About this item
Highlights
- How US-Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it.
- About the Author: Dalia Dassa Kaye is a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and former Senior Political Scientist and Director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy.
- 224 Pages
- Political Science, International Relations
Description
About the Book
"US policy toward Iran has remained remarkably consistent since the earliest years of the Reagan administration. Even momentous geopolitical shifts, changing leaderships, and evolving domestic priorities have not fundamentally altered this seemingly permanent hostile relationship. Standard explanations pin the blame on Iran and its revolutionary leaders propagating an ideology and policies at odds with the US and the West. While there is no doubt that Iran bears significant blame for a deeply adversarial relationship--the country often engages in dangerous and repressive activities and regularly violates international law and norms--this book argues that "it's them, not us" accounts cannot alone explain the unusual nature of America's posture toward this complicated but critically important country. This book tells the story of the making of America's Iran policy over the past four decades, offering a window into how foreign policy is constructed in Washington and why it is so often difficult to change. Drawing on original interviews with former and current government officials, as well as the author's own participation in dozens of track two meetings related to Iran over the past twenty years, Kaye deftly explores how America's Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it. America's stance on Iran is at its core homegrown, shaped by the worldviews and predominant framing and discourse on Iran across several generations of American policymakers. This book illustrates how such views and resulting policies became deeply entrenched, reinforced by Iran's own antagonistic posture. Kaye looks back at US policy toward Iran to help us look ahead, offering wider lessons for current dynamics in American foreign policymaking"-- Provided by publisher.Book Synopsis
How US-Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it.
US policy toward Iran has remained remarkably consistent since the earliest years of the Reagan administration. Even momentous geopolitical shifts, changing leaderships, and evolving domestic priorities have not fundamentally altered this seemingly permanent hostile relationship. Standard explanations pin the blame on Iran and its revolutionary leaders propagating an ideology and policies at odds with the US and the West. While there is no doubt that Iran bears significant blame for a deeply adversarial relationship--the country often engages in dangerous and repressive activities and regularly violates international law and norms--this book argues that "it's them, not us" accounts cannot alone explain the unusual nature of America's posture toward this complicated but critically important country.
This book tells the story of the making of America's Iran policy over the past four decades, offering a window into how foreign policy is constructed in Washington and why it is so often difficult to change. Drawing on original interviews with former and current government officials, as well as the author's own participation in dozens of track two meetings related to Iran over the past twenty years, Kaye deftly explores how America's Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it. America's stance on Iran is at its core homegrown, shaped by the worldviews and predominant framing and discourse on Iran across several generations of American policymakers. This book illustrates how such views and resulting policies became deeply entrenched, reinforced by Iran's own antagonistic posture. Kaye looks back at US policy toward Iran to help us look ahead, offering wider lessons for current dynamics in American foreign policymaking.
Review Quotes
"Enduring Hostility fills an important gap in our understanding of the troubled relationship between Iran and the United States. Digging deep into history, and drawing on new evidence, Dalia Dassa Kaye finds that American policy towards Iran is, at its core, 'homegrown.' A thoughtful, readable, and important analysis for anyone interested in the contemporary Middle East." --Janice Gross Stein, University of Toronto
"In this incisive and timely book, Dalia Dassa Kaye tells the story of over four decades of America's effort to contend with Iran's regional role and nuclear ambitions. A much-needed resource on an urgent topic and a must-read for policymakers and academics." --Vali Nasr, author of Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History
About the Author
Dalia Dassa Kaye is a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and former Senior Political Scientist and Director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy.