capability to deter a full-scale US military assault. But absent a dramatic lowering of tensions, there remains a risk of limited clashes, with far-reaching consequences for regional security.

Providing a well-balanced and impartial perspective on the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, this book contributes to a better understanding of the current foreign policy of Iran, especially its internal and external determinants. Combining theoretical and practical aspects, it provides readers with a short analysis of Iranian foreign policy. The first part is dedicated to the Pahlavi era between 1925–1979. The second consists of three chapters covering issues relating to ideological and institutional aspects of Iranian foreign policy after 1979. The last part incorporates eight case studies which best present both regional and global dimensions. This comprehensive study contains a synthesis of views and opinions of commentators and scholars who often represent contradictory perspectives. Serving as a key reference and starting point for further studies, this book will be of interest to students and researchers studying Iranian foreign policy, international relations, and Middle Eastern studies.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of the domestic and foreign politics of Iran, focusing on its complex nature from political, social and cultural perspectives. It has adopted a multidisciplinary approach, combining comparative politics and intellectual and modern history with international relations. It analyses the institutional structure of the Islamic Republic, the main political and social actors and alliances, as well as Iranian opposition forces both inside and outside the country. The book tries to simplify the seemingly intractable complexity of the Islamic Republic by demystifying it and using political science methods to prove that it is a peculiar hybrid regime.

Examining Iranian foreign policy, with a focus on the years since 2001, this book analyses the defining feature of Iran’s international and regional posture, its strategic loneliness, and the implications of this for the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy. Iranian Foreign Policy since 2001 offers an in-depth analysis of the key drivers behind Iran’s foreign policy; power, strategic culture, and ideology. In addition, the authors examine Iran’s relations with key countries and regions, including its often tenuous relations with China, Russia and America, as well as its bilateral relations with non-state actors such as Hezbollah. The common thread running throughout the volume is that Iran is alone in the world: regardless of its political manoeuvrings, the Islamic Republic’s regional and international posture is largely one of strategic loneliness. Assimilating contributions from the US, Canada, Europe and Iran, this book provides an international perspective, both at the theoretical and practical levels and is essential reading for those with an interest in Middle Eastern Politics, International Relations and Political Science more broadly.

The book offers the first systematic account of Iran’s foreign policy following the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) of July 14, 2015. The author evaluates in what ways the JCPOA, in conjunction with the dramatic changes taking shape in the international order, have affected Iran’s foreign policy. Known as Normalizers, the moderate leadership under President Hassan Rouhani had planned to normalize Iran’s foreign relations by curtailing terrorism and reintegrate Iran into the community of nations. Their hardline opponents, the Principalists, rejected the JCPOA as a tool of subjection to the West and insisted on exporting the Islamist revolution, a source of much destabilization and terror in the region and beyond. The project also analyzes the struggle between Normalizers and their hardline opponents with regards to global and regional issues and Iran’s foreign policy towards global powers including the U.S., Russia, EU, and regional countries including Iraq, Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Iran’s role as a regional power is more significant than many in the West may realise. The country lies between Central Asia/the Caucasus and the Gulf region on the one hand, and, on the other, between the Mediterranean/Levant region and South Asia. Many of these areas are of increasing strategic importance. This book explores Iran’s role as a regional power, focusing on relations with South Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan and Armenia. It outlines the historical context, including Persia’s rule of these countries before the nineteenth century, and discusses Iran’s approach to foreign and regional policy and how both internal and international factors shape these policies. The book assesses Iran–Azerbaijan and Iran–Armenia bilateral relations to demonstrate how those policies translate in Iran's regional and bilateral relations. The book concludes by considering how Iran's relations in the region are likely to develop in the future.