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Dr. Kayhan Barzegar is Associate Professor of International Relations, Science and Research Campus, Islamic Azad University, and Fellow Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Revolutions either expand to export their ideologies or preserve themselves from the outside world. The 1979 Islamic revolution of Iran is no exception. A careful reading of Iran’s actions in the region shows how and why Iran has shifted its policies to meet the latter aim. Since the revolution, Iran’s leaders have faced the challenge of balancing their ideological (idealism) and geopolitical (pragmatism) approaches to foreign policy.
