Holistic Constructivism, Identity Formation and Iran's Foreign Policy

The strategic position of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the crossroads of the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Central Asia has made the country an important actor in world politics. Hence, understanding Iranian foreign policy is so important to craft an appropriate policy towards the state. This approach helps us to answer the question that why Iranian foreign policy toward the Western countries in general and the United States in particular, even when under systemic pressures, has remained relatively unchanged. The author believes that Holistic Constructivism is considered the most applicable theory for explaining Iranian foreign policy. Holistic constructivism links the two levels of analysis: domestic and systemic normative environment and considers them as two determining factors affecting states’ foreign policy. On this basis, this research identifies the relevant “domestic” and “systemic” social discourse affecting Iranian foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Mahdi Mohammad Nia, Ph.D: Studied in Defence and Strategic Studies at Pune Uiversity. He is an Assistant Professor in Ayatollah Boroujerdi University-Islamic Republic of Iran. The author’s areas of specialization are in international security, international terrorism and Iran’s foreign policy. He has published several papers in scientific journals.