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September 24, 2013 SNAPSHOT
Frenemies Forever The Real Meaning of Iran's "Heroic Flexibility" Akbar Ganji Ganj i AKBAR AKBAR GANJI GANJI is an Iranian Irani an journ jo urnalis alistt and disside diss ident. nt. He was impriso ned in Tehran Tehr an from fr om 2000 200 0 to 2006 2 006,, and his hi s writings are currently banned in Iran. This article was translated from the Farsi by Evan Siegel. The apparent apparent restraint res traint of Iranian Iranian President Presi dent Hassan Rouhani's Rouhani's speech speec h before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon seems s eems to have have disappointed disappointed many Weste rn observ obse rvers. ers. They charge Rouhani Rouhani with failing to show much of the "hero "heroic ic flexibility" flexibili ty" that Iran's Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, rece r ecently ntly claimed would characterize Iran's Iran's new diplomatic diplomatic s trategy toward toward the West. West . In truth, the West should not be so surprised. Iran's Iran's diplomatic offensive of recent weeks is, in fact, a significant shift -- just not in the way most Westerners have seemed to think t hink.. "Heroic flexibility” flexibili ty” has has never never been bee n what what most foreign for eign commentators commentator s believ belie ve it is. It is neither a rhetorical feint to buy time for for Iran’s Iran’s nuclear program, pro gram, nor is it a signal that Khamenei Khamenei is desperate to t o strike strike a deal with the United States after years years of punishing punishing sanctions. Both interpretatio inte rpretations ns have have it i t wrong, and and for the t he same reason -- they fail to interpret Iran’s Iran’s diplomatic offensive of fensive in the co ntext of Khamenei’s Khamenei’s grand strategy, strate gy, which has been consist ent fro m the time he assumed power. power. Khamenei does not want Iran Iran to be at o pen conflic t with the West, nor doe s he want want it to be a supplicant supplicant to the United States. He iiss signaling that that rapprochement is possible, but not at t he price of abandoning abandoning Iran's resistance to Western hegemony. Khamenei Khamenei has spoken of heroic flexibility flexibili ty several times since becoming Iran’s Iran’s leader over twenty years years ago, and in each instance he has emphasized emphasized that friendly fri endly dialogue dialogue is i s not the same thing as friendship. In a speech speec h on August August 7, 1996, before an audience of interior ministry officials and Iranian diplomats, he said, [1] “the “the sphere of international politics politic s is a field of heroic heroi c flexibility, fle xibility, which which is sharp sharp faced with with the enemy. Therefo re, our diplomats must must be firm in their principal princi pal positions positio ns and take as their model mo del His Holiness Hol iness Imam Imam Khomeini’s steadfastness and manliness.” manliness.” In a speech delivered to members of the Guardian Council on September 5, 2013, he declared [2], “When a wrestler is wrestling res tling with with an opponent and and in places shows flexibility flexibilit y for technical tec hnical reasons, let le t him not forget f orget who his opponent is.” Even Even enemies enemie s smile at each other while negotiating, negot iating, he he to ld Revolutio Revolutionary nary Gua Guards rds comman co mmanders ders on o n September 17 . www.for ei g naffair s.com/pr i nt/137117
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Khamenei Khamenei does doe s not believe bel ieve that the relationship re lationship between between Washington and and Tehran Tehran needs to be overtly hostile, hostil e, in other ot her words, but he does seem see m to think t hink that that Iran and the West Wes t are bound to re main ideological ideologic al adversarie adversarie s. Indeed, Indeed, Khamenei Khamenei has always always contraste d “the “the Islamic-Iranian model of progress” progress ” with with what what he labels l abels the West’s “tyrannical” “tyrannical” model of o f development. The The fundamental fundamental goal of the Islamic Republic, he says, has has always always been to “create cre ate a new Islamic civ c ivilization.” ilization.” Khamenei Khamenei has long env e nvisio isioned ned an Iran that that is independent, independent, powerful, and tec hnologically advanced, and which has a strong Islamic-Iranian identity. He also believes bel ieves that the West Wes t is inherently hostil e to that visio vision. n. That That explains, explains, in part, part, why why the nuclear negotiatio ns between between Iran and the West have have been so co ntentious. Khamenei Khamenei genuinely genuinely suspects that the United United States and its allies allie s want to hinder hinder Iran’s Iran’s independent independent scie s cientific ntific develo development. pment. There There are some s ome things that Khamenei Khamenei thinks an “Islamic “Islamic civilization” simply simply cannot cannot compromise c ompromise on, including the pursuit of independent technological technolo gical progress, progress , the divisio division n of gender roles in social life, and a commitment to public piety as a means of national solidarity. But within within those parameter parameters, s, pragmatic pragmatic compromise compro mise is always always a possibility. possibili ty. Indeed, Indeed, Khamenei Khamenei believes bel ieves that adjusting to new circumstan circ umstances ces is an obligation for fo r Islamic civ ci vilization if it hopes to surv s urviv ive. e. One can see that in Khamenei’s Khamenei’s approach approach to women’s rights in the c ontext of o f Iran’s Iran’s Islamic identity. He has long argued that that it is the t he duty of all Muslim women women to pursue economic eco nomic and educational adv advancement -- while keeping kee ping their their commitment commitme nt to Islamic identity. In a speech speec h delivere delivered d on January January 4, 201 2, he said [3], "Women "Women are half of o f socie so ciety ty and it is very good that if we are able, we should use use this half of socie so ciety ty in [profe [profe ssional, ssio nal, eco nomic, and politic al life.]." But he made made sure to add, add, "We "We are in i n complete agreement with such employment and and partic participation ipation insofar as it i t does not harm the family institution, which comes first, since it is irreplaceable." Khamenei Khamenei is i s now apply applying ing the same sort so rt of o f conditional c onditional pragmatism pragmatism to international politics. polit ics. He thinks that that Iran must must continue to resist resi st Western Wes tern hegemony, and and must must maintain a commitment co mmitment to its i ts Islamic political polit ical system; syste m; but but within within those terms, terms , he thinks that that Iran and and the United United States should be able to achie ve a mutually benefic beneficial ial relationship. re lationship. In principle principle,, this framework should be familiar to the United States. Khamenei Khamenei is i s attempting to follow foll ow the road taken by independent independent nationalist nationalist le aders such as as Julius Nyere Nyerere re in Tan Tanzan zania, ia, Léopol Léopold d Sédar Sédar Senghor Senghor in Senegal, Senegal, Gama Gamall Abdel Nasser in Egypt, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil. That said, Khamenei believes that the most promising precedent prece dent for rapproc rapprochement hement between between Tehran Tehran and Washington Washington is the relationship between between China China and and the United States, States, in which which the countries co untries treat tr eat each other as equals equals and, for the most part, avoid avoid interferi inter fering ng in each other’s domestic domes tic affairs. Khamenei Khamenei wants wants to continue c ontinue to be able to promote Islamic democracy as an alter alternativ nativee to liberal democracy democ racy -much as communist China’ China’ss ideological ideo logical system s ystem has been tolerate to lerated d by the the United States. The question now is whether whether Khamenei’s Khamenei’s concept co ncept of heroic flexibility flexibilit y will will be sufficie s ufficie nt to the task t ask of reducing hostility hostili ty with with the United States. There There is some reason r eason to think that that it will will be. Judging from fro m the events of recent re cent days, including the Iranian Iranian government’ government’ss release rel ease of o f a group of political politi cal prisoner s and its hints of o f domestic domest ic liberalization, li beralization, Khamenei is willing to make some compromises to achieve diplomatic progress. It remains to be seen, of course, how much flexibility he is willing to show when when it co mes to discussing the details of Iran’s Iran’s nuclear program. pro gram. But the United United States should s hould certainly be prepared to co nsider compromises co mpromises of its i ts own, including curtailing the sanctions that t hat even even the Iranian opposit opposition ion considers c onsiders an aggressive aggressive affront to national sovereignty and and pride. The The United States States may also have have to belatedly reco gnize gnize the le gitimacy of the Islamic Republic, and and cease its it s attempts to manufacture manufacture regime r egime c hange. hange. www.for ei g naffair s.com/pr i nt/137117
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But that that does not no t mean that that the United States should compromise co mpromise the t he pillars of its ow o wn identity as a Weste Western rn democracy. Khamenei Khamenei himself himse lf professe prof esse s that he wants wants Iran to be a religious rel igious democ racy. The The United States should hold Iran to that t hat standard, standard, by by reminding Kham Khamenei enei that t hat it is i n the intere st of o f Iran and and its people to continue c ontinue to take steps to protec t human human rights and and to liberalize liber alize its politic pol itical al system. Only such such liberalization, after all, can c an provide provide for the stability st ability of the government; and and the United States s hould not be ashamed that such liberalization also happens happens to be consistent consist ent with with Americ American an ideals. Nevert Nevertheless heless,, the establishment of amicable amicable relations re lations between Iran Iran and the Untied States States need not wait wait until until they share the same values. The United States, after all, manages to maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Bahrain, and and the United Arab Emirates, Emirates, countries c ountries that are ev e ven farther from democratic democr atic ideals i deals than the Islamic Republic. Of course, the United States is free to hold its political and moral values to be above those of the Islamic Republic. Republic. But the only way way to produce a productive relationship re lationship with with Khamenei Khamenei may be be to t o accept acc ept that he will continue conti nue to act as if Iran’s Islamic model of development is superior to that of liberal democracy. Copyright © 2002-2012 by the Council on Foreign Relations, Inc. All rights reserved. To request permission to distribute or reprint this article, please fill out and submit a Permissions Request Form. Form. If you plan to use this article in a coursepack or academic website, visit Cop Copyri yrigh ghtt Cl C learance Center Center to to clear permission. Return to Article: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139953/akbar-ganji/frenemies-forever
Home > Snapshot > Frenemies Forever Published on Foreig on Foreign n Affairs (http://www.foreignaffairs.com http://www.foreignaffairs.com)) Links:
[1] http://farsi.khamenei.ir/news-content?id=17885 [2] http://f http://farsi.kham arsi.khamenei enei.ir/speech-co .ir/speech-conten ntent?id=23810 t?id=23810 [3] http://f http://farsi.kham arsi.khamenei enei.ir/speech-co .ir/speech-conten ntent?id=18453 t?id=18453
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