Iran and the International System

237 Pages·2011·3.602 MB·English

by  Anoushiravan Ehteshami, Reza Molavi (eds.)

Iran and the International System
MuchattentionintheWesthasfocusedonIranasaproblemcountry—apotential
nuclearthreat,seenbyGeorgeW.Bushaspartofthe“axisofevil”andbyBarack
Obama as a top priority for serious diplomatic engagement at the very highest
levels.ThisbookchallengestherepresentationsofIranasahostileregionalpower
led by ideologues, and goes further by discussing how international relations are
viewedfrominsideIranitself,outliningthefactorsthatunderpinIranianthinking
oninternationalrelationsandconsideringwhatroleIran,asalargeandsignificant
country in the Middle East, ought to play in a fairly constructed international
system.
Thebookiswrittenbyleadingscholarsandpolicymakersfrominside,aswellas
from outside, Iran and includes academics with unparalleled access and insights
into the world-views of the Iranian leadership. Subjects covered include the
rationale of Iran’s Islamic constitution, including its electoral system, and the
impact this has on international relations; Iran’s view of the ideal international
system, including the place therein of ethics, justice, and security; Iran’s interna-
tionalinterests,includingenergyneeds;andrelationswiththeWest,includingthe
clashbetweenIranianandWesternviewsoftheworldorder.
Anoushiravan Ehteshami is Dean of Internationalisation, Professor of
International Relations, and was founding Head of the School of Government
and International Affairs at Durham University, UK. His most recent books pub-
lishedbyRoutledgeincludeGeopoliticsandGlobalizationintheMiddleEast:Old
Games,NewRulesandTheMiddleEast’sRelationswithAsiaandRussia.
RezaMolavireceivedhisPh.D.fromDurhamUniversityandrecentlyactedasthe
ExecutiveDirectoroftheCentreforIranianStudies,DurhamUniversity,UK.
Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series
Edited by A. Ehteshami
UniversityofDurham
EconomicDevelopmentinSaudiArabia
R.Wilson,withA.Al-Salamah,M.MalikandA.Al-Rajhi
IslamEncounteringGlobalisation
EditedbyA.Mohammadi
China’sRelationswithArabiaandtheGulf,1949–1999
M.BinHuwaidin
GoodGovernanceintheMiddleEastOilMonarchies
EditedbyT.P.NajemandM.Hetherington
TheMiddleEast’sRelationswithAsiaandRussia
EditedbyH.CarterandA.Ehteshami
IsraeliPoliticsandtheMiddleEastPeaceProcess,1988–2002
H.A.Barari
TheCommunistMovementintheArabWorld
T.Y.Ismael
Oman–TheIslamicDemocraticTradition
H.Ghubash
TheSecretIsraeli–PalestinianNegotiationsinOslo
Theirsuccessandwhytheprocessultimatelyfailed
S.Behrendt
GlobalizationandGeopoliticsintheMiddleEast
Oldgames,newrules
A.Ehteshami
Iran–EuropeRelations
Challengesandopportunities
S.H.Mousavian
IslandsandInternationalPoliticsinthePersianGulf
TheAbuMusaandTunbsinstrategicperspective
K.Ahmadi
MonetaryUnionintheGulf
ProspectsforasinglecurrencyintheArabianPeninsula
E.Rutledge
ContestedSudan
Thepoliticaleconomyofwarandreconstruction
I.Elnur
PalestinianPoliticsandtheMiddleEastPeaceProcess
ConsensusandcompetitioninthePalestiniannegotiationteam
G.Khatib
IslamintheEyesoftheWest
Imagesandrealitiesinanageofterror
EditedbyT.Y.IsmaelandA.Rippin
IslamistExtremisminKuwait
FromtheMuslimBrotherhoodtoAl-QaedaandotherIslamistpoliticalgroups
F.A.al-Mdaires
Iraq,DemocracyandtheFutureoftheMuslimWorld
EditedbyA.PayaandJ.Esposito
IslamicEntrepreneurship
RasemN.KayedandM.KabirHassan
IranandtheInternationalSystem
EditedbyA.EhteshamiandR.Molavi
TheInternationalPoliticsoftheRedSea
A.EhteshamiandE.C.Murphy
Iran and the International
System
Edited by
Anoushiravan Ehteshami
and Reza Molavi
Thiseditionpublished2012
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
