Between ideology and the national interest: An analysis of United States-Iranian relations from 1989--2002

This study focuses on the primacy of the national interest in determining foreign policy. This topic is analyzed through the prism of U.S.-Iranian relations from 1989 to 2002, as the U.S.-Iranian example is one where historical determinants and divergent ideology led to the breakdown of a natural strategic relationship between two nations. Despite this hiatus in official diplomatic relations, during which the legacy of the Iranian Revolution and its radical Islamic ideology led to Iran's isolation from the international community, Iran and the United States continue to have geostrategic interests that have, in turn, led to a gradual convergence of their foreign policy interests with respect to regime security and regional stability.; This study concludes that national interest foreign policy prevails over an ideological one, but suggests that the two are not mutually exclusive. Ideology is introduced to bolster the public perception of the national interest. Indeed, ideology serves the domestic constituency over the international one. When ideology overcomes the national interest, irrational policies and alliances emerge. In both the Iranian and American foreign policy examples, this has proven to be the case. While there exists clear areas of commonality in the arena of the Middle East, ideological differences have prevented the triumph of pragmatism.; This study employs corresponding realist theoretical approaches in analyzing U.S.-Iranian relations and the primacy of national interest over ideology. Moreover, using the comparative method, the U.S.-Iranian relationship will be considered in light of the U.S.-Chinese rapprochement evidenced since the 1970s, and in reference to both French and Chinese revolutionary foreign policy. The methodology of this project is based on elite interviews conducted both in Iran and the United States.