The incompatibility for the game between Israel and Iran is because Iran would not play by the same set of rules that were set between the United States and Russia during the Cold War. This assumption is based on Iran’s own unique scenario in a regional game in the Middle East, as well as Iran’s history to avoid inside the box thinking when it comes to strategic warfare. Tira concludes that the unreliability accompanying the area’s instability and Iran’s known use of creating black swans to continuously push and wear down an opponent, shows that if a nuclear Iran were to develop it would be a major threat not to be taken lightly. The conclusion that Tira arrives at is very helpful in explaining why Israel is not fond of Russia assisting Iran develop its nuclear program further than where it already stands. IV. Findings and Analysis To understand why Israel is concerned with Iran, it is first imperative to understand the Iranian nuclear program’s history and the extent of Iran’s current program. The goal to obtain a sufficient nuclear energy program has been a long standing goal for Iran. Iran’s first reactor, the Tehran Research Reactor, was established in 1967 and since then has seen nuclear energy and the possible gains of a nuclear arsenal as an insurance policy in the survivability to the current regime (Collina and others 2013, 3). To increase its capacity for production Iran has also worked with Russia to build the Bushehr reactor, which was completed in 2011 (Katz 2012, 58). On top of these two sites, Iran has many more facilities that help in the production of nuclear energy, as well as nuclear enrichment facilities. These enrichment facilities, which were publicly recognized by Iran in 2003 had been kept hidden... ... middle of paper ... ....1080/10736700.2013.769375. (Accessed November 9, 2013). Katz, Mark N. 2012. "Russia and Iran." Middle East Policy 19, no. 3: 54-64. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=aab26c60-18b8-40e7-8764-bddcc193eee9%40sessionmgr115&vid=5&hid=103 (Accessed November 20, 2013). Shenna, J. C. (2010). “The Case Against the Case Against Iran: Regionalism as the West's Last Frontier”. The Middle East Journal, 64(3), 341-363. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/744027301?accountid=8289. (Accessed November 9, 2013). Tira, Ron. 2011. "Can Iran be Deterred?." Policy Review no. 169: 39-48. Retrieved from EBSCOhost http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=aab26c60-18b8-40e7-8764-bddcc193eee9%40sessionmgr115&vid=7&hid=103 (Accessed November 20, 2013).
Scott D. Sagan, the author of chapter two of “More Will Be Worse”, looks back on the deep political hostilities, numerous crises, and a prolonged arms race in of the cold war, and questions “Why should we expect that the experience of future nuclear powers will be any different?” The author talks about counter arguments among scholars on the subject that the world is better off without nuclear weapons. In this chapter a scholar named Kenneth Waltz argues that “The further spread of nuclear weapons may well be a stabilizing factor in international relations.” He believes that the spread of nuclear weapons will have a positive implications in which the likely-hood of war decreases and deterrent and defensive capabilities increase. Although there
...th and early 20th centuries entwined a power struggle between Great Britain and Russia, which only intensified after the discovery of oil in Iran in 1901. Following this discovery, western nations systematically exploited Iran for its natural resources, and fought to install sympathetic governments in the hopes of acquiring better oil deals, culminating in 1953 with the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh by a combination of US and UK forces (Yergin). The continual fighting left Iran a political mess that was only rectified by Khomeini’s strong, Islamic government. Though he severely limited the power of the Iranian citizens, he increased the power of Iran within the Middle East, and world at large, as its strong military presence and large oil reserves empower the country to resist interference from countries that wish to take advantage of them.
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
Shiraev, Eric B., and Vladislav M. Zubok. International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
“Ready for War.” Intelligence Reports Iss. 131 (Fall 2008). 46-54 SIRS Researcher. Web. 03 Feb. 2011.
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte...
The middle-east has always been a hot zone for religious and political conflict but more specifically, Iran. Iran is an Islamic state where Islam is practiced within politics. The Constitution of 1979 runs off of the basis of Islamic Law. The population of Iran varies upon resources but they are all around the number of seventy million people. The country is 90 percent Shia Muslim and eight-percent Sunni Muslim.1 The rest of the country is made up of very small minority religions. The minority religions have very little influence in the country and are easily thrown around by the government and the majority Shia Muslims.
Griffith, William E. “The Revial of Islamic Fundamentalism: the Case of Iran.” International Security. Volume 4, Issue 1, 1979, 132-138.
Maynes, Charles. "The Middle East in the Twenty-First Century." Middle East Journal 52.1 (1998): 9-16. JSTOR. Web. 6 June 2011.
International Journal On World Peace 30.2 (2013): 71-97. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
Proceeding from a simplistic perception of regional stability, Washington utilized the surrogate strategy to control the outcomes of regional interactions in the Middle East and chose Israel to play the role of regional surrogate. But Israel, in many cases, instead of maintaining regional stability on behalf of the US, served its own interests which were not always consistent with US interest in regional stability. The Israeli violations, however, were either condoned or even approved by the US administrations. These reactions comprised what this chapter addressed as a pro-Israel model of intervention.
Mingst, K. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 70-1). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company