Revisionism in Iran's foreign policy; fluctuations in orientation

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22124/wp.2026.32829.3637

Abstract

Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a defining characteristic of Iran’s foreign policy has been its critical toward the international order. From the outset, the principle of “Neither East, Nor West” became a doctrine, rather than a slogan. Grounded in specific foundations, this doctrine has generated a range of outcomes for the country’s foreign policy. This study aims to analyze the orientation of Iran’s revisionism from 1997 to 2021. Accordingly, the research intents to determine how Iran’s revisionist orientation has evolved during this period. In other words, what trajectory has it followed? In response, the authors hypothesize that Iran’s revisionism has not followed a fixed path; however, it has undergone a dynamic, fluctuating process. This study employs two indicators, namely “access” and “brokerage,” to determine the orientation of Iran’s revisionism. The findings indicate that during Khatami’s administration, “access” played a more prominent role than “brokerage.” Under Ahmadinejad’s administration, Iran’s “access” declined significantly, whereas its “brokerage” position was strengthened. During Rouhani’s administration, both “access” and “brokerage” position became contingent upon the status of the JCPOA. This study adopts a process-tracing method to test the proposed hypothesis.

Keywords

World Politics

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 26 September 2026

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