From critical to comprehensive dialogue: the effectiveness of the EU’s policy towards Iran (1992-1998)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses the EU’s policy towards Iran from 1992–1998. It seeks to address the question of to what extent the EU was effective in dealing with Iran. It unpacks the concept of effectiveness and explores the link between internal effectiveness—that is, whether the EU manages to act cohesively and purposefully—and external effectiveness—that is, whether the EU is able to reach the goals it sets for itself in the international arena. During these years, the EU focused its attention on various key issue areas, such as human rights, terrorism, and the fatwa against the British author Salman Rushdie: progress in these areas was set as condition for fuller cooperation. This study discusses that the EU did not speak with one voice and in various instances clashes between EU Member States became evident. It concludes that the EU’s low internal effectiveness translated into low external effectiveness and therefore the EU failed to achieve its stated goals.