Quantitative Political Sociology Analysis of Shahid Beheshti's Interviews and Speeches Regarding the Orientation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Foreign Policy

Various works have been published on Iran's foreign policy; however, no research has been published on the martyr Beheshti's views on Iran's foreign policy. Meanwhile, the role of the martyr Beheshti in drafting the constitution and foreign policy of Iran is undeniable. So, the main question of the article is what was the martyr Beheshti's view on the future orientation of Iran's foreign policy and which orientation did he think is best? The main research hypothesis emphasizes the nonalignment. To answer the question and to test the hypothesis, the martyr Beheshti's views were adapted and applied to the three orientations of isolationism, nonalignment, and alliance mentioned by Holsti on foreign policy. Also, we surveyed neutrality as a fourth orientation in the foreign policy of states. The method used in this paper was a mixture of quantitative analysis (frequency counting of indicators related to the four orientations of foreign policy) and qualitative analysis (interpretation of findings and comparison). The research findings showed that the two orientations of isolationism and neutrality have no place in the martyr Beheshti's thoughts. Among the other two orientations, nonalignment gains the first place with 73% frequency and the alliance the second place with 27%. The important point is that martyr Beheshti has prescribed alliance not with the great powers, but for Iran's relations with Muslim countries and the Third World.