Journal Articles by Edward Wastnidge
American Political Science Association: MENA Politics, 2024
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Middle East Policy, 2024
Hamas's al-Aqsa Flood operation, Israel's brutal response, and the regional escalation of the con... more Hamas's al-Aqsa Flood operation, Israel's brutal response, and the regional escalation of the conflict, including Iran's and Israel's unprecedented strikes on each other's territory, mark a critical juncture for the Middle East. These events have brought a renewed focus on the Levant as a key area of Iranian geopolitical interest and rivalry with Israel. Syria and the broader subregion are viewed by Tehran as vital for its national security and that of its alliance network, the Axis of Resistance, and for the survival of the regime.
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Review of International Studies, 2023
This article argues that Dialogue among Civilisations can be put forward as a crucial contributio... more This article argues that Dialogue among Civilisations can be put forward as a crucial contribution to debates addressing IR's Eurocentrism. It highlights the blurring of West/non-West, domestic/international, and imperial/post-imperial bifurcations. This is evident in three ways. First, Dialogue among Civilisations needs to be appreciated in Iran's wider historical context and its multifaceted intellectual heritages. This demonstrates that the idea of the West as distinctly different from the East is problematic because of engagement between Iran and the so-called West. Second, Khatami's intellectual endeavours are based on a simultaneous engagement with Western political thought, Islamic philosophy, and the idea of Ancient Iran. Finally, the notion itself reflects an internal dialogue whereby Western civilisation along with Islam and Iran's pre-Islamic heritages are considered integral to Iranian political culture. Furthermore, it is an aspiration for how post-colonial Muslim societies can engage with colonial power while maintaining a post-colonial authenticity. Our contention is that an in-depth understanding of Iran alongside a revisiting of Khatami's Dialogue among Civilisations can act as a means of bringing the perspective of the 'other' into debates on the international and our epistemological and ontological understanding of the West.
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British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies , 2023
A decade on from the Arab Uprisings, politics across the Middle East remains contested, both with... more A decade on from the Arab Uprisings, politics across the Middle East remains contested, both within and between states. As a mix of strategic alliance, security community, and ideational network, the Resistance Axis provides a compelling study into questions of regional order in the Middle East, given its long-standing counter-hegemonic outlook vis-à-vis the US and its regional allies. While comprised of a number of constituent parts, what holds this complex alliance network together is a broadly shared normative vision of regional order articulated in discourse, driven by ideational heritage and made real through spatial performance. We refer to this normative vision as nomos. In focusing on the Resistance Axis, this paper looks at the ways in which spatialized notions of resistance have been deployed by actors within the axis, namely the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah. With an empirical focus on Lebanon, we draw on fieldwork conducted in the country exploring the articulation of resistance narratives through different cultural and memorialized spaces that both actors have created. Our contention is that nomos has a utility as an alternative conceptual tool for understanding manifestations of order alongside more mainstream approaches.
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Berkley Center for Religion Peace & World Affairs/Brookings Institution Policy Brief, 2020
Organizations such as the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and the religious outreach ... more Organizations such as the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and the religious outreach arms of the Iranian state play an important role in helping cement transnational religious links between Iran and the wider Muslim world. Such links not only take the shape of traditional religious activities affiliated with the seminaries but also involve educational and diplomatic missions undertaken abroad by the Iranian government. The outreach and development of such parastatal organizations operating across the world highlights a complex and multi-layered articulation of Iran's combined spiritual and political mission in global politics. This brief is a product of the Geopolitics of Religious Soft Power (GRSP) project, a multi-year, cross-disciplinary effort to systematically study state use of religion in foreign affairs. KEY TAKEAWAYS • Iran's foreign policy draws on core Shia themes around fighting oppression and injustice to craft messages capable of transcending sectarian and regional boundaries. • The utilization of such themes leverages Iran's position as a global religious hub, but its projection of religious soft power is just one aspect of a multidimensional foreign policy. • Iran's cultural and religious diplomacy is agile and multifaceted and can shift gears depending on the target audience. • Iran relies on various parastatal organizations to enact its cultural and religious diplomacy on the world stage.
