Foreign Policy from Khatami to Ahmadinejad There is One Foreign Policy in Iran, which is Khamenei's Foreign Policy
This Article is part of an MA thesis: "Iran Wilayat al Faqih System of Governance and Public Policymaking" which tried to investigate the challenges that public policy in Iran is facing under Wilayat al Faqih system of governance. The article here deals with foreign policy making in Iran f rom Khatami to Ahmadinejad in regards to both Iran regional roleand Iran-U.S . relations. It sheds light on the challenges that are facing Iranian foreign policy making which can affect both the regime and the ideology of Wilayat al Faqih itself. It also, discusses series of problems that are challenging the authority of the supreme leader which resulted in a power struggle between the supreme leader (representative of the Wilayat al Faqih institution) and the president (representative of the Republican institution) inside the system of governance when it comes to policymaking. The contradictory roles between both is a result of the president limited power in formulating foreign policies, together with his ideological preferences that is different from the supreme leader. The Article concludes by stating that such power struggle between the offices may impact Iran's domestic policies but not Iranian foreign policies, as Iran is becoming a regional power.
PALABRAS CLAVES: pragmatismo, Irán, política exterior, Medio Oriente, primavera árabe. TITLE: The impact of Pragmatism in Iran's foreign policy and its role in the Middle East after the Arab spring
RESUMEN: Este artículo revisó el papel del pragmatismo y su posición en la política exterior y regional de Irán mediante el análisis de determinantes internos y externos y los cambios que afectan la política exterior de Irán y su papel hacia el Medio Oriente y la región árabe, donde Irán tiene muchas extensiones históricas, sociales, culturales y económicas que la vinculan con la región, así como principios, ideológicas y bases nacionales que rigen las tendencias de la región y el papel externo. Se discute este papel en el período anterior y posterior a la Primavera Árabe. El resultado más importante alcanzado es que el pragmatismo es una parte integral de la política exterior de Irán hasta que surgió en las primeras etapas después de la revolución.
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.