Title: Iran's Defensive Strategy: A Realist Analysis of Regional Behaviour and Security Concerns
Authors: Princewilliams Odera Oguejiofor
Volume: 9
Issue: 10
Pages: 84-91
Publication Date: 2025/10/28
Abstract:
: This paper theoretically analyses Iran's foreign and defence policies through the prism of defensive realism, this is done viz-a-viz the mainstream framing of Iran's foreign and defence policies as aggressive expansionism. Iran's actions in the middle-east region, its military developments, and its nuclear ambitions are evaluated. The argument is that Iran's actions focus primarily on defensive strategies for survival and security in an anarchic international system, not on a desire to expand its territory or influence. The paper uses a qualitative methodology and data from secondary sources such as military spending records, intelligence reports and peer-reviewed journals. The study concludes that Iran's backing for proxy groups, its nuclear program, and its military actions are best seen as reactions to perceived and actual threats, such as hostile encirclement by other states especially the United States of America, economic sanctions, and fear of foreign interventions. By applying a structural realist framework, this study offers a crucial corrective to policy-driven analyses that often overlook the security imperatives shaping Iranian decision-making, contributing an alternative understanding of Iran's role in global politics.