The relationship between ideology and political practice, with Iran as the case study

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This research will examine the relationship between ideology and political practice, with Iran as the case study. More specifically, it will assess Iran's international policy on political and armed conflicts in the Middle East 2005-2015, covering Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. It will investigate whether Iran's policies and actions in this period have been a challenge to the prevailing international ideology, or simply a geostrategic manoeuvre. I will aim to highlight the relevance of an ideological dimension, in particular to Iran's foreign policy on Middle Eastern conflicts, and which includes a high ideological affinity between Iran and the movements it supported.The choice of approaches for establishing whether Iran's policy can be explained most effectively in terms of interests alone , or whether ideological considerations played a role , is crucial for this research. Two different theoretical models initially appear suitable for the task: one belonging to the realist or neorealist school, with the second combining the English school's historical approach, and the constructivist focus on ideology. In order to assess ideological affinity, the first step will be to trace the contours of Iran's official political ideology in the 21st century. For this, both official documents and intellectuals' original material can be used, as well as secondary sources. The most challenging task is to examine the ideological line of those political movements Iran either supported or opposed. Since the period considered here is recent (2005-2015), there is no lack of primary sources available, along with first-hand accounts of the aims and policies of those movements. Concerning the range of historical and empirical material, I would focus on Iran's impact on the political conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and possibly Afghanistan. This choice is dictated by geographical proximity, and thus strategic importance, as well as by the highly international dimension of these particular conflicts.