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POMEPS Studies (38), 2020
The Iran-Saudi rivalry has been one of the key factors influencing the geopolitics of the Middle ... more The Iran-Saudi rivalry has been one of the key factors influencing the geopolitics of the Middle East in recent years. It has also been felt beyond the region, as both states have sought to enhance their leadership aspirations in certain parts of the wider Muslim world. Though studies on the rivalry have understandably focused on its various manifestations primarily in the Middle East, its impact on other regions, spaces and domains is also worthy of serious consideration. It is through such an exploration of the wider impact that one can observe the core geopolitical character of the rivalry, which runs in contrast to explanations that seek to reduce it to a centuries-old, immutable sectarian conflict.
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The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 2020
As a country often defined in terms of its sectarian
identity, the Islamic Republic provides an i... more As a country often defined in terms of its sectarian
identity, the Islamic Republic provides an interesting test case for
the notion of de-sectarianization. Iran’s position as the pre-eminent
Shi’a-majority power in the region has presented it with
opportunities to draw on its historical confessional linkages, but it
also singles it out as a unique case. Building upon the theoretical
and conceptual frameworks provided by the sectarianization thesis,
de-securitization, and insights from diplomatic studies, this paper
presents empirical examples from Iran’s Eurasian and religious
diplomacy that provide a potential starting point for desectarianization
of the region’s fractious international politics.
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Global Discourse, 2019
The question of identity, not only framed within the context of the nation state, but also in ter... more The question of identity, not only framed within the context of the nation state, but also in terms of wider transnational identities, be they religious, ethnic or political, remains a key feature in the politics of the Middle East. Drawing on contributions from Foreign Policy Analysis and the concept of strategic narrative, this paper explores how identities beyond state borders are utilised as justification for a state's foreign policy decisions. The states under investigation are Turkey and Iran. The paper shows how appeals to transnational identities have been used by each state in terms of their longer-term cultural diplomacy and 'soft power' initiatives, and then at the more immediate or 'hard' sense as seen in their recent, ongoing military engagements. It demonstrates how multiple and overlapping identities articulated at the transnational level serve as a vector in which to pursue strategic foreign policy narratives in each country's perceived sphere of influence.
key words: transnational identities • foreign policy • strategic narratives • Iran • Turkey
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Global Discourse, 2019
Debates around the sectarianisation of politics across the Middle East and Muslim world more broa... more Debates around the sectarianisation of politics across the Middle East and Muslim world more broadly have opened new spaces of enquiry into the interrelationship between religion and geopolitics. The nature of links between Iran and Saudi Arabia and various groups in the Muslim world differs across time and space, shaped by a range of context specific factors. Networks are shaped by the interaction of their constituent parts and the organisation of power among their members and thus, as a consequence networks are neither fixed nor universal. Here, context is key, resulting in different types of relationships across spaces. Much academic and policy-oriented work on transnational religious networks has historically reflected Western governments' preoccupation with security issues vis-à-vis Islamist 'extremist' groups. This narrow prism distorts understanding of the roles that such networks play, and thus necessitates further exploration of the multiple levels and characteristics of transnational religious networks, be they state, sect or community-led.
key words geopolitics • networks • transnational • religion • Islam
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Middle East Critique, 2019
Since the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish government’s fo... more Since the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish government’s foreign and increasingly domestic politics have been characterized as ‘neo-Ottoman,’ a concept which both its critics and champions have wielded in different ways. The article revisits and reassesses articulations of neo-Ottomanism in Turkish foreign policy, and explores the significance of its appearance in Turkey’s domestic politics in Turkey. In doing so, it offers an explanation that draws out the distinct and varied interpretations of neo-Ottomanism present in such debates. It argues that neo-Ottomanism as used within a foreign policy milieu is not without its analytical use but is contestable due to its wide range of interpretations. Following this, the article analyzes the more recent appearance of the concept of neo-Ottomanism in Turkish domestic politics, highlighting its confluence with the increasing authoritarianism of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a newly empowered president. It highlights how the AKP has embraced and appropriated a precisely delineated neo-Ottomanism as a rhetorical and legitimating framework for its domestic policies. In doing so, the article demonstrates how neo-Ottomanism as developed and understood in the foreign policy arena initially, has been adopted in domestic politics under the AKP.
