The Strategy of IRI against the Recent Development in Bahrain From the Viewpoint of Constructivism

The great changes in some of countries in Middle East and Africa, known as “Islamic Awakening” in the recent years, have left deep effects in that region. Islamic awakening in Bahrain, however, has had a special importance for IRI. Considering the movement against oppression and the Islamic-Shiite identity of the objectors, especially the al-Wefaq community in that country as well as the very close spiritual interactions of the leaders of that movement with IRI, it seems that one may analyze the IRI’s strategy for Islamic awakening in Bahrain on the basis of the doctrines and tenets in the theory of constructivism. The findings of this study show that, based on the doctrines of constructivism theory, the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the identity it has defined for itself, Saudi dynasty in Arabia and Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain, and the fact that it knows the evolutions in Bahrain as a prominent instance for Islamic awakening, it pursues its foreign policy against those changes and evolutions. Complete political and media support from nongovernmental Islamic political group of al-Wefaq in Bahrain as well as Sheikh Ali Salman as its secretary general of that movement are clear instances of this fact. In other words, it seems that mental construct formed between Iran and al-Wefaq movement as the representative of the Shiites in Bahrain (common beliefs, common enemies, and common goals) have caused IRI to regard supporting that non-governmental political group as a factor for fulfilling its national interests and reinforce of the principles and values of IRI.