Iran’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan (2001-2014) The Doctoral Dissertation submitted to THE UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Political Science (Dr. rer. pol.) by Farid Muttaqi First Supervisor: Professor Dr. Klaus Schlichte Second Supervisor: Professor Dr. Mushtaq Kaw Bremen, 2018 ii First reviewer: Professor Dr. Klaus Schlichte Second reviewer: Professor Dr. Mushtaq Kaw Date of Submission: October 15, 2018 Date of Oral Defence: March 7, 2019 iii Abstract (English) The present Ph.D. dissertation deals with the analysis of Iran’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. The main purpose is to understand and explain the motives for Iran’s contradictory behavior and actions with regard to its neighbouring country Afghanistan. The main research question is: “What is the nature of Iran’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014?” Conceptually, Iran’s foreign policy is interpreted in the study from the realism (Hans Morgenthau; John Mearsheimer) perspective. This is done in a format that provides an overview of the history of Iran- Afghanistan relations, presents an in-depth analysis of the formal power structure of Iran, singles out four main visions of Iran’s government which help to interpret the interplay of the three major foreign policy interests Iran has: security, political and economic interests. This is a qualitative study which makes use of historical reconstruction, content analysis, and the analysis of the semi-structured interviews, conducted in Iran and in Afghanistan as part of the field trip research. The analysis of the primary and secondary sources has enabled the answer of the research question on the nature of Iran’s FP towards Afghanistan and revealed the contradictory policies of Iran vis-à-vis Afghanistan. The realism approach was assessed as an appropriate approach that adequately addressed Iran’s three major foreign policy interests: security, political and economic and it provided explanations for the contradictory character of Iran’s foreign policy. Nevertheless, realism was not able to fully unfold the peculiarities of the Iranian government’s geographical and cultural vision (the Shia factor). Towards this end, the suggestion for further studies would be to focus on this area in order to elucidate the cultural factor in Iran’s FP towards Afghanistan. Keywords: