The Logic of Deterrence in the Foreign Policy of I.R. Iran

Document Type : Science - Research

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IRAN.

2 Ph.D. Department of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University, Miami, USA.Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Department of Political Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IRAN.

Abstract

The defense strategies of each country are a response to regional and international threats. Countries that have historically been under threat and aggression are more concerned about their existential security than other states. Iran's defense system is influenced by its strategic culture in various ways. This political culture, which has been formed and changed by facing numerous threats and challenges, significantly impacts the national defense approach. For this reason, the issue of security and deterrence has been a vital issue for different governments in Iran. Since the Iranian Islamic Revolution, Islam has been the core of the country's security and defense policies. For this reason, understanding Islam's approach to the concept of defense and security in Iran's foreign policy is essential. Consequently, using the discourse analysis method, this research investigates the hidden meaning in the texts to analyze the concept of deterrence in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This article examines the religious logic of deterrence in the Islamic Republic by evaluating the oral and written documents and fatwas of the supreme leader. The findings of this research show that the nature of Iran's defense strategy in the framework of Islamic thought is based on an active deterrence strategy against regional and international threats and maintaining its second-strike capability to prevent the risk of war against Iran.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Holy Quran
 
Adami, A; Keshavarz Moghaddam, E. (2015 AD/1394 SH). "The Security of the Axis of Resistance in Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. "Journal of Political Studies of the Islamic World. Vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 1-19.
 
Ajurlo, Ali; Maghsoudi, M. (2019 AD/1398 SH). "Investigating the Role of Identity in the Defense Policy of the I.R. Iran, With an Emphasis on all-round Deterrence and Conventionalism. "Islamic Revolution Journal. Vol. 8, no. 29, pp. 89-112.
 
Al-Tirmidhi, M. B. I. (1975 AD/1354 SH). Sunan Al-tirmidhi. Egypt: Matba’ah Mustafa.
 
Ameli, H; ibn Hassan, M. (1989 AD/1368 SH). Wasa'il Al-Shi'ah. Qom: Al-Bayt (as) Institute.
 
Altunışık, M. B. (2020 AD/1399 SH). The New Turn in Turkey’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Regional and domestic insecurities. Istituto Affari Internazionali.
 
Ansari Fard, M; Haji Yousefi, A. (2021 AD/1400 SH). "Deterrence as a Security-defense Strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Challenges, Requirements, and its Strategic Model. " International Relations Studies Quarterly. Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 21-28.
 
Cannon, B. J; Donelli, F. (2020 AD/1399 SH). "Asymmetric Alliances and High Polarity: Evaluating Regional Security Complexes in the Middle East and Horn of Africa. "Third World Quarterly. Vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 505-524.
 
Asgarkhani, A. M. (2004 AD/1383 SH). International Regimes. Tehran: Abrar-E-Moaser Publication.
 
ـــــــــــــــــــــــــ; Haghshenas, M. (2011 AD/1390 SH). "Regional Threats and Armament Strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. " Defense Strategy Quarterly. Vol. 9, no. 33, pp. 69-99.
 
Ashena, H. (2016 AD/1394 SH). "More Efficient Governments in a Stronger Region: a Moderation Approach in the Regional Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. " Strategic Studies of Public Policy. Vol. 6, no. 20, pp. 219-223.‎
 
Al-Saduq, I; ibn Ali, M. (1999 AD/1378 SH). Uyun Akhbar Al-Reza. (Lajevardi, M. Ed). Tehran: Jahan Publishing.
 
Barzegar, K; Rezaei, M. (2016 AD/1395 SH). "Iran's Defense Strategy from the Perspective of Ayatollah Khamenei. " Strategic Studies. Vol. 74, no. 19, pp. 7-33.
 
Berger, P. (2000 AD/1379 SH). "Secularism in Retreat. " In J. L. Esposito & A. Tamimi (Eds.), Islam and Secularism in the Middle East (pp. 38–51). New York: New York University Press. p. 39.
 
Brodie, B. (2015 AD/1394 SH). Strategy in the Missile age. Princeton: University Press.
 
