چکیده:
The aim of this article is to study changes in the Iran’s foreign policy during the administration of Hassan Rouhani. The paper uses four ontological and epistemological approaches in analysis of foreign policy which constitutes explanatory individualism, interpretive individualism, explanatory collectivism and interpretive collectivism. The major question of the present research is: how changes in the foreign policy of the eleventh government can be explained by using each of the four analytical approaches. In response, the author hypothesizes that in order to reach a complete understanding of changes in Iran’s foreign policy during President Rouhani’s administration, a simultaneous attention to all the four analytical approaches is required; the present article considers these approaches as the "contextual level of analysis". Exploring the four levels of foreign policy analysis, the author concludes that to have a complete understanding of an actor’s foreign policy in the international system, the contextual level of analysis should be used as it combines different levels in its approach. This level of analysis includes material and ideational dimensions in both minor and major levels, all at the same time.
خلاصه ماشینی:
In response, the author hypothesizes that in order to reach a complete understanding of changes in Iran’s foreign policy during President Rouhani’s administration, a simultaneous attention to all the four analytical approaches is required; the present article considers these approaches as the "contextual level of analysis".
Accordingly, the primary objective of this article is to study change in Iran’s foreign policy with the rise of Hassan Rouhani to power by using the four ontological and epistemological approaches of explanatory individualism, interpretive individualism, explanatory collectivism and interpretive collectivism.
The main hypothesis of the research is that for a comprehensive understanding of change in Iran’s foreign policy during the eleventh government, a simultaneous attention to all the four foreign policy analytical approaches is required; the present article terms these four approaches as "contextual level of analysis".
Changes in the foreign policy of the eleventh government based on the individual interpretive approach: In this view, the main reason for change in Rouhani’s cabinet is the change in perceptions of the major decision-makers (the president, minister of foreign affairs and political advisors) in addition to their self-image, and the image they have of other actors and the international system.
Change in the foreign policy of the eleventh cabinet based on the interpretive collectivism approach: in this level of analysis, the main reasons for change in the foreign policy of the eleventh cabinet should be sought in the ideational structures of the international system particularly international norms.