India, Russia, and the Iranian Nuclear Crises - an analysis of Indian and Russian foreign policy towards Iran

Abstract: Nuclear activity in Iran has during last years been a widely discussed topic worldwide, as well as an important element in international relations. United States has looked for allies in attempts to isolate Iran politically and economically. India and Russia are powers of growing importance with interests in Iran. So far, both countries have cooperated with the US in IAEA although not completely followed the US policy. The purpose of this essay is to explain the countries ambivalent policies on Iran by using James N. Rosenau's model of pre-theories categorised in five sets on variables ? individual, role, governmental, societal, and systemic. They are also analysed through Peter Wallensteen's classification of policies ? Geopolitik, Realpolitik, Idealpolitik, and Kapitalpolitik. By applying this theoretical framework on empirical material, India and Russia's policies towards Iran are explained, respectively. The study suggests Indian policy to be a result of mainly systemic and societal variables and can be categorised as Kapitalpolitik, Geopolitik, and Idealpolitik, while Russian policy primarily can be explained by systemic and individual factors and primarily is characterised by Realpolitik.