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©2012AnoushiravanEhteshamiandRezaMolaviforselectionandeditorialmaterial.
Individualchapters,thecontributors.
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Iranandtheinternationalsystem/editedbyAnoushiravanEhteshamiandRezaMolavi.
p.cm.--(DurhammodernMiddleEastandIslamicworldseries;20)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
(ebook)1.Iran--Foreignrelations--1997-I.Ehteshami,Anoushiravan.II.Molavi,Reza.
JZ1680.I732011
327.55--dc22
2011000312
ISBN:978-0-415-55966-9(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-203-80913-6(ebk)
TypesetinTimesNewRoman
byIntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd,Pondicherry,India
Contents
Listoffiguresandtables ix
Notesoncontributors xi
Editors’acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
AnoushiravanEhteshamiandRezaMolavi
1 Iran’sreligiousfundamentsandprinciplesin
interactionwiththeinternationalsystem 3
AliAkbarAlikhani
2 PoliticalrationalityoftheIslamicRepublicofIranin
comparisonwithcontemporaryfundamentalism 33
MortezaBahrani
3 TheIslamicRepublicofIranandtheidealinternational
system 43
DehghaniFirooz-Abadi
4 Peaceandsecurityintheinternationalsystem:
anIranianapproach 59
AsgharEftekhary
5 TheIslamicrepublicofIranandtheinternational
system:clashwiththedominationparadigm 71
ManouchehrMohammadi
6 TransnationalcultureandinternationalrelationsofIran 90
MohammadJavadNateghpour
viii Contents
7 TwodifferentfacesofIran–Westrelations:incompatibility
ofofficiallevelswitheverydaylife 108
VahidShalchi
8 DomesticpoliticsandforeignpolicyincontemporaryIran 121
AnoushiravanEhteshami
9 Foreignpolicyassocialconstruction 130
HosseinSalimi
10 Discourseandviolence:thefriend–enemyconjunctionin
contemporaryIranian–Americanrelations 150
ArshinAdib-Moghaddam
11 EnergysecurityandIran’sroleininternationalrelations 168
PaulRogers
12 TheimpactofIran’stenthpresidentialelectionsonits
relationswiththeEUandMediterraneanstates 175
MahboubehSadeghinia
13 The2009Iranianpresidentialelectionsincomparative
perspective 192
LucianoZaccara
14 Concludingthoughts 207
NadirGohari
Selectbibliography 212
Index 218
Figures and tables
Figures
1.1 Intersectiontheoryininternationalrelations 24
4.1 Structureofinternationalpeaceandsecurity:
theAmericanscenarioaxesofconflict 61
4.2 Structureofinternationalpeaceandsecurity:
theEuropeanscenario 63
5.1 Theformationoftheclashwithdominationparadigm
intwocamps 83
9.1 Whatisyouropinionofthenumberofreligiouspeople
inthefutureofIraniansociety? 136
9.2 Worldpublicopinion,‘IraniansandAmericans
BelieveIslamandWestCanFindCommonGround’ 138
9.3 StepsforimprovingUS–Iranrelations 139
9.4 Cooperationorconfrontation? 140
9.5 Thepriorityofnationalinterestinrevolutionarygoals 140
9.6 Theimpactofhumanrightsontheinternational
positionofIran 141
9.7 ViewsofIraniandiplomatsandMinistry
ofForeignAffairs’staffonforeignpolicy,2007 141
9.8 Reformistcamp 143
9.9 Technocratpragmatistcamp 143
9.10 Moderateconservativecamp 144
13.1 TheIranianpoliticalsystem 193
13.2 MaincharacteristicsoftheIranianelectoralsystem 196
13.3 TurnoutintheIranianelections,1979–2009 197
Tables
4.1 Role:toprovideexecutiveguarantees 65
7.1 Universalism/particularity 115
7.2 Binaries’oppositionindicatingdifferentreactionsshown
totheWestbyIraniansattwolevels 117
x Listoffiguresandtables
9.1 Iranianviewsofsecularism,2000 136
9.2 Iranianviewsofworldaffairs 137
11.1 Worldoilreserves(billionbarrels) 169
11.2 Worldnaturalgasreserves,2008(trillioncubicmetres) 169
11.3 Worldnaturalgasreserves,2008(percentageoftotal) 169
13.1 Opinionpollsinthepresidentialelections,2009 203