An Islamic Theory for Foreign Policy: A Framework for the Analysis of Iran's Foreign Policy

Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, different theories have been used by scholar to explain the nature, process and behavior of Iran’s foreign policy. In the author’s view, conventional theories in international relations and foreign policy analysis cannot explain the foreign policy behavior of the Islamic Republic. In his analysis, the failure stems on the one hand, from the context–bound nature of conventional foreign policy theories, and on the other, from the peculiar Islamic identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, an adequate explanation of the foreign policy of an Islamic state requires a different theoretical approach anchored on the nature and identity of that state. This article tries to explore into an “Islamic theory for foreign policy” capable of adequately explaining the foreign policy behavior of an Islamic state, and for the case at hand, that of the Islamic Republic of Iran.