Iran and the Security Order in the Persian Gulf: The Presidency of Hassan Rouhani is a forthcoming book by Dr Javad Heiran-Nia, to be published by Routledge in July 2024.[i] The book examines Iran’s security and foreign policy initiatives as well as the broader security arrangements of the Persian Gulf, with a particular focus on the ideologically formative years of the Islamic Revolution (1978-79) and Hassan Rouhani’s presidency between 2013 and 2021.
The book addresses questions regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s security plans vis-à-vis the Persian Gulf and why the Rouhani government’s policy initiatives in this regard have not found partners in other countries of the region. It also provides a comprehensive analysis of various policy approaches potentially capable of establishing a lasting security arrangement in the region.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1. Regional Security Patterns
Chapter 2. U.S. Grand Strategy in the Persian Gulf
Chapter 3. GCC and Security in the Persian Gulf
Chapter 4. Iran’s View of the Security Order of the Persian Gulf
Chapter 5. Rouhani and the Security Order in the Persian Gulf
Conclusion
The first chapter of the book examines different approaches to regional security, considering both a realist view from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as a broader, regionally oriented policy outlook. As a significant factor in the security status quo of the entire region, the grand strategy plans of the United States will be reviewed in the second chapter. Despite the proclaimed decrease of the importance of the Persian Gulf—and the Middle East in general—for the US in recent years, the country has for long served as a security guarantor for its allies in the region. Following this thematic bridge, the third chapter will focus on the security concerns and policy approaches of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries towards Iran, highlighting the nuanced differences between each of their position.
The fourth chapter explores Iran’s evolving view of the Persian Gulf’s security order since the beginning of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, through the years of the war with Iraq (1980-88), the presidencies of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-97), Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-13) and Hassan Rouhani (2013-21).
In order to reduce tensions across the Gulf, three plans were proposed by the Rouhani administration, including a Regional Dialogue Forum, a Non-aggression Pact, and the Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE). Chapter 5 will highlight the envisioned benefits of the above plans with regard to achieving regional security from the viewpoint of Iran.
Since Gulf Arabs are mainly dependent on the United States in the terms of security, they consider Iran’s plan as the balance of power`s change which has loss and disadvantage for them, because according to Iran`s innovation, the UN Security Council proposes a plan for regional stability in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 598, which is to be monitored by its permanent members. Therefore, Iran’s plan is viewed negatively by Arab countries despite it has taken some distance from past ideal plans.
The author will highlight how such policy plans have come closer to the logic of realism and simultaneously moved away from idealistic principles of the past all the while spurring suspicion on the part of Arab states by seeking to counterbalance US influence in the region with the involvement of Russia and China. The book will finally offer a theoretical security model for the Persian Gulf based on regional dialogue.
Iran and the Security Order in the Persian Gulf: The Presidency of Hassan Rouhani will be of interest to researchers in political science, International Relations, political geography, security studies and Middle East studies.
[i] Routledge (2024). “Iran and the Security Order in the Persian Gulf: The Presidency of Hassan Rouhani by Javad Heiran-Nia”, https://www.routledge.com/Iran-and-the-Security-Order-in-the-Persian-Gulf-The-Presidency-of-Hassan-Rouhani/Heiran-Nia/p/book/9781032764283.
