Different Nuclear Strategies of Iran; Explanation from the viewpoint of Neoclassical Realism

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Guilan University

Abstract

Nuclear strategy is apolicy aimed to the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes or construction of nuclear weapons. Due to the dual nature of nuclear knowledge, there is sensitivity regarding the access of countries to this knowledge. International community, and especially, the great powers, have been trying to prevent the rise of nuclear states. By contrast, states willing to acquire nuclear knowledge seek to achieve their goals through different strategies such as engagement, negotiation, confrontation, détente, confidence building. Iran has been working to achieve nuclear knowledge since the 1950s. Nevertheless, the most important attempts were done after the Islamic Revolution and in particular since 1382 onwards. The examination of Iran's nuclear strategies during the period from 2003 to 2016 suggests shifts and fluctuatation in these strategies. The purpose of this article is to examine the variables affecting Iran's different nuclear strategies and to answer this question: Which factors have contributed to the change of Iran's nuclear strategy over the years and how can various nuclear strategies of Iran be explained? The research findings indicate that the type of strategy and behavior Iran has adopted in relation to the nuclear issue has been a mixture of external factors (international system) and internal factors (internal structure, power and type of perception of the decision-makers of Iran's foreign policy). In the mentioned period , each government translated international pressures due to its internal capabilities and perceptions and according to which, responded to the international system

Keywords


بعیدی نژاد، حمید، 1384،" سیاست هسته‌ای آقای خـاتمی"، فصـلنامه سیاسـت خـارجی، سال نوزدهم، بهار، شماره 1.
دهقانی فیروزآبادی، سیدجلال، 1392، " گفتمان اعتدال‌گرایی در سیاست خارجی جمهوری اسلامی ایران، همایش ملی تبیین مفهوم اعتدال، انجمن علوم سیاسی ایران و مرکز تحقیقات استراتژیک، تهران، ایران، صص. 28-35.
سلطانی نژاد، احمد، گودرزی، سهیل، نجفی، مصطفی، 1394، " توافق وین، تداوم یا تغییر در دیپلماسی هسته‌ای؟"، پژوهش‌نامه روابط بین‌الملل، دوره 8، شماره 31. صص. 203-176.
شمسینی غیاث وند، حسن، نصیری، رضا، 1394، " رویکرد مقام معظم رهبری به سیاست خارجی جمهوری اسلامی ایران با تأکید بر روش مذاکره و مفهوم نرمش قهرمانانه"، فصلنامه سیاست، دوره 45، شماره 1، صفحات 22-3.
رضایی، علیرضا، ترابی، قاسم، 1392، " سیاست خارجی دولت حسن روحانی، تعامل سازنده در چارچوب دولت توسعه‌گرا"، فصلنامه تحقیقات سیاسی و بین‌المللی، شماره 15، صص. 161-132.
عیوضی، محمد رحیم، 1387، " تحلیلی بر سیاست خارجی آقای دکتر محمود احمدی‌نژاد"، فصلنامه راهبرد یاس، شماره 14، صفحات 230-210.
خبرگزاری باشگاه خبرنگاران جوان، (1393)، " فرمایشات مقام معظم رهبری در دیدار با دولت یازدهم در سال 92 ، قابل‌دسترسی در سایت: http://www.yjc.ir/fa/news/4779181، بارگذاری شده در تاریخ ، 3 فروردین 93، آخرین بازدید، 24 دی 1395.
خلاصه تحولات اقتصادی کشور در سال 1391، (1392)، اداره بررسی‌ها و سیاست‌های اقتصادی بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ایران، تهران، ایران
طباطبایی، سید محمد، توپچی، میلاد، 1394، " مقایسه سیاست‌های هسته‌ای ایران در دوران اصلاحات و اصولگرایی"، فصلنامه پژوهش‌های راهبردی سیاست، سال چهارم، شماره 13، صص. 146-120.
احمدی‌نژاد: مجلس در رأس امور نیست " خبرگزاری تابناک، قابل‌دسترسی در: http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/pages/?cid=120555، کد خبر: 120555، بارگذاری شده در تاریخ 27 شهریور 1389، آخرین بازدید: 22 دی ما 1395
واعظی دهنوی، عباس، 1390، " مبانی سیاست خارجی در اندیشه مقام معظم رهبری"، فصلنامه جستارهای سیاسی معاصر، دوره 3؛  شماره  1 ، صفحه 169- 141
نیاکویی، سید امیر، زمانی، محسن،1395، " تبیین دیپلماسی هسته‌ای دولت یازدهم با بهره‌گیری از مدل تصمیم‌گیری روزنا"، فصلنامه مطالعات روابط بین الملل، دوره 9، شماره 33، صص 217-181.
"نرمش قهرمانانه"به معنای ارتقای دیپلماسی است، گفت‌وگو با دکتر محمد جواد لاریجانی، قابل دسترسی در سایت http://farsi.khamenei.ir/others-dialog?id=24039، تاریخ بارگذاری، 27/6/ 1392، آخرین بازدید، 15/12/1395
بررسی کارنامه سه ساله دولت و کجلس، مجلس نهم و دولت یازدهم، تعامل یا تقابل، قابل دسترسی در http://www.farhangnews.ir/content/177897، تاریخ بارگذاری، 26/11/ 1394، آخرین بازدید 15/ 12/ 1395
 
