The southern caucasus: a struggle for

CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS

Volume 12  Issue 1  2011

53

Iran, as mentioned above, is one of the key players in the Southern Caucasus. And, just as it has

been throughout history, Iran (Persia) is still one of the powers competing for its interests and goals in

this region. So present-day Iran has extensive and deep historical experience for playing its own stra-

tegic game in this part of the world.

The Main Sources of

Iran’s Foreign Policy

It must be emphasized that throughout history, Iran (Persia) has been able to conduct a smart,

precise, balanced, and pragmatic foreign policy. This successful approach has ensured Iran its contin-

ued existence on the world map and has made it one of the powerful nations today. Moreover, Iran is

able to pursue an effective foreign and security policy that reflects the strategic environments of dif-

ferent historical periods. The many centuries of Persia’s foreign policy experience and its ability to

implement a smart policy testify to the fact that Iran has fundamental sources which shape the nation’s

foreign policy. With respect to the present-day Islamic Republic of Iran, scholars from the RAND

Corporation (a California-based research organization) emphasize that Iran has certain characteristics

that are the driving force behind the nation’s foreign and security policy.

7

The authors state that, since the Islamic Republic’s establishment, two factors, revolutionary Islam

and Persian nationalism, continue to be strong sources of the nation’s foreign policy. However, they

argue that the revolutionary or ideological element has been declining in the 20 years since the Islam-

ic revolution. This decline has occurred due to the unsuccessful attempts to export or spread its rev-

olutionary ideas to other parts of the Islamic world, particularly to Central Asia and Southern Cauca-

sus. On the other hand, according to RAND, it was its revolutionary ideas that brought Iran into con-

frontation with the superpowers and caused the country’s isolation. So, as many scholars agree, the

revolutionary ideas have declined and pragmatic, economic, and geopolitical factors have come to the

fore as the driving forces behind the country’s foreign policy.

RAND’s experts consider ethnicity and communalism to be the next sources of Iran’s foreign

policy. They emphasize that the close ties of some ethnic minorities (Azeris, Kurds) with neighboring

states and ethnic communities across the Iranian border are key sources of the nation’s foreign policy.

And we agree with this implication. The Azeris are the main ethnic minority in Iran. The current eth-

nic composition is as follows: Persians make up 51% of the country’s population, Azeris 24%, Gilaki

and Mazandarani 8%, Kurds 7%, Arabs 3%, Lurs 2%, Balochs 2%, Turkmen 2%, and others 1%.

8

Some ethnic groups are concentrated mainly in the border areas and have ties with ethnic groups or

states across the Iranian border, such as the Kurds and Azeris, respectively. The Azeris have close ties

with the South Caucasian independent Azerbaijan Republic and the Kurds have contacts with the

Kurdish communities in Iraq and Turkey. Moreover, Iran’s Azeris have experience in establishing their

own independent state (the South Azerbaijan Democratic Republic) that emerged in 1945-1946 with

the support of the Soviets.

9

 Finally, the Azeri minority’s experience in building their own independ-

7

 See: Iran’s Security Policy in the Post-Revolutionary Era, Chapter Two, “Fundamental Sources of Iranian Foreign

and Security Policies,” RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, 2001, available at [http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/

MR1320/MR1320.ch2.pdf].

8

 See: CIA, The World Factbook, available at [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/

ir.html].

9

 See: A. Priego, “The Southern Azerbaijan Question and Its Implications for Iranian National Identity,” Azerbaijan

in the World, Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, Vol. II, No. 7, 1 April, 2009, available at [http://ada.edu.az/biweekly/issues/

vol2no7/20090406025632009.html].

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