Iran: A Regional Power?
What are the elements of power in international relations?
The question of what the elements of strength and weakness of countries are in the international scene has, for years, been discussed by the scholars of political science and international relations. Usually, by separating the tangible and non-tangible elements of power of countries, attempts are made to show a real image of their status in world relations. Tangible sources include geographical location, population, military power, natural resources, economic power… and non-tangible sources are national unity, cultural power, leadership, ideology … But there are two key points in this regard. The first point is that the national power of a country is a very complex collection of small elements which act together as a unit. Therefore, advancements made in some elements of power such as economic resources or military power or ideology could not by themselves be considered as the strengthening elements of power of a country. Sources of national power are solely separated to better understand them but in the real world the interconnectedness of elements of power within a single framework determine the power of that country. The other point is that the sources of power of governments are constantly changing. Developments of the recent decades in economy, communications, culture and advanced technologies have pluralized sources of power. Recent theories with regard to national power such as soft power, intelligence power and communications power clearly show that today the power of nations is evaluated with new elements which did not exist before. Hence national power is a completely changing concept which depends on the conditions of place and time.
Which one of these elements of power does Iran have and which one does it not?
In the area of tangible elements, Iran is one of the ancient civilizations of the world and enjoys a rich heritage of governance. From the aspect of area, population and geopolitical situation, Iran’s conditions are good. In the area of economy, Iran is considered as one of the biggest exporters of oil and ranks second in the world in its gas reserves. Its non-tangible elements include thousands of years of history and culture which have become richer after its introduction to Islam. Furthermore, it has presented a successful example of the bond between religion and democracy. On the contrary, the conditions of economic substructures, indexes of humanitarian developments and advanced military and non-military technologies are not desirable yet.
What are the differences in Iran’s regional and global role before and after the Revolution?
The Shah viewed Iran as a piece of the puzzle in the global hierarchy system. Considering the bipolar system of the world at the time, Iran was a country in the western camp which had gained the position of the region’s gendarme by spending heavy political and economic costs. The Shah’s analysis was that, considering Iran’s proximity to the leader of the communist camp, Iran’s independence and progress were tied to his full obedience of the superpower of imperialism. Lack of internal legitimacy also left him no choice but to rely on world powers.
After the Revolution and the changes made in the ruling elites and, particularly, their worldview which enjoyed popular support, negation of domination and its acceptance became the basic principles of Iran’s foreign policy. The result of this fundamental change in the government’s ideology and its religious nature was that Iran turned into the biggest critic of international relations. Therefore, the role which Iran has defined for itself in world politics is cooperation with other countries which criticize the status quo of the international system of domination in order to achieve freedom and justice at the international level.
Is Iran the biggest power in western Asia?
Due to the difficulties in evaluating elements of national power, answering this question is not easy. But a study of the collection of power-making elements shows that no country in this region is capable of competing with the diversity of Iran’s power sources. Therefore, although Iran is behind some countries of the region in some individual elements, none of them can compete with Iran’s collection of tangible and non-tangible power elements. Iran’s vast territories, rich natural resources, unique geopolitical situation, high population, religious democracy, attractive ideology, national unity, rich history and culture and Shiite Islam have all given it a special status in the region. Of course, we should not forget that no country in the region and even in the world has ever been under as much pressure and oppression of the world powers as Iran has been. Limitations which were imposed on Iran by the world powers were implemented because they were aware of Iran’s potential power and its attempts to achieve it in the new political and security relations in the region.
Which countries are real rivals of Iran in the region?
Turkey and Israel are Iran’s two rival countries in the region. With regard to military, political and economic indexes, these two countries are strong but their weaknesses in other elements reduce their power of long-term strategic competition against Iran. Basically, Israel lacks the primary criteria of nation-state building and is considered as an artificial state and is supposed to fight against Islam and Islamic countries on behalf of the global hegemony. But the conditions of the region show that this balloon is about to burst. Turkey is similar to Iran in many aspects and is Iran’s main rival in the Middle East. But Iran has the upper hand in its geopolitical situation, natural resources, energy reserves and its vast geography. Turkey, on the other hand, has experienced economic growth during the last decades. Besides these two countries, Saudi Arabia seriously attempts to form a radical Sunni Arab bloc against Iran but these measures will not have a stable future because they are taken by oil dollars and bribing regional countries.
What is the biggest fear of the regional and world powers of Iran?
Iran is a unique country in the Middle East. From the aspect of language, religious denomination, nationality and identity, Iran is not similar to any other country of the region. Therefore, the possibility of unity and coalition with regional countries is low for Iran but high for Iran’s neighbors against it. Until the Islamic Revolution, governments in Iran extended their hands to the world powers because they were alone in the region. Now that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the biggest country which is against the ruling international system, the region witnesses a regional and extra-regional coalition against Iran. What has made these countries frightened of Iran is the cultural and valued nature of the Islamic Revolution which has infiltrated the people of the region. Certainly, the example of Islamic governance along with observing democratic values is in contrast with the interests of the Jewish-Christian unity which controls politics, economy and media and also in contrast with the interests of anti-Islam and anti-national rulers of the region.