No Conquest No Defeat: Iran's National Security Strategy

In early 2019, the Islamic Republic of Iran marked its fortieth anniversary, despite decades of isolation, political pressure, sanctions and war. Observers of its security policies continue to try and make sense of this unlikely endurance. Some view the regime as a purely rational actor, whose
national security decisions and military affairs are shaped by the same considerations as in other states. Others believe that it is ideology driving Tehran's strategy. Either way, virtually everyone agrees that the mullahs' policies are fundamentally different from those pursued by their
monarchical predecessors.

No Conquest, No Defeat offers a historically grounded overview of Iranian national security. Tabatabai argues that the Islamic Republic is neither completely rational nor purely ideological. Rather, its national security policy today is largely shaped by its strategic culture, a product of the
country's historical experiences of war and peace. As a result, Iranian strategic thinking is perhaps best characterized by its dynamic yet resilient nature, one that is continually evolving. As the Islamic Republic enters its fifth decade, this book sheds new light on Iran's controversial nuclear
and missile programs and its involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

ISBN-13: 9780197534601

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Publication Date: 10-15-2020

Pages: 400

Product Dimensions: 8.60h x 5.50w x 1.50d

Ariane M. Tabatabai, Middle East Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy at German Marshall Fund and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University

Ariane M. Tabatabai is the Middle East Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund and an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University. She is the co-author of Triple Axis: Iran's Relations with Russia and China and holds a PhD from the Department of War Studies at King's College London.