Survey of the Attitudes of Americans and Iranians toward Iran's Nuclear Issue

Most studies done about the nuclear program of Iran have used realism as theoretical framework to deal with relations of states and statesmen. They have neglected the impact of ideational elements like social inclination, attitudes and the social context. One of the ideational forces which has impact on politics is beliefs and attitudes in the society which they call it public opinion. From the viewpoint of constructivist all the social phenomenon including foreign policy decisions are socially constructed. This rule applies to nuclear issue of Iran as well. Since political decisions are not made in vacuum, they are strongly influenced by values and norms of the society. The present article wants to examine and analyze the United States and Iran's point of view on Iran's nuclear issue based on public opinion polls and surveys which were conducted in both countries and it also tries to find out how they affect and shape the views and perceptions of the decision makers in both the countries.