GPIS Dissertation Defense 7/6
Old Dominion University
College of Arts and Letters
The Graduate Program in International Studies
Doctoral Dissertation Defense
ASSESSING THE ROLE OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS CORPS’ EXTRATERRITORIAL ACTIVITIES IN ATTAINING IRAN’S FOREIGN POLICY
HAMZA DEMIREL
This dissertation aims at analyzing the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) extraterritorial activities in attaining Iran’s foreign policy goals. Based on observations and assessments from internal and external determinants, Iran’s foreign policy goals are defined as follows: regime survival, which is an indispensable goal of Iranian foreign policy is above everything; state security and survival; projecting power and becoming the dominant power in the region.
The regime has deliberately supported several armed non-state actors to achieve aforementioned goals, and as seen in the case studies, the IRGC has been served as a node in providing a broad range of state support.
Although the IRGC has the characteristics of conventional armed forces, its extraterritorial activities contradict the legal frame of ‘use of military force’ and mostly fit the characteristics of ‘state sponsorship of terrorism.’ Moreover, these activities challenge the international norms and provoke other regional actors. This condition creates an obstacle to Iran’s integration to the international system which is an increasingly globalized and interconnected and an environment which is costly to live within and highly isolated. These attitudes paradoxically put Iran in a situation that challenges the goals of ‘state security and survival’ and ‘becoming the regional power’ in the long run. Thus, it is argued that the real reason behind the regime’s insistence for this strategy is preserving the current political system and the power of current ruling elites; briefly, it is called as ‘regime survival’ in this study.
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Regina Karp
Dissertation Committee: Dr. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu
Dr. David Earnest
BAL 7009
Thursday, July 6
11:30 a.m.
HAMZA DEMIREL -Dissertation Flyer.docx (13.8 KB)
Posted By: Margo Stambleck
Date: Wed Jun 29 08:07:25 EDT 2016