Examining the process of nation-building in the second Pahlavi period and its impact on foreign policy based on the approach of Reinhard Bendix

Nation-building is used for national strength and creating a common identity, and governments seek to consolidate their political power from its implementation. This process after World War II is directly related to citizenship rights, and as Reinhard Bendix believes, the key to successful nation-building is the expansion of political participation that can be obtained from the realization of citizenship rights. Nation-building in the history of contemporary Iran can be investigated at least from the constitution onwards. The current research, with a descriptive and analytical approach, in a library method using written sources, while looking at nation building and citizenship rights from the constitutional era to the first Pahlavi era, examines this process in the second Pahlavi era and its impact on foreign policy action. The research question is, what was the process of nation building and citizenship rights during the second Pahlavi era? What is the impact of this process on foreign policy action? The theoretical framework of the research is the approach of Reinhard Bendix in the book Nation Building and Citizenship. Examining the historical process of the mentioned process shows that Iranian governments from Qajar to the end of Pahlavi were not successful in nation building. Along with the traditional Iranian culture, in which the citizen was a subject, one should mention the tyranny that governs the thoughts and actions of the rulers as obstacles to nation building and citizenship rights. Nation-building was the leader of foreign policy during the second Pahlavi period, and the relationship and actions of the court and the government with other countries were defined by the view of authoritarian state-building and the authoritarian model.