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Middle East Policy, 2017
In a Middle East beset by shifting alliances, the Iran-Syria relationship has been one of the reg... more In a Middle East beset by shifting alliances, the Iran-Syria relationship has been one of the region’s most enduring axes. Since its establishment following Iran’s revolution in 1979, the alliance has weathered several challenges, from the interstate conflict seen in the Iran-Iraq War, to popular uprisings and now, most recently, Syria’s own protracted and bloody civil war. It is a relationship that has endured because of both states’ shared aims in the region and their positions as vanguards of resistance against U.S. and Israeli interests in the Middle East
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Global Affairs, 2017
audi Arabia has once again gained the unconditional backing of the United States to pursue its re... more audi Arabia has once again gained the unconditional backing of the United States to pursue its regional agenda. Its historical use of its vast oil wealth to promote Wahhabism abroad as a means of maintaining stability at home facilitated the rise of a sectarianized, harsh interpretation of Islam that gained global reach with devastating consequences across the Muslim world and beyond. This commentary provides a sketch of Saudi-led soft and hard power initiatives. It highlights the destructive path that Western nations have been complicit in turning a blind eye to, and outlines the shifting US stance towards its key ally. Now is not the time for record-breaking arm deals with the house of al-Saud. Rather, it is an opportunity for European diplomatic nous to help take the heat out of the building tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran and provide a semblance of balance to Middle Eastern affairs.
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Cambridge Journal of Eurasian Studies, 2017
This article charts Iran’s relations with Central Asia following the break-up of the Soviet Union... more This article charts Iran’s relations with Central Asia following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. This event gave Iran a new set of neighbours to the north, and this came at a time when Iran was undergoing changes in the direction of its foreign policy from radical idealistic goals, such as the export of the Islamic Revolution, to more pragmatic aims, including giving priority to its own national interests and pursuing good neighbourly relations. Since 1991, Iran has attempted to develop relations towards the Central Asian states, both bilaterally and through various regional fora. Iran’s actions have been based, in part, on a greater commitment to regionalism that has been evident in Iranian foreign policy since the early 1990s. This has focused on cultivating economic, infrastructural and cultural links with the region, rather than any form of ideological crusade, and has helped reduce Iran’s international isolation. Following a historical contextualisation and explanation of the place that the lands of Central Asia hold in the Iranian geopolitical imagination, the article explores the key concerns of Iran in the region. It will examine Iran’s position on what it perceives as being the key issues shaping its Central Asian diplomacy, namely regional economic cooperation, pipeline politics, the status of the Caspian Sea, security cooperation and cultural diplomacy. This provides a revealing case study of how Iran perceives itself as a vital player in the region, seeking to emphasise the benefits of its geostrategic location, relative stability, and increasing international role following the nuclear deal.
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E-International Relations, 2015
Rouhani is more of a pragmatic moderate in the mould of former President Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and ... more Rouhani is more of a pragmatic moderate in the mould of former President Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and his approach has the blessing of the Supreme Leader Khamenei.
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Politics, 2015
Through exploring Iran’s public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates h... more Through exploring Iran’s public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic
Republic’s motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects
of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran’s
utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft
power’s potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran’s public diplomacy is used to promote its soft
power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage.
