Realpolitik in Iran

Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

On the basis of Robert Putnam’s two-level-game it is assumed that the Iranian anti-Western rhetoric is not primarily directed against the West, but instead towards a domestic audience in order to close the ranks behind the regime. Against this background, the Islamic Republic is constructed as a regional power in terms of Regional Security Complex Theory which is indeed capable and willing to act on behalf of Realpolitik and not only on ideological premises; the aim is to assess its securitizations in four different policy sectors using securitization theory and gain insights as how to mitigate those securitizations by the West. It is argued that – under certain circumstances – it may be possible to come to a limited regional security cooperation which could eventually lead in the end to a security architecture in the whole Middle East. Therefore the RSCT-model is used as a theoretical as well as a methodological tool which incorporates both ideational and structural levels of analysis providing a comprehensive view of threat perceptions and opportunities of cooperation.