International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

Religion and Strategic Culture: A Case Study of the Impact of Shiite Religion on the Strategic Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Sarem Shiravand 1
Zahra Pishgahifard 2
1 PhD in Political Geography and Geopolitics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Professor of Political Geography and Geopolitics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/fr.2025.464671.1545
Abstract
Introduction:The foreign policy of countries is influenced by various domestic and international factors. Strategic culture is the quintessence of the attitude of elites and society towards the concept of power and its use in the world and surrounding environment. In this understanding, strategic culture is not only the use of force and the way of fighting, but also the summary of history, the determinism of geography, the mental accumulation, and reflects a nation's common historical narratives regarding major security issues and the type and manner of its relationship with the world and the surrounding environment. Strategic culture expresses how a specific idea and image are formed in definitions related to war and peace, security and insecurity, friend and enemy, and in a sense, the grand strategies of a state towards other foreign entities, and it exists as an inseparable feature in the policies, behaviors, and actions of states.
Generaly, the sources of strategic culture can be considered to include history, geography and geopolitics, culture and religion, and the structure of the international system, which are common among countries. But at the same time, countries differ, especially in the indicators derived from these sources, and of course, in some areas they also have slight similarities. However, the Islamic Republic of Iran, as an important actor at the regional level, has its own strategic culture, which affects its behavior in foreign policy. In the post-Cold War era, the Islamic Republic of Iran has presented its role identity in the structure of the international system as a revisionist actor, opposed to the status quo With a focus on the West, opposed to global domination and arrogance, and a supporter of the underprivileged and Libertarians of the world. The foundation of this actor's foreign policy behavior is the literature of resistance. The strategic culture approach exploits the concept of cultural orientation to explicitly or implicitly explain that different governments have different strategic priorities, which originate from their experiences under the influence of the resources and components of their strategic culture, from the time of formation to the present.
In fact, strategic culture, more than any other component, is capable of studying and revealing the causes and also the macro and often hidden processes in a specific behavior, policy or situation. Therefore, one of the sources of strategic culture that has had a profound impact on the behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran is religion.
The Research Question:The question that this article is trying to answer is how the Shia religion has influenced the strategic culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Research Hypothesis:The hypothesis is that the discourse of Shiite Islam, by creating a strategic mindset and perception, has defined the demarcations of thought and behavior in such a way that it has a quasi-divine position that is inviolable and It has influenced the strategic culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran through the “ Role-playing in determining collective identity and identity demarcation”, “Strengthening the Sense of Iranian Exceptionalism”,” Seeking justice”, “Inspiration and Semanticism”,” Islamic internationalism”, “Emphasis on peace and security”and ” Seeking martyrdom”.
Methods: This article uses a qualitative and descriptive approach to analyze the content of selected data along with topic analysis. The theoretical approach of the research is based on the conceptual framework of Strategic culture. Strategic culture provides an analytical lens through which one can better see the continuities underlying international crises and the motivations a state's actions.
The study of strategic culture teaches us how to understand and interpret government and military actions, how to place specific maneuvers in a broader historical context, and, as a result, how to better predict government behavior.
In fact, strategic culture is not a limiting lens through which to look at the past or the future. Rather, it is a useful tool for understanding how the conditions under which a state defines the appropriate means and goals to achieve its security objectives.
Results and discussion: Religious and cultural narratives and experiences shape the boundaries of thought and action. As the source of strategic culture, they create a strategic mindset and understanding that defines behaviors, thoughts, and actions, so violating them seems impossible. Here, strategic understanding and mindset refers to the understanding that is created from the components of strategic culture And religion, as one of the important sources of strategic culture, plays a decisive role in the formation of this mentality. In post-revolutionary Iran, Shiite Islam plays a fundamental and pivotal role in shaping the worldview and perceptions of decision-making elites and And the Constitution explicitly emphasizes the central position and role of Islam and the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist. In fact, Shiite Islamism is the most important ideological and Thought structure that has evolved. the national identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran and, consequently, its foreign policy identity. In fact, the Islamic Republic of Iran has become the first embodiment of the idea of political Islam. Under the influence of this ideology and religion, Iranians have defined a spiritual mission for themselves and take moral, spiritual, and religious considerations into account in designing their strategies, tactics, and major military and defense plans and geopolitical codes. Islamic ideology has played an important role in creating the discourse of Iran's international identity and role, which, by defining and highlighting the Islamic identity for Iran, has guided it to define appropriate interests and goals, and ultimately led to the formation of a foreign policy derived from the Shiite religion and its jurisprudential framework. In other words, the approach of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to interact with the outside world centered on religion and belief, and in the process of interacting with the new world, it considers the ultimate goal and purpose of man to be in the Hereafter bliss, Accordingly, modeling and explaining the model in relation to the new world has its own complexities. Therefore, identity, cultural, and spiritual variables play a significant and important role in the articulation of foreign policy, including diplomatic policy.
Conclusion: Strategic culture is an effective tool for studying foreign policy with an ontological security approach and the behaviors that emanate from it, and it will be able to easily examine the ambiguous angles and dimensions of a particular country's behaviors. On this basis, within the framework of strategic culture, an attempt was made to examine how the Islamic Republic of Iran is influenced by the Shiite religion. In the present era, despite having the theoretical and practical foundations of a modern coordinate, international relations are directly and indirectly influenced by the teachings, values and narratives that originate from religion in various ways. Shiite Islam emerged in a specific geographical space and in connection with specific ethnic groups that were settled in this space. Shiism gives a special meaning to territory and land, and therefore, in the geopolitical space of Iran, under the influence of Shiism as the official and dominant religion, a specific method of thinking and governance is established in the territorial space of Iran through narrative creation, and it has equipped its followers and believers with a specific form of geopolitical imagery and insight. In other words, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the religious legacy left by Shiite Islam has had a profound impact on the strategic culture and orientations, macro goals, policies, and strategic behavior in foreign policy.
Keywords
Religion
strategic culture
strategic perception
foreign policy
Subjects
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