Trust and Discourse in the Relationship between Iran and United States

Iranian-American relations have been beset by mistrust and occasional outbreaks of vitriol and violence for the past three decades now. In this article I attempt to map, theoretically and empirically, the “discursive field” in which relations between Iran and the United States reveal themselves. I am interested in representations of Iran and the United States, and how the fundamental friend-enemy distinction setting the two countries politically apart has come about. I take as a starting point, with critical theorists of international relations, that discourse has a real and present impact on policy and that a lot that is happening in world politics can be adequately contextualized with an appreciation of the linkages between “utterance” and “action”.