A Constructivist View into the Enmity between Iran & the West: Manifestation of the Islamic Revolution Identity in Iranian Foreign Policy Behavior

This paper explains the construction process of Iranian foreign policy's inimical behavior toward the West through an inside out constructivist approach. The main argument is that to understand this behavior, the domestic meaning system and identity of the Islamic revolution must be deeply considered and comprehended. The study clarifies that the foundational ideas and meaning structures of the Islamic revolution have constructed the West as its ideological other, based on the reconstruction of the encounter between Dar Al-Islam and Dar Al-Koufr. At the heart of this meaning system are ideas of independence and freedom, which mean autonomy and emancipation from all forms of Western influence and domination, to act as a free, independent and unrestrained actor in the international system and for attaining self-respect. Such a meaning system has constructed an identity of the Islamic revolution and the interests of the I. R. of Iran in the form of a permanent and irreconcilable enmity between Iran (as the heart of Dar Al-Islam) and Estekbar-e Jahani/global arrogance/the West (as Dar Al-Harb or Head of Dar Al-Koufr). Finally, the paper suggests that such a constructed identity and interests have been manifested in the inimical behavior of Iranian foreign policy toward the West.