Alam Rizvi, M, 2014, “Iran under Rouhani: From Confrontation to Reconciliation”, issue brief, Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses IDSA, New Delhi, India, pp. 1-8.
Al-Smadi, F, 2013, “ Tough choices for Rouhani following Khatami and Rafsanjani's Paths,  Al Jazeera Center for Studies,  Report, No. 4, pp. 1-7.
Alfoneh, A, 2010, “Ahmadinejad, Khamenei, and Iran’s Power Struggle”, available at: http://www.aei.org/publication/ahmadinejad-khamenei-and-irans-power-truggle/,upload on December 15, 2010, , last visited:  January 11, 2017
Altoraifi, A, 2012, “Understanding the role of state identity in foreign policy decision-making”, PH.D Thesis, Department of International Relations,  The London School of Economics and Political Science, London.
Ambe-Uva, T,N, Adegboyega, K, M, 2007, “The Impact of Domestic Factors on Foreign Policy: Nigerian/Israeli Relations”, Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, Vol. 6, No.3&4,pp. 44-59.
Arghavani pirsalami, F, 2013, “Third worldisim and Ahmadinejad foreign policy”, Iranian review of foreign affairs, Vol.4,No.2, pp. 81-109
ALDosari, N, 2015, “Foreign Policy from Khatami to Ahmadinejad There is One Foreign Policy in Iran, which is Khamenei’s Foreign Policy”, World Journal of Social Science Research, Vol. 2, No. 1,PP.47-71
Bar, SH, Mach tiger, R. Bachar, SH, 2008, “Iranian Nuclear Decision Making under Ahmadinejad, The eight herzliya conference, January 20-23. Pp.1-36
Barzegar, K, 2012, “The Arab Spring and the Balance of Power in the Middle East”, available at: http://powerandpolicy.com/the-arab-spring-and-the-balance-of-power-in-the-middle-east-power-policy/#.WIO5kX3d7IU, upload on, October 30, 2012, last visited: January 12, 2017.
Borszik, O, 2014, “International Sanctions against Iran under President Ahmadinejad: Explaining Regime Persistence”, German Institute of Global and Area Studies GIGAWorking Papers, No. 2, pp. 1-25.
Chatman house, 2016, “Iran’s Politics and Foreign Policy, Middle East and North Africa Program, Workshop Summary, pp. 1-11.
Chubin, SH, 2007, “ Iran : domestic politics and nuclear choices” Domestic Political Change and Grand Strategy , edit by Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, the national bureau of asian research , Washington DC.
Dehghani Firoozabadi, J, Zare Ashkezari, M, 2016, “Neo-classical Realism in International Relations”, Asian Social Science; Vol. 12, No. 6, PP. 95-99.
Dersan, D, 2012, “ Response to the international challenge : A neoclassical realist analysis of Syrian foreign policy, 1990-2005” ,  PH.D Thesis, Department of international relation, Middle East Technical University
Ditto, S, 2013, “ Reading rouhani : The Promise and Peril of Iran’s New President”, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington DC, united stated of America .
Durani , L, A, 2015, “ China and the South China Sea: The Emergence of the Huaqing Doctrine”, M.A Thesis,  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,  Blacksburg, Virginia
Faghihi, R, 2016, “ Iranian conservatives may be forced to embrace rouhani” available at: www.Al-manitor.com/pluse /originals 2016.upload  on june 22. 2016, last visited: November 29.2016.
Gerschwer, S, 2016, “Bracketing” Foreign Policy from Domestic Affairs: A New Paradigm for International Negotiation and Decision-Making”, Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science, Volume 2 , Issue 2, pp. 1-10.
Golkar, S, 2016, “ Iran’s supreme leader  hasn’t joust fought rouhani” , available at: http://nationalinterest.org/ -16272, upload at: May 19, 2016, last visited:  January 11, 2017.
Gordon , A. M, 2014, “U.S. in the Unipolar Moment: Analysis of George W. Bush Middle East Foreign Policy”, M.A thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Hermann. M. G, 1980, “ Explaining foreign policy behavior using the personal characteristic of political leader”, international studies quarterly, Vol.24, No.1, pp. 7-46.
Hafeznia, M, 2005, “Dialogue Among Civilizations as a New Approach for International Relations”, J. Humanities  Vol., 12 No.1 , PP.21-30.
          Hemmasi, M, 2009, “International ramifications of the “Reformists” triumph in the recent Iranian elections”, Prairie Perspectives,Vol. 12,pp.243-257.
Hovsepian-Bearce, Y, 2016, “The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of IranVolume 9 of UCLA Center for Middle East Development CMED series, Routledge publisher, London and New York