Collins, J. M. (1973 AD/1352 SH). Grand Strategy; Principles and Practices. Naval Institute Press.
 
Dehghani Firoozabadi, S. J. (2009 AD/1388 SH). Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran: Samt Publications.
 
Eftekhari, Q; Bagheri Dolatabadi, A. (2011 AD/1390 SH). "Intensification of U.S. Pressure and Iran's Propensity to Deterrence Strategy. "Politics Quarterly. Vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 1-20.
 
Fox, J; Sandler, Sh. (2004 AD/1383 SH). Bringing Religion into International Relations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
 
Ghavam, S. A. A. (2006 AD /1385 SH). Principles of Foreign Policy and International Policy. Tehran.
 
George, A. L; Smoke, R. (1974 AD/1353 SH). Deterrence in American Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice. Columbia: University Press.
 
Guzansky, Y; Marshall, Z. A. (2020 AD/1399 SH). "The Abraham Accords: Immediate Significance and Long-term Implications. " Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 379-389.
 
Javadi Amoli, A. (2009 AD/1388 SH). International Relations in Islam. Qom: Isrā.
 
Majlisi, M. (1982 AD/1361 SH). Baharalanvar (Saea of Lights). Beirut: Islamic Revival Center.
 
Jervis, R. (1978 AD/1357 SH). "Cooperation under the Security Dilemma. " World politics. Vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 167-214.
 
Jervis, R. (1989 AD/1368 SH). The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution: Statecraft and the Prospect of Armageddon. Cornell University Press.
 
Jervis, R. (2017 AD/1396 SH). Perception and Misperception in International Politics. In Perception and Misperception in International Politics. Princeton University Press.
 
Jervis, R. (1979 AD/1358 SH). "Deterrence theory Revisited. "World Politics. Vol. 31, no .2, pp. 289-324.
 
Kadkhodaei, M; Askari, Sh. (2019 AD/1398 SH). "The Security Doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran with an Emphasis on Active Deterrence and Maintaining a Second Strike "Research of Nations. Vol. 4, no. 47, pp. 57-74.
 
Karaki, A. (1987 AD/1366 SH). Jame'al-Maqasid fi Sharh al-Qawa'id. Qom: Aal al-Bayt le Ihya al-Torath [in Arabic].
 
Ketbi, E. A. (2020 AD/ 1399 SH). "Contemporary Shifts in UAE Foreign Policy: From the Liberation of Kuwait to the Abraham Accords. "Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 391-398.
 
Kissinger, H. A; Dean, G. (2019 AD/1398 SH). Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy. Routledge.
 
Knopf, J. W. (2010 AD/1389 SH). "The Fourth Wave in Deterrence Research. " Contemporary Security Policy. Vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 1-33.
 
Laclau, E; Muffe, C. (1985 AD/1364 SH). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London–Now York: Verso.
 
Mesbahi, M. (2011 AD/1390 SH). "Free and confined: Iran and the International System. "Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs. Vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 9-34.
 
Mirza Qomi, A. (2008 AD/1387 SH). al-Qavanin Al-mohkamah.
 
Morgan, P. M. (2003 AD/1382 SH). Deterrence Now (Vol. 89). Cambridge: University Press.
 
Mottaghi, E. (2019 AD/1398 SH). "The future of politics and security in the Islamic world and Southwest Asia Pacific. "The Fundamental and Applied Studies of the Islamic World. Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 106-135.
 
Nasr, H. (1994 AD/1373 SH). Muslim Youth and Modern World. (As' adi, M. Trans). Tehran: Tarh-e-No.
 
 
Nye Jr, J. S. (2016 AD/1395 SH). "Deterrence and Dissuasion in Cyberspace. "International Security. Vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 44-71.
 
Nuri, H. (1988 AD/1367 SH). Mustadrak Al-wasail. Qom: Alul-Bayt Institute.
 
Overy, R. J. (2008 AD/1387 SH). "Air Power and the Origins of Deterrence theory Before 1939. "In Strategic Studies. (pp. 145-165). Routledge.
 
