Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• Sajjad Sadeghi

PhD, Department of International Relations, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction
It is customary for the heads of state or delegates of states to deliver speeches at the beginning of each regular general annual assembly on the most important current international events that are of urgent concern to their national interests, and to present their government's perspective on these international events, as well as to propose solutions to resolve crises and achieve sustainable regional and global peace and security. Therefore, examining the speeches of the heads of state of each country at the UNGA can first reveal the foundations of their view of the international order and system, then the most important international events from the perspective of their foreign policy, and finally their possible actions to overcome crises in the form of global partnership in the form of declared policy. From 1980, when then-Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Rajaee attended this meeting and announced the Islamic Republic of Iran's positions on the international world, until the 79th General Assembly in 2024, Iranian presidents have attended the UNGA a total of 24 times and have used this opportunity to present the "Foreign Policy Doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)". Especially after the escalation of tensions centered on the nuclear issue, Iranian presidents have continuously used this position to convey the messages of the IRI's general policies to the public. The ultimate goal of this research is to understand the 45-year trend of the IRI's foreign policy and ultimately create a model for future research on Iranian foreign policy behavior.
Literature Review
In a review of Persian works that analyze the speeches of the presidents of the IRI at the UN, few works were found. These works examine these speeches at the UN from two perspectives: "discourse analysis from a linguistic perspective" and "content analysis from the perspective of international relations concepts." These works have a diverse theoretical basis. It should be noted that there are also studies in international relations that, as part of their research on foreign policy, address aspects of presidents' speeches at the UN, and these studies have no affinity with the present research work. If we examine these research works based on their focus on presidents, Hassan Rouhani's speeches have been studied more by researchers. Overall, based on the studies, none of these research works are similar to this study in terms of scope and final approach, and none of them sought to formulate a final foreign policy based on the policies declared by the presidents.
Methodology
Content analysis seeks to identify hidden linguistic meanings in a text, and from this perspective, it is possible to examine the texts of presidents' speeches at the UN using a type of content analysis method. If it focuses on a "qualitative" approach, it can ultimately create conceptual models and maps by logically combining axes, indicators, and specialized metaphorical concepts, and from a macro perspective, focusing on counting the items found in the text, it can qualitatively formulate specialized metaphors. For this reason, the research method "patterning based on inductive content analysis" was identified as a suitable method for this research and was used.
Results and Discussion
Based on the research findings, we found that common features are visible in the foreign policy doctrine of the administrations of the IRI, including:

There is a negative and pessimistic view of the great powers.
The main approach towards international organizations is that they are ineffective and in need of fundamental reform and transformation (especially the UN and the Security Council).
In the international system, a continuous confrontation between the two main currents, "protectors and supporters of the status quo" and "change-seeking actors," has been recognized by the administrations of the IRI, which in the last two decades is gradually shaping a new order of the "Neo Cold War".
In the international system, they see evidence of the emergence of a new international order that is in serious conflict with the current international system, and since they have a strong desire for change, they try to define themselves as "change-seekers" in this new international order.
They consider the current international system to be a system of unjust domination.

The final and combined result of these three propositions indicates that the main and continuous doctrine of the foreign policy of the IRI is the "doctrine of change seeking in the current international system."

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this research, fundamental principle shaping the foreign policy table is the concept and trend of "revolutionism or change seeking against the status quo," which can be defined in the dimension of foreign relations and the international system with the approach of "revolutionism in opposition to the current international system." For this reason, the complete convergence in foreign policy of administrations over the past 45 years, despite differences in political taste in domestic issues, is clearly visible. The final point is that if we consider the approach of "change seeking based on the negation of the system of domination" which has been transformed into "change seeking against the current international system" in the foreign policy doctrine as the basis for the performance of the foreign policy of the IRI, then as a future studies, these two propositions will be correct: "The foreign policy of the IRI will support any international actor, any bilateral or multilateral coalition or alliance, or any trend and process that can take steps towards the change of the current international order," and in contrast, "The foreign policy of the IRI will avoid and confront any trend, process, actor or coalition in the international system that seeks to strengthen the status quo."

Keywords

• Change-Seeking Process in IS
• Foreign Policy of IRI
• Future Studies of the Foreign Policy of IRI
• International System (IS)
• Iranian International Relations

Main Subjects

• International Relations