American policy toward Iran has remained remarkably consistent since the earliest years of the Reagan administration. US-Iran hostility has endured for longer than the Cold War. Momentous geopolitical shifts, changing leaderships, and evolving domestic priorities have not fundamentally altered this antagonistic relationship. Standard explanations pin the blame for this enduring hostility on Iran and its leaders' revolutionary ideology and policies at odds with the United States and the West. While Iran bears significant blame for a deeply adversarial relationship-the country often engages in dangerous and repressive activities-this book demonstrates that "it's them, not us" accounts cannot alone explain America's posture toward this complicated but critically important country. Drawing on original interviews with former government officials, oral histories, memoirs, congressional hearings, archival material, and the author's own participation in dozens of Iran-related track two meetings, Dalia Dassa Kaye deftly explores how America's Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it. Dassa Kaye looks back at US policy toward Iran over the past four decades to help us look ahead, offering wider lessons for understanding American foreign policymaking.
| ISBN: | 9781503643901 |
| Publication date: | 2nd December 2025 |
| Author: | Dalia Dassa Kaye |
| Publisher: | Stanford University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 224 pages |
| Genres: |
Diplomacy Middle Eastern history Warfare and defence |
American policy toward Iran has remained remarkably consistent since the earliest years of the Reagan administration. US-Iran hostility has endured for longer than the Cold War. Momentous geopolitical shifts, changing leaderships, and evolving domestic priorities have not fundamentally altered this antagonistic relationship. Standard explanations pin the blame for this enduring hostility on Iran and its leaders' revolutionary ideology and policies at odds with the United States and the West. While Iran bears significant blame for a deeply adversarial relationship-the country often engages in dangerous and repressive activities-this book demonstrates that "it's them, not us" accounts cannot alone explain America's posture toward this complicated but critically important country. Drawing on original interviews with former government officials, oral histories, memoirs, congressional hearings, archival material, and the author's own participation in dozens of Iran-related track two meetings, Dalia Dassa Kaye deftly explores how America's Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it. Dassa Kaye looks back at US policy toward Iran over the past four decades to help us look ahead, offering wider lessons for understanding American foreign policymaking.
Enduring Hostility features in the following genres: Diplomacy, Middle Eastern history, Warfare and defence
Enduring Hostility is available in Hardback, Paperback
Enduring Hostility was written by Dalia Dassa Kaye and published by Stanford University Press
Enduring Hostility has 224 pages
£72.00