Investigating the role of identity in the nuclear policy of the ۸th to ۱۲th governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran

AbstractThis study provides a qualitative and quantitative investigation on Iran’s national security policy in the nuclear program within the constructivist theory framework and its central categories of 'identity', ‘identification’, and ‘broker-structure’. “Identity” has been a fundamental (not the only) role player in Iran's different governments' national security policy regarding the nuclear program. It was also revealed that the ‘identification’ category had a greater impact than the other two systemic classic power and security seeking (Realism) and wealth seeking (Liberalism) factors. Given the effect and consolidation of Iran’s cultural-identity characteristics and the international normative-institutional environment on formation of its national security policy, Iran's nuclear program future will depend on the ‘look’ and ‘extent of interaction’, the structure (international system) and the broker (the governments of Iran). Therefore, Iran’s national security policy in its nuclear program (after the one-sided withdrawal of the USA from JCPOA) can be analized within the given framework of this study.

Keywords:

Iran's Security Policy , The Nuclear Program , identity , Identification , agent-structure