1. Studying Iranian Foreign Policy : A Constructivist Approach -- 2. Ideology and Legitimacy During Ahmadinejad's Presidency -- 3. International Legitimacy : Constraints and Opportunities -- 4. A Foreign Policy Ideology of Change -- 5. Iranian Foreign Policy Behavior 2005-2013 -- 6. 'Nuclear Power is Our Right!' : The 2010 Tehran Declaration -- 7. Foreign Threat and Political Repression -- Conclusion
Summary
Written for scholars and practitioners puzzled by Iran's foreign policy choices, this book gives an account of Iranian foreign policy ideology and behavior during the time of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's two terms as Iran's president (2005-2013). It shows how the regime's discourse of change allowed for an assertive foreign policy that combined defiance to Western pressure with the search for other international partners. Acting on the premise that US hegemony is coming to an end, the Iranian regime tried to contribute to the creation of an alternative, multipolar system in which rising powers gain ascendance. Foreign policy actions were in line with this discourse, and they confirmed the regime's identification of Iran as an example to other nations in a changing world
