“Smart Power” in the American think tanks’ approach to the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Document Type : Research Article (International Relation)

Author
Reza Soleimani
Assistant professor of political sciences faculty at Hamadan Payame Noor University
Abstract
In the last decade, the concept of “smart power” was invented to guide the US diplomacy system so that the US could have a more assuring achievement process to its goals by using its national and international power capabilities. The concept of “Smart Power” was introduced after the formation of the concept of soft power by Joseph Nye, which refers to the simultaneous application of managed soft power and hard power. The concept of smart power for operationalization requires a variety of strategies designed by the US strategists and decision-making institutions. The question of this article is about the position of smart power in the US foreign policy toward Iran. It seems that with the coming of the Obama administration in the United States, the project of the smart power was operationalized by the diplomatic apparatus of the country, whose obvious example can be seen in the context of the kind of US confrontation with Iran’s nuclear program. With the use of pressure and negotiation strategy, the project pursues the gradual reduction of the nuclear capabilities and the rollback of Iran’s nuclear program. The authors believe that in case of success, this process can be generalized and spread to other areas of conflict and put America at an aggressive stand.
Keywords
Smart power
Think tanks
Aggressive foreign policy
Pressure and negotiation diplomacy
Iran’s nuclear capacity
Subjects

  1. Persian

            1. Ghasemi, Mostafa, (2008), Obama’s Strategy against the Iran, Political Quarterly, No. 17 & 18, Autumn & Winter

            2. Soleimani, Reza, (2012), A Theoretical Approach to US Policy toward the Islamic Revolution of Iran and Islamic Awakening in the Middle East, Islamic Revolutionary Journal of Iran, Year 1, No. 2, Spring

            3. Soltani Nejad, Ahmad, Zahrani, Mostafa, Shapouri, Mahdi, (2013), The United States and Iran’s nuclear program; Strategies for Disassembly and its Tools, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Year 16, No. 1, Spring, Issue No. 59.

     

    English

     

    1. Bianco, Andrew, (2014), Iran Will Decide Its Nuclear Future – The United States Can Help, International Affairs Review, Volume XXII,Namber 2. Spring.
    2. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Dassa Kaye, Dalia­­­, (2012), Growing Rivalry between Israel and Iran Poses Danger of Military Conflict, Retrieved by: http://www.rand.org/news/press/2012/01/05.html
    3. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Reardon, Robert , (2012), Containing Iran: Strategies for Addressing the Iranian Nuclear Challenge, Retrieve by: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1180.html
    4. Dobbins, James & Dassa Kaye, Dalia & Nader, Alireza & Wehrey, Frederic,  (2012), How to Defuse Iran's Nuclear Threat, by: Retrieved by: http://www.rand.org/pubs/periodicals/randreview/issues/2012/spring/iran.html
    5.  ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Doran, Michael, (2015), The Tectonic Shift in Obama's Iran Policy, by: Retrieved by: http://www.hudson.org/research/11243-the-tectonic-shift-in-obama-s-iran-policy
    6.  Einhorn, Robert j, (2014), Preventing a nuclear-armed Iran: Requirements for a Comprehensive nuclear Agreement, Foreign Policy at Brookings, Retrieved by: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/03/31-nuclear-armed-iran-einhorn/31-nuclear-armed-iran-einhorn-pdf.pdf
    7. Fiore, Massimiliano, (2011), Israel and Iran’s Nuclear Weapon Programme: Roll Back or Containment?, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Retrieved by: http://www.iai.it/sites/default/files/iaiwp1118.pdf
    8.  Fradkin, Hillel & Libby, Lewis,   (2015), If Iran Succeeds in Going Nuclear, by: Retrieved by: http://www.hudson.org/research/11429-if-iran-succeeds-in-going-nuclear
    9.  Goldenberg, Ilan, (2015), Key Elements of a Successful Nuclear Agreement with Iran, Retrieve by: http://www.cnas.org/press-note/key-elements-nuclear-agreement-iran#.VeK0wU_z61s
    10.  Guerlain, Pierre, (2014), Obama’s Foreign Policy: Smart Power, Realism and Cynicism, Springer Science, Retrieved by: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12115-014-9814-x#page-1
    11.  H. Kahl, Colin & G. Dalton, Melissa & Irvine, Matthew, (2012), Risk and Rivalry: Iran, Israel and the Bomb, Center for a New American Security, Retrieved by: http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/CNAS_RiskandRivalry_Kahl_0.pdf
    12.  Nye, Joseph, (2004), Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, New York: Public Affairs. Retrieved by: https://webfiles.uci.edu/schofer/classes/2010soc2/readings/8%20Nye%20Soft%20Power%20Ch%201.pdf
    13.  Ottaway, Marina, ( 2009), Iran, the United States, and the Gulf: The Elusive Regional Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Number 105. Retrieved by: http://carnegieendowment.org/files/iran_us_gulf1.pdf
    14.  Özcan, NihatAli&Özdamar, Ozgur, (2009), Iran’s Nuclear Program and The Future of U.s.-Iranian Relation, Journal Compilation,  Middle East Policy Council,  Retrieved by:http://ozgur.bilkent.edu.tr/download/03Irans%20Nuclear%20Program%20and%20Future%20of%20US-Iranian%20Relations.pdf
    15.  Pallaver, Matteo, (2011), Power and Its Forms: Hard, Soft, Smart, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Retrieved by: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/220/1/Pallaver_Power_and_Its_Forms.pdf
    16.  Rosenberg, Elizabeth & Ilan, Goldenberg, (2015), Four Questions That Will Determine the Long Term Success of the Nuclear Agreement, Retrieve by: http://www.cnas.org/press-note/long-term-success-of-nuclear-agreement#.VeK1pU_z61s
    17.  Traub-Merz, Rudolf, ( 2011), Do We Need More and More Think Tanks?, Briefing Paper Special Issue, Retrieved by: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/china/08564.pdf
    18.  Walter, Aaron T, (2012), Iran and the bomb; US and Israeli responses utilizing Realism, Retrieve by: http://www.atlantic-community.org. Retrieved by: http://www.atlanticcommunity.org/app/webroot/files/articlepdf/AaronWalter_Iran_and_the_bomb.pdf
Islamic Political Thought
Volume 3, Issue 1
March 2016
Pages 53-71

  • Receive Date 10 December 2015
  • Revise Date 02 January 2016
  • Accept Date 10 January 2016