Parasiliti, A. (2009 AD/1388 SH). "Iran: Diplomacy and Deterrence. " Survival. Vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 5-13.
 
Paul, T. V; Morgan, P. M; Wirtz, J. J. (2009 AD/1388 SH). Complex Deterrence: Strategy in the Global age. University of Chicago Press.
 
Qahramani Nejad Shayeq, B; Esfandyar, Sh; Belbasi, M; Bahadori, A. (2019 AD/1397 SH). "Investigating the Components of Defensive Culture in the Strategic Culture Framework of I. R. Iran. " Contemporary Researches of the Islamic Revolution. Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 83-106.
 
Qaisari, N; Khazri, E. (2017 AD/1396 SH). "The Defense Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran: a Review of Major Documents. " Approach to the Islamic Revolution. Vol. 10, no. 37, pp. 57-74.
 
Qanbari, S; Azarshab, M; Mousavi, M. (2017 AD/1396 SH). "The Strength of the National Power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Thoughts of the Supreme Leader, Emphasizing the Defense-Security Components. "Islamic World Political Research. No. 4, pp. 193-212.
 
Ramazani, R. K. (2004 AD/1383 SH). "Ideology and Pragmatism in Iran's Foreign Policy. "The Middle East Journal. Vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 1-11.
 
Sajjadi, S. M; Hatami, A. (2019 AD/1398 SH). "Missile Deterrence as a National Security Strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. " Knowledge of Political Interpretation Quarterly. Vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 71-97.
 
Sandal, N; Fox, J. (2013 AD/1392 SH). Religion in International Relations Theory: Interactions and Possibilities. Routledge.
 
Shakuri, A. (1998 AD/1377 SH). Islamic Political Jurisprudence. Qom: Daftar Tablighat Islami.
 
Schelling, T. C. (1980 AD/1359 SH). The Strategy of Conflict: with a new Preface by the Author. US: Harvard university press.
 
Schelling, T. C. (2008 AD/1387 SH). "Arms and influence. " In Strategic Studies. (pp. 96-114). Routledge.
 
Shariati, S; Azimi Taraghdari, M. (2018 AD/1396 SH). "Proportionality of War and Human Dignity in Shia Islam. "Strategic Defense Studies Quarterly. Vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 193-212.
 
Shariati, S; Vazirian, A. (2021 AD/1400 SH). "Forward Defense Strategy in Iran's Overseas Presence in Oman and Syria. "The Iranian Research letter of International Politics. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 86-97
 
Sherrill, C. W. (2012 AD/1390 SH). "Why Iran Wants the Bomb and What It Means for US Policy. "The Nonproliferation Review. Vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 31-49.
 
Snyder, H. (1961 AD/1340 SH). Deterrence and Defense: Toward a Theory of National Security. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
 
Trujillo, C. (2014 AD/1393 SH). The Limits of Cyberspace Deterrence. National Defence Univ Fort Mcnair DC.
 
Tusi, S. (1980 AD/1359 SH). al-Nihayah fi Mujarrid-i Fiqh wa Fatawa. Beyrut, Dar Al-Kitab Al-Arabi (in Arabic).
 
Ward, S. R. (2005 AD/1384 SH). "The Continuing Evolution of Iran's Military Doctrine. "The Middle East Journal. Vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 559-576.
 
Wells, S. F. (1981 AD/1360 SH). "The Origins of Massive Retaliation. " Political Science Quarterly. Vol. 96, no. 1, pp. 31-52.
 
https://farsi.khamenei.ir/keyword-content?id=1940
 
https://www.aparat.com/v/3zKLk/%E2%9C%85_%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8_-_%D9%85%D8%A7_%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84_%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF_%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF_%D9%85%DB%8C
 
https://english.khamenei.ir/
 
https://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=47392
 
https://farsi.khamenei.ir/message-content?id=9171
 
https://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=40264
 
https://dotic.ir/news/12948
 
https://farsi.khamenei.ir/news-content?id=37922

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics