Theories of Liberalism and Institutionalism in relation to Iranian/American relations
The diplomatic relationship that was started between the United States and Iran in the 19 th century drastically ended in 1980. To understand why this relationship came to an end, it is important to reflect at what happened in 1953. In this year, the CIA aided in overthrowing the Iranian Prime minister; Mohammed Mossadegh. The CIA bribed Iranian newspaper editors to create fake news. They also hired thugs to create tension and political unrest. According to Lenczowski (2016), Iran received a nuclear reactor and other weapons from the U.S government in 1967 for stability. In 1979, the Iranian government that the CIA instilled in power was overthrown and the U.S embassy was overtaken while holding hostage its staff for more than a year. In 1980, a rescue mission was arranged and President Jimmy Cutter cut off the diplomatic relationships. The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationships that have been established between Iran and U.S. as explained by the liberalism and institutionalism theories.
In order to understand the relationship between Iran and the U.S from 1953, the liberal and institutionalism theories will be used. The liberalism theory is an international relations theory that focuses upon states utilizing their own interior political rationalities to guide them during international policy decision-making processes. The liberalism theory provides an explanation of what transpired after the nuclear deal, where Iran changed from being a democratic country to a threat. The liberals hold that if not for the mutual distrust that exists in the history of these two countries, reconciliation could have been reached ( Lyon, 2012) .
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According to Lyon (2012), liberals are known to be peaceful and law-abiding rather than being autocracies. In this manner, liberal is not likely to seek a nuclear weapon or fight one another. The liberalism theory argues that when the U.S helped Iran to become a democratic state, the two countries became friends and remained in peace while creating policies that were favorable to each country. The liberalism also holds that after the revolution of 1979, Iran started viewing the U.S as a liberal state, which prompted it to overthrow the government which the CIA had helped to power. In so doing, the same countries that have all along being friends are forced to fight each other. Unlike institutionalists, liberals criticized several operations that were directed towards Iran by President Jimmy Cutter and the utterances of President George Bush during their term in office. This is evident with the number of agreements that Presidents tried to sign with the Iranian government to stop their nuclear plans (Lenczowski, 2016).
Institutional theory, on the other hand, deals with resilient aspects of the social structure. Institutionalists argue that states fail to recognize the cooperation that is present in the international system. They further argue that the conflicts experienced in the world can be avoided. Institutionalism argues that changes are achievable and they are needed in order to minimize the level of conflict which is happening in the world. Shannon (2018) believes that changes in strategies are enough to yield mutual benefit. Much of this change comes from good information about what other states have done, are doing or likely to do. Institutionalists believe that the cooperation which existed between Iran and the U.S was formidable and with one aim; to see off their allies. Institutions in a country influence whether a country should cooperate with others or not. Institutionalists believe that after the Iran Revolution, the country’s institutions changed suddenly. The democracies were broken and a dictatorship state set in with a new president.
Between 1948 and 2012, the Iran -U.S relationship changed a lot and its livelihood was focused upon the core institutionalism and liberal theoretical precepts. The political relations between Iran and the U.S consolidated when the U.S helped Shah Mohammad Reza onto power. The main objective of the two states was to stop the spread of Communism within the Middle East that was likely to slip into Iran. The foreign policy of the two states aimed to include the military and economic coordination aimed at defeating the Soviet Union and its enemy ( Lyon, 2012) . The two theories argue that after the Iranian revolution, the Iranian-U.S association drastically changed into an intense competition.
Since the Cold War ended, both Iran and the U.S decided to redefine their foreign policies. Numerous terrorism incidents and nuclear programs have shaped the U.S policy towards Iran. Institutionalism believes that due to continued sanctions, historical ghosts and isolationism have played a big role in the Iranian policy against the U.S. Between 1998 and 2007, Iran has done so much to improve the relations of its people and the outside world, particularly America with the aim of cleaning the mess that occurred during the revolution ( Lyon, 2012) . The liberalism and institutionalism theories can now comfortably explain where the source of free speech, free press, a burgeoning society relaxed social restrictions have come from.
To sum it up all, the liberal and institutional theories are very applicable to the Iran-U.S relations. Despite the differences in relationships between the two countries, the behavior that the U. S has demonstrated reveals a unilateral approach. Taking into account other international actors, the interactions have occurred between Iran and the U.S portrays a clear picture of self-interest and power-based competition. All these narcissistic believe have been prompted by security dilemmas, the desire to survive and relative gains ( Shannon, 2018). Although Iran and America managed to redesign their foreign policies, the liberal theory believes the aim of the U.S was to continue suppressing the economy of Iran.
References
Lenczowski, G. (2016). American Presidents and the Middle East . Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Lyon, A. J. (2012). Liberalism. In Routledge Handbook of American Foreign Policy (pp. 91-108). Routledge.
Shannon, M. K. (2018). Reading Iran: American Academics and the Last Shah. Iranian Studies , 51 (2), 289-316.
