Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Theory of International Relations: Transition from Western Theories

Abstract

The Islamic Revolution of Iran brought about a serious change in international relations. With this development, current theories in international relations failed to analyze Iran's foreign policy. Because with the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a new element called religion entered the field of foreign policy. A factor that none of these theories could analyze its role. To address this shortcoming, constructivist theory was born from the Fourth Debate on International Relations. However, because it has Western foundations, it is not able to analyze Iran's foreign policy in all areas of international relations. The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran with an Islamic, critical and revisionist approach requires the presentation of a native and Islamic theory. In this regard, the Islamic theory of international relations is the best window to analyze and explain Iran's foreign policy in the direction of the nation-centered and the establishment of a just world order. By identifying the 14 principles of Islamic theory of international relations, this study seeks to answer the fundamental question of how the application of Islamic theory of international relations to analyze and explain the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is possible?