Associate Professor, University of Tehran

Despite theoretical elaborations on hegemony and hegemonic power and the ways in which it plays the role of protector of the status quo in the international system, little has been said about its relations with revolutionary states challenging the existing order. This article seeks to analyze the relations of hegemonic power with revolutionary states and the mechanisms through which the former seeks to influence the latter. The case study of choice is U.S.-Iran relations. “Pressure diplomacy” is observed as the major means through which the hegemon seeks to affect the behavior of the revolutionary state. The case study shows how the hegemon acts more on the basis of its perception, rather than actual behavior, of a revolutionary state, which leads to continuity in its general approach toward it. It also shows that the slight changes in the hegemon’s policies are mostly due to domestic factors.