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Central Asia and the Caucasus, 2014
Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Central Asia assumed renewed importance in Irania... more Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Central Asia assumed renewed importance in Iranian foreign policy. The region has played a significant role in Iran’s historical geography, and Persian cultural influence continues to be felt in the region today. Iran has sought to present itself as a “status-quo” power in its bilateral and multi-lateral approaches to Central Asia, something that is in marked contrast to the revolutionary rhetoric highlighted in Western
media analyses of its foreign policy. This paper focuses on how Iran has made use of its historical cultural weight in the region to further its influence, something that is evident in its increasing activity in fellow Persian-speaking nations of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. As such, the paper will demonstrate
how Iran has sought to present a pragmatic face to the region, one that draws on its own cultural levers as a way of expanding
its influence.
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Politics, Religion and Ideology, 2011
Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran's relations with the OIC were largely characterise... more Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran's relations with the OIC were largely characterised by mutual mistrust and a continuing battle for hegemony within the organisation. This piece explores how Iran sought to utilise one of the world's pre-eminent religious-based international organisations as an arena to further its position in the Muslim world not, as in previous years, through reprimand and alleged subversion, but rather through a policy based on détente and dialogue. It charts how the Khatami administration chose the OIC as a forum in which to showcase the key instruments of a new, conciliatory foreign policy based on the twin principles of détente and Dialogue among Civilisations. Using a range of Iranian and English-language sources, the article explores the application of these ideas as foreign policy tools and demonstrates how inter-religious dialogue and the use of a culture-based foreign policy was cultivated by Iran as a means of furthering its standing in the grouping and in wider international affairs. It examines how Iran's own ummah-wide aspirations were maintained in a way that sought to emphasise cooperation rather than confrontation, highlighting how Khatami's nuanced approach of blending religious and political discourse represents one of the more constructive diplomatic endeavours of the Islamic Republic to date.
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После распада Советского Союза
в 1991 году Центральная Азия
приобрела в иранской внешнеполитическ... more После распада Советского Союза
в 1991 году Центральная Азия
приобрела в иранской внешнеполитической стратегии новую, куда более важную роль. В исторической географии Ирана этот регион всегда занимал немалое место, и персидское
культурное влияние ощущается там
до сих пор. Выстраивая двусторонние и многосторонние отношения со странами Центральной Азии, Иран стремился предъявить себя как сторонника
и защитника «статус-кво» — в полную
противоположность той революционной риторике, которую любят подчеркивать западные СМИ при освещении
иранской внешней политики. В статье
анализируются попытки Ирана использовать исторический и культурный
престиж, которым он традиционно
пользовался в Центральной Азии, чтобы расширить свое экономическое и политическое влияние в регионе. Такое
стремление отчетливо просматривается на примере усиливающейся активности Ирана в персоговорящих
Таджикистане и Афганистане. Показано, как Иран пытался создать себе в
регионе имидж прагматичного государства, распространяющего свое влияние с помощью собственных культурных инструментов.
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Journal Articles by Edward Wastnidge
identity, the Islamic Republic provides an interesting test case for
the notion of de-sectarianization. Iran’s position as the pre-eminent
Shi’a-majority power in the region has presented it with
opportunities to draw on its historical confessional linkages, but it
also singles it out as a unique case. Building upon the theoretical
and conceptual frameworks provided by the sectarianization thesis,
de-securitization, and insights from diplomatic studies, this paper
presents empirical examples from Iran’s Eurasian and religious
diplomacy that provide a potential starting point for desectarianization
of the region’s fractious international politics.
key words: transnational identities • foreign policy • strategic narratives • Iran • Turkey
key words geopolitics • networks • transnational • religion • Islam
Republic’s motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects
of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran’s
utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft
power’s potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran’s public diplomacy is used to promote its soft
power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage.
media analyses of its foreign policy. This paper focuses on how Iran has made use of its historical cultural weight in the region to further its influence, something that is evident in its increasing activity in fellow Persian-speaking nations of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. As such, the paper will demonstrate
how Iran has sought to present a pragmatic face to the region, one that draws on its own cultural levers as a way of expanding
its influence.
