Discourse Analysis of the Concept of the Foreign Policy in the First National Consultative Assembly of the Constitutional Revolution

The first National Consultative Assembly of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution had to perform two functions: legislation and initiation; since there were no experiments in making law and no backgrounds for establishing the new constitution. Foreign policy is based on four main factors: understanding the international environment, preparing a strategy for protecting national interests, devising a tactical plan for the implementation of the strategy, and diplomacy, or organizing diplomats for the implementation of tactics. In the 19th century, Iran gained a significant standing in international system. On one hand, given Iran’s strategic position as a corridor state, powerful countries could not afford to ignore Iran, which at the time, played an important role in the competition among great powers. On the other hand, Iran functioned as a buffer state among two intrusive and powerful governments of Russia and England. Iran was neither a colony nor independent and it just played the role of a buffer in the breathtaking competition between two superpowers. Moreover, Iran and Central Asia were involved in a great game, at the time. Russia regarded Iran as an important country in order to damage England’s interests in India and Afghanistan. For England, on the other hand, Iran was of utmost significance to curb Russia’s interests in the Persian Gulf and prevent other powers’ influence in India. The authors of this article seek to answer the following question: what were the main effects of political, economic, social, and historical contexts on formulating and shaping the discourse(s) of the foreign policy in the debates of the National Consultative Assembly of the Constitutional Revolution era. Based on the method of discourse analysis (Fairclough approach), the authors seek to interpret the concept of foreign policy from the viewpoints of the first National Consultative (constituent) Assembly of the Constitutional Revolution period in Iran as an instrument for the formation of Iran's constitution of 1906.