Research Fellow
Center for Iranian Studies
Tel Aviv University
The Principles and Practice of Iran’s Post-Revolutionary Foreign Policy
Online ISSN: 1940-6118 ISBN: 978-0-9827894-3-8
ABSTRACT:
This paper challenges the ideological versus pragmatic dichotomy which is often used as a paradigm in policy discussions regarding Iran’s post-revolutionary foreign policy. The paper describes three important themes in Iran’s revolutionary discourse and argues that Iran’s foreign policy has been and continues to be revolutionary, which does not preclude its leadership from adopting pragmatic tactics to fulfill its ideological goals. The paper then dissects Iran’s revolutionary foreign policy rhetoric of the Ahmadinejad era and contrasts it with the more nuanced revolutionary tactics during the Rafsanjani and Khatami presidencies. Iran’s recent history has shown it will tactically retreat on ideology if the Regime perceives its survival is at risk. However, these tactical retreats should not be confused with a reorientation of the Regime’s strategy. Iran’s quest for absolute security and its rejection of the Western led international order suggests that its foreign policy remains strategically revolutionary, yet tactically pragmatic.