Correlation Between the Islamic Republic of Iran's Political Identity and the U.S. as an Enemy

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Abstract

Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the hostage crisis, a new entity, that is the United States as an enemy, became one of the most revealing and consolidating aspects of the political identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran's establishment. With a focus on the role of political identity, this article seeks to answer the question why the Islamic Republic of Iran still insists on not having relations with the United States and refuses to make compromises with it despite all the US-led structural pressure now that four decades have passed since the victory of the revolution. The views of political realists have been used to answer this question. Political realists maintain that the friend-enemy distinction is the essence and core tenet of politics. They also argue that the strong and innate need of groups and entities to maintain a political identity rather than a structure or a desire for power underlies this distinction and emphasize the need to keep a distance from the enemy in order to survive and pursue own objectives.

Keywords

Main Subjects


برژینسکی، زبینگو (1362) «اسرار سقوط شاه و گروگانگیری»، ترجمه حمید احمدی، انتشارات جامی.
خسروی، علیرضا (1390) «امام خمینی و بازسازی هویت»، فصلنامه مطالعات ملی، سال دوازدهم، شماره 2.
 صحیفه نور (1369)، مجموعه رهنمودهای امام خمینی، تهران، وزارت ارشاد اسلامی، ج 13.
مشیرزداه، حمیرا (1386) «چرخش در سیاست خارجی آمریکا و حمله به عراق: زمینه‏‏های گفتمانی داخلی»، مجله دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی دانشگاه تهران.
موسسه مطالعات و پژوهشهای سیاسی (1388) مروری بر روابط ایران و آمریکا پیش از انقلاب اسلامی،
 http://www.ir-psri.com/Show.php?Page=ViewArticle&ArticleID=308
 
Bagge, Carsten & Waver, Ole (2000) In Defence of Religion: Sacred Referent Objects for Securitization, Journal of International Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3.
Chandler, David (2008) The Revival of Carl Schmitt in international Relation: The Last Refuge of Critical Theorists, Journal of International Studies, Vol. 37, No.1.
Foucault, Michel (1981) The Order of Discourse In untying the text: A Post –structuralist Reader, in: Robert Young (ed.), Untying the Text: A Post-Structuralist Reader, Boston: Routledge & Kegan,
Huysmans, Jef (2008) The Jargon of Exception_On Schmitt, Agamben and the Absence of Political Society, International political Socialogy, Vol. 2, No. 2.
Huysmans, Jef (1998) Security! What Do You Mean?: From Concept to Thick Signifier, European Journal of International Relation, Vol. 4, No. 2.
Kelanic, Rosemary (2008) Carl Schmitt, the Friend-Enemy Distinction and International Relations Theory, prepared for the international Studies Assiciation Annual Convention Sanfrancisco, California.
Kubalkova, Vendulla (2001b) Foreign Policy, Inyernational Relation, and Constructivism, M.E. Sharpe.
Mitzen, Jennifer (2006) Ontological security in World Politics: State Identity and the Security Dilemma, European Journal of International Relation, Vol. 12, No. 3.
Qtuathail, Gearoid (2002) Theorizing Practical Geopolitical Reasoning: The case of unitedstates response to the war in Bosnia, Political geography, Vol. 21, No. 5.
Schweller, Randall L (1996) Neorealisms Status-Quo Bias, Security Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3.
Schmittm, Carl (1996) The Concept of the Political, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sjostedt, Roxanna (2007) The Discursive Origins io a Doctrine, Norms, Identity, and Securitization under Harry S.truman and George W. Bush, Foreign Policy Analysis, Vol. 3, No. 3.
Weldes, Jutta, (1998) Bureaucratic Politics: A Critical Constructivist Assessment, Mershon International Studies Review, Vol. 42, No. 2.
Wendt, Alexander, (1992) Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The social construction of Power Politics, International Organization,Vol. 46, No. 2.
Wendt, Alexander, (1999) Social Theory of International Politics, Cambridge University Press.