Syria and Iran

de Anous Ehteshami, Anoushiravan Ehteshami

"It has been the dominant view that both Syria in the 198Os and Iran in the 199Os acted as rogue states in the Middle East, threatening to upset the stability of the region. In this innovative study, Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Raymond Hinnebusch show that these two countries have in fact acted in a rational fashion, pursuing the aim of containing Western influence." "This book demonstrates how Syrian foreign policy resembles the 'rational actor' model and how Iran's government factions are compatible with a pragmatic foreign policy. Syria and Iran's foreign policies are shown to be conventional ones, of 'realist' diplomacy with their pursuance of a balance of power and spheres of influence. Their alliance with each other is also closely examined and found to be defensive in nature. The objectives in Lebanon and in the Arab-Israeli conflict are found to be limited."--BOOK JACKET.