Evaluation of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Foreign policy means the use of strategies and tools to achieve the desired goals in the international arena. Relatively extensive literature on Iranian foreign policy has been produced in recent years, but there is no room for evaluative research in this literature, and perhaps one of the reasons is that because evaluation is usually value-oriented and academic circles strive, scientific endeavor is far from They have valuable judgments, and perhaps another reason for concern is the consequences of foreign policy evaluation, because evaluation may not be to the liking of foreign policy practitioners. Another reason is that its politics and literature are not very rich. Nevertheless, the book “Evaluation of the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” is one of the researches that has been done in this field.

book introduction

The first chapter of the present book entitled “Foreign Policy Evaluation: A Conceptual-Analytical Framework” Written by Amir Mohammad Haji Yousefi. In this chapter, topics such as “The concept of evaluation; Policy evaluation literature; Foreign policy evaluation literature; Conceptual-analytical framework of the book; Conceptual-analytical framework of the book; Conclusion ». The author in this chapter believes that evaluation should be able to tell us if something has happened outside and to what extent. For example, if we consider the acquisition of national interests as a very general goal of foreign policy, whether or not foreign policy has been achieved in an action and to what extent.

“Theoretical Challenges of the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” Written by Seyed Javad Dehghani Firoozabadi, the second chapter is dedicated to this topic. The author in this chapter discusses topics such as “Cognitive and epistemological challenge: the gap between the psychological and operational environment; Challenging theoretical foundations and multiple sources of identity; The challenge of idealism and realism; The challenge of pluralism and discourse; The challenge of multiple rationality; Multiple national role challenges; The challenge of adopting the right strategy; Challenge of national interests and Islamic interests; The challenge of defining and prioritizing specific goals; The challenge of balance and compatibility between national goals; The challenge of balancing the tools and goals of foreign policy; The challenge of doctrine and the dominant concept is clear; The challenge of strategic or contingent thinking; The challenge of looking east or west politics; The challenge of multilateralism and coalition building; The challenge of regionalism and regionalization; The challenge of the idea of ​​exporting the revolution; The challenge of relations with governments and nations; The challenge of central security and economic development; The dual challenge of task and result: task orientation and consequentialism; Unified policy and decision-making structure; Institutional Challenge; Rational policy-making; The challenge of minimum and maximum declarative policies; Conclusion ». In this chapter, the author states that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, like the foreign policy of all countries, faces challenges that make it far from ideal. Some of these challenges stem from theoretical differences; Another part of these challenges is process and functional in nature.

Mohammad Reza Dehshiri in the third chapter of the present book “Decision-Making Process in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” will pay. In this chapter, topics such as “Factors and criteria for decision-making in foreign policy; Decision structure in Iranian foreign policy; Evaluating the decision-making process in Iran’s foreign policy; Barriers to optimal foreign policy decision-making; Strategies to promote dynamism in Iran’s foreign policy decision-making process; Conclusion »is discussed. Dehshiri writes in this chapter that according to the existing conditions and realities in the field of international relations, reviewing the processes and mechanisms of decision-making and decision-making and removing intellectual, attitudinal and institutional barriers based on reforming structures, patterns and processes based on principles and Unifying rules, along with keeping the foreign policy decision-making system safe from the influence of non-specialist views, are a top priority.

The fourth chapter of the book entitled “Foreign Policy Challenges of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Field of Security with Emphasis on the Peripheral Region of West Asia” Written by Mahdokht Sadat Zakeri. In this chapter, the author discusses topics such as “Foreign Policy Evaluation; Upstream documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the West Asian Region; Security Challenges of Iran’s Foreign Policy in the West Asian Periphery; Proposed alternative solutions in the security policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Conclusion “points out. He writes that pursuing the ideals of the Iranian political system, such as exporting the revolution and achieving the goals stated in the development prospects, all require that the Islamic Republic of Iran be able to use its economic potential.

“Pathology of Economic Diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” The title of the fifth chapter is written by Seyyed Massoud Mousavi Shafaei. In this chapter, the author discusses topics such as “the relationship between development, foreign policy and economic diplomacy; Criteria for evaluating economic diplomacy in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran; The current state of economic diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Dominance of deterrence and weakness of economic diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Constructive power and capacities of economic diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Conclusion »considers. He believes that economic diplomacy is a tool for establishing a synergistic interaction between foreign policy and national development in the context of the global economy; In a way that the actions and behavior of foreign policy are regulated in a way that achieves the development goals of the country.

Chapter Six of the book entitled “Pathology of Public Diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” Written by Ruholamin Saeedi. This chapter deals with topics such as “Theoretical Framework; The Islamic Republic of Iran and Public Diplomacy. In this chapter, the author has tried to evaluate the success of Iranian public diplomacy in achieving its goals based on the three ultimate goals of public diplomacy and based on the data obtained from interviews with some experts, and to enumerate the existing challenges.

“Conclusion” Has been performed by Amir Mohammad Haji Yousefi in the seventh chapter. In this article, it is stated that the evaluation of public policy, including the foreign policy of a country, is a practical value; That is, it is based on value judgments and distinguishing good from evil; Therefore, many academic circles, especially in the field of foreign policy studies, which is the main subject of this book, are reluctant to do so, and as stated in the introduction, the value literature of foreign policy not only in Iran but also in other countries of the necessary richness. Compared to other sectors, it does not have foreign policy analysis; In other words, despite the very good literature on foreign policy analysis, the foreign policy evaluation sector is very poor.