Mohiaddin Mesbahi and Mohammad Homayounvash
Sociology of Islam, Volume 4, Issue 1-2, pages 73 – 92
There are three broad factors that help explain China’s policy towards Iran’s nuclear program, especially since escalation to a full-fledged proliferation concern since the 2000s. First, there are a set of strategic dynamics and characteristics that define and shape the environment within which policy towards Iran has been formulated by Beijing since the inception of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. These dynamics could be analyzed as Iran’s strategic signification. Secondly, one could point at China’s global and regional preferences and policies and their implications for the PRC’s Iran policy. Finally, the previous two sets of dynamics and preferences need to be contextualized within China’s nuclear proliferation culture and its impact in informing Beijing’s policies toward Iran’s nuclear crisis. Placing them in a historical geostrategic background context, the present paper will unpack these factors.
Affiliations: 1: Florida International University, Department of Politics and International Relations, Director Middle East Studies, School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University, University Park mohiaddin.mesbahi@gmail.com ; 2: Louisiana State University, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Louisiana State University (LSU) homayounvash@gmail.com
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/22131418-00402005