в 1991 году Центральная Азия
приобрела в иранской внешнеполитической стратегии новую, куда более важную роль. В исторической географии Ирана этот регион всегда занимал немалое место, и персидское
культурное влияние ощущается там
до сих пор. Выстраивая двусторонние и многосторонние отношения со странами Центральной Азии, Иран стремился предъявить себя как сторонника
и защитника «статус-кво» — в полную
противоположность той революционной риторике, которую любят подчеркивать западные СМИ при освещении
иранской внешней политики. В статье
анализируются попытки Ирана использовать исторический и культурный
престиж, которым он традиционно
пользовался в Центральной Азии, чтобы расширить свое экономическое и политическое влияние в регионе. Такое
стремление отчетливо просматривается на примере усиливающейся активности Ирана в персоговорящих
Таджикистане и Афганистане. Показано, как Иран пытался создать себе в
регионе имидж прагматичного государства, распространяющего свое влияние с помощью собственных культурных инструментов.
identity, the Islamic Republic provides an interesting test case for
the notion of de-sectarianization. Iran’s position as the pre-eminent
Shi’a-majority power in the region has presented it with
opportunities to draw on its historical confessional linkages, but it
also singles it out as a unique case. Building upon the theoretical
and conceptual frameworks provided by the sectarianization thesis,
de-securitization, and insights from diplomatic studies, this paper
presents empirical examples from Iran’s Eurasian and religious
diplomacy that provide a potential starting point for desectarianization
of the region’s fractious international politics.
key words: transnational identities • foreign policy • strategic narratives • Iran • Turkey
key words geopolitics • networks • transnational • religion • Islam
Republic’s motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects
of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran’s
utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft
power’s potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran’s public diplomacy is used to promote its soft
power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage.
media analyses of its foreign policy. This paper focuses on how Iran has made use of its historical cultural weight in the region to further its influence, something that is evident in its increasing activity in fellow Persian-speaking nations of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. As such, the paper will demonstrate
how Iran has sought to present a pragmatic face to the region, one that draws on its own cultural levers as a way of expanding
its influence.
в 1991 году Центральная Азия
приобрела в иранской внешнеполитической стратегии новую, куда более важную роль. В исторической географии Ирана этот регион всегда занимал немалое место, и персидское
культурное влияние ощущается там
до сих пор. Выстраивая двусторонние и многосторонние отношения со странами Центральной Азии, Иран стремился предъявить себя как сторонника
и защитника «статус-кво» — в полную
противоположность той революционной риторике, которую любят подчеркивать западные СМИ при освещении
иранской внешней политики. В статье
анализируются попытки Ирана использовать исторический и культурный
престиж, которым он традиционно
пользовался в Центральной Азии, чтобы расширить свое экономическое и политическое влияние в регионе. Такое
стремление отчетливо просматривается на примере усиливающейся активности Ирана в персоговорящих
Таджикистане и Афганистане. Показано, как Иран пытался создать себе в
регионе имидж прагматичного государства, распространяющего свое влияние с помощью собственных культурных инструментов.
After the onset of the Arab Uprisings and the fragmentation of regime–society relations, communal relations have continued to degenerate, as societal actors retreat into sub-state identities, whilst difference becomes increasingly violent, spilling out beyond state borders. The power of religion – and the trans-state nature of religious linkages – thus provides the means for actors, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, to exert influence over a number of groups across the region.
Given these issues, the contributions to this volume, and the collection as a whole, have two main aims: firstly, to explore the nature of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran within the contemporary Middle East; and secondly, to consider the impact of this rivalry upon regional and domestic politics across the Middle East. This volume examines how the rivalry is perceived in both Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as in the contestation over religious legitimacy.
It also offers in-depth explorations of the impact of this rivalry upon five regional states: Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon and Yemen, all sites of contestation between Riyadh and Tehran, albeit in different guises. In doing so, it highlights how the rivalry is shaped by the contingencies of time and space.