جایگاه حفاظ‌بندی در راهبردگزینی سیاست خارجی ایران از آغاز صفویه تا پایان قاجاریه

One of the main themes of empirical research in foreign policy analysis is to examine the strategies adopted by each state to advance foreign policy in the international arena. In this framework, along with alliance, neutrality, isolationism, and non-alignment, hedging is another strategy that has been used in the current international system. Thus, the article aims to illustrate whether and to what extent Iran's foreign policy has been drawing the hedging during the reign of the classical dynasties,.the method of data collection is through library and internet searches based on the use of secondary data contained in related books and articles. By utilizing the content analysis of the qualitative data contained in these texts, we seek to achieve an appropriate evaluation on the place of hedging in the history of Iranian foreign policy. The research findings indicate that none of the foreign policy strategies have given Iran a superior position in the regional and international arenas, and although dominating the strategy of alliance, Iran's foreign policy strategies came close to hedging, but they did not have all the characteristics of hedging.

Introduction

Foreign Policy Analysis, as one of the important subfields of international relations, has been under theoretical and empirical research. One of the topics of empirical research in this field is to examine the strategies that each state uses to pursue its foreign policy in the international arena. The international environment, public opinion, the personality of decision-makers, political culture, the type of political system, and the historical heritage of the state are among the factors that affect the selection of foreign policy strategies of states. thus, the strategy of each state in the international system is not fixed and eternal, but changes and evolves over time depending on the combination of the factors that were listed. In this framework, the study of Iran's foreign policy strategies is the subject of the present study. In doing so, the article attempts to analyze the evolution of strategy selection in Iran's foreign policy during the reign of the classical dynasties, from the Safavids to the Qajars, to identify the place of hedging in this process.
 

Theoretical Framework

Foreign policy of any state in the international system requires a strategy. Alliance, neutrality, isolationism, non-alignment and, more recently, hedging are strategies that many states in the international system use to advance their foreign policy. Alliance deals with the mutual commitment of one state to another. Neutrality is a type of foreign policy strategy by which the political independence and territorial integrity of a state are guaranteed if it refrains from using military force except in a defensive situation, joining military alliances and granting military bases to other states based on the collective agreement of the great powers and the approval of the global international organization. The strategy of non-alignment means independent decision-making, the denial of any political and economic dependence and military commitment to the poles of global power and the avoidance of bilateral or multilateral alliances and coalitions with them. Isolationism is a strategy in which the isolated state consciously avoids involvement in global affairs and avoids extensive political and economic interaction with other countries and international actors; as a result, isolationism means not accepting diplomatic and military commitments. Hedging is a strategy in which states adopt a middle position between balancing and bandwagoning; ambiguity in taking positions; diversification of international partners; flexibility/caution in the international arena; combination of positions; and finally risk management in their foreign policy.
 
3.Methodology
The data collection method is based on library and internet searches using secondary data contained in relevant books and articles. An attempt is made to achieve an appropriate assessment on the place of hedging in the history of Iranian foreign policy by using content analysis of the qualitative data contained in these texts.
 
 

Results and Discussion

Iran is one of the long-standing states in the international system that has had continuous foreign relations for more than five centuries. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the position of hedging as a strategy in Iran's foreign policy during the reign of the classical monarchies, which includes the beginning of the rise of the Safavids to the fall of the Qajar dynasty. By studying the history of Iranian foreign policy from the rise of the Safavids to the end of the Qajar dynasty, we can observe similarities in the process of choosing foreign policy strategies: First, the main goal of pursuing these strategies has been mainly the survival of the political system, or rather, the survival of dynastic rule. Second, the main person for choosing a strategy in foreign policy has been, above all, the king himself. Third, the choice of strategy in foreign policy itself has not been a spontaneous and proactive phenomenon, but rather a reactive and even passive phenomenon, in such a way that the weight of the international environmental factors has been more than the domestic factors. Fourth, none of the foreign policy strategies have given Iran a superior position in the regional and international arenas. Among them, alliance has also been the most enduring strategy, so that if dynastic monarchy has been the axis of regulating domestic politics, alliance has been considered the center of gravity that gives identity to Iranian foreign policy. This is why even if at one point foreign policy has been organized based on another strategy or even if at one point Iranian foreign policy has been without a strategy or without a foreign policy due to severe weakness or lack of a central government or the all-out conflict of a territorial territory with internal and external wars, it has not been long before it has returned to the alliance strategy.
 

Conclusions & Suggestions

Although the strategy of unity and alliance prevailed in Iran's foreign policy from the beginning of the Safavid period to the end of the Qajar period, strategy of hedging can be traced at certain points in this period. During the Safavid period, during the reigns of Shah Tahmasp I and Shah Abbas the Great; during the reign of Karim Khan Zand; and during the Qajar period, during the prime ministers of Qaem-e-Maqam Farahani and Amir Kabir, Iran's foreign policy strategies came close to hedging, but they did not have all the characteristics of hedging. Iran's success and failure in advancing such strategies stemmed primarily from two factors: first, the international environment, in such a way that the calmer the international environment was, the more successful the continuation of these strategies was; second, the state of elite cohesion and national solidarity, in such a way that these two internal components acted as the supporting force for these strategies.