Huang,X, 2016, “ The Iranian nuclear issue and regional  security: delimaes,respons and the future”, sabbatical leave report, Department of Political Affairs.
Hunter, T. SH, 2010, “Iran's Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era: Resisting the New International Order"PRAEGER, an imprint of ABC-CLIO,LLC. Santa Barbara, California.
Huxsoll, D, B, 1991, “ Regimes, institute and foreign policy” PH.D Thesis, The Department of Political Science,Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Hadžikadunić, E, 2014, “ underrating Iran foreign policy-the case of Iran nuclear program”, Epiphany: Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 7. No. 2, pp.1-13.
 Hsieh, J,  Ziemba,R, Dubowitz,M , 2015, “ Iran’s economy will slow but continue to grow under chapter oil and current sanction”, Roubini Global Economics, New York,pp.1-15. 
 Jervis, R, 1978, “Perception and misperception in the international relation”, Princeton, Princeton university press.
Kamrava, M, 2010, “ The 2009 elections and irons’ changing political andscape”,  Elsevier Limited on behalf of Foreign Policy Research Institute., pp.400-412.
Kaydo, A, 2009, “ The role if the bureaucracy in foreign policy formulation” south affrica journal of international affairs, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp.15-35
Maloney, S, 2011, “U.S. Policy Toward Iran Since 9/11”, available on: http://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_PE_113_0573--us-policy-toward-iran-since-9-11.htm, upload on: 3/2011, Last visited: January 10, 2017.
Mccormic, M. J, 2010, “American Foreign Policy and Process”, Cengage Learning publisher, Wadsworth, united state of America .
Mousavian, S. H, 2012, “The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir”, Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Parsi, R, 2013, “ The Domestic and Foreign Policy Challenges of the New  ranian President, Hassan Rouhani, Wilson center, middle east program, view point, No.30,pp.1-20.
Rasouli Saniabadi, E, 2015, “ Four Approaches to Foreign Policy Analysis: The Case of Existing   Administration,  Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 4,, pp. 47-69.  
 Reiby, A, 2012, “public opinion and US china policy: a quantitative analysis of relation between American public opinion and foreign policy toward china, 1990-2004”, M.A Thesis, department of political science, University of Oslo
 Rezaei, F, 2016, “Iran’s Nuclear Program 1979-2015: A Study in Proliferation and Rollback”, center for Iranian studies, Ankara, turkey.
Rose, G, 1998, “Review:  Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy”, World Politics, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 144-172
Shanahan, R, 2015, “Iranian foreign policy under Rouhani”, The Lowy Institute for International Policy, Australia, pp. 1-15.
Sinkaya, B, 2016, “The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations”, Routledge publisher, London and New York.
Skinner, M, 2007, “American imperialism: the new world  order and its systematic ideology of war” M.A thesis, departemant of political scince, York university.
Smyth. G, 2006, “ fundamentalist, pragmatist and right of nation : Iranian politics and nuclear confrontation, brief report, A century foundation Inc, New York .pp.1-37.
Smith, B, 2011, “ Iran’s nuclear program: an update”, House of commons , international affairs and deafen section, No. sn/ia/6039,pp. 1-31
Sohrabi, N, 2006, “Conservatives, Neoconservatives and Reformists: Iran after the Election of Mahmud Ahmadinejad”, Middle east brief , Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandies university, pp.1-6.
Sohrabi, N, 2011, “ The Power Struggle in Iran: A Centrist Comeback?”, Middle east brief , Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandies university, No. 53, pp.1-8.
Warnaar. M, 2013 , “ Iranian foreign policy during  Ahamdinejad : ideology and actions” first publish, United state of America, Palgrave Mac Milan
Tazmini, GH, 2013, “Rouhani: A New Perspective for Iran, Institutefor Strategic and International Studies, Lisbon, Portugal,PP. 1-5.
Van den bosch, J, 2014, “Mapping Political Regime Typologies”, available at: pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/pp/article/viewFile/2103/2093.