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A Crisis of Confidence Revisited: Iran‐West Tensions and Mutual Demonization
Author(s) -
Behravesh Maysam
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
asian politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1943-0787
pISSN - 1943-0779
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-0787.2011.01274.x
Subject(s) - demonization , ideology , politics , hostility , political economy , political science , sociology , law , social psychology , psychology
This article is a largely constructivist revisit to the crisis of confidence between Iran and the West. It strives to investigate the chief historical, cultural, ideological, and identity‐related, as well as geostrategic factors, involved in postrevolutionary Iran‐West relations, and how they have caused an almost solidified sense of fear, suspicion, and mistrust between the two. The contemporary major areas of conflict the study delineates are (a) the human rights issue, (b) Iran's nuclear program, (c) Iranian‐Israeli hostility, and (d) the U.S.‐led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The article concludes that the restoration of mutual confidence requires a structural overhaul of both sides' ideological attitudes and political practices toward each other.