1. Some scholars have argued that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy is driven by ideology. What is your take? How much ideology influences Iranian foreign policy’s decision-making? Use examples to support your argument.
2. What factors influenced Iranian leadership’s decision to intervene in Syria? Overall, how do you characterize Iran’s intervention in Syria? In your opinion, was this decision rational? Why?
First question sources:
Tabaar, Mohammad Ayatollahi. Religious statecraft: The politics of Islam in Iran. Columbia University Press, 2018. Introduction, 1-3,6, 10-11
Ramazani, R. K. “Ideology and Pragmatism in Iran’s Foreign Policy.” Middle East Journal 58, no. 4 (2004): 549-59. Accessed July 29, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4330062
Ansari, Ali. Civilizational Identity and Foreign Policy. in: Shaffer, Brenda. (ed) The Limits of Culture : Islam and Foreign Policy. Cambridge, Mass. ;: MIT Press, 2006 -(Important source)
Second Question sources:
Milani, Mohsen. “Why Tehran won’t abandon Assad (ism).” The Washington Quarterly 36, no. 4 (2013): 79-93. https://www.ciaonet.org/attachments/24384/uploads (Important Source)
Hassan Ahmadian, Payam Mohseni, Iran’s Syria strategy: the evolution of deterrence, International Affairs, Volume 95, Issue 2, March 2019, Pages 341–364, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy271
Fred H. Lawson, “Syria’s Relations with Iran: Managing the Dilemmas of Alliance,” Middle East Journal 61, no. 1 (Winter 2007): 29-47. Available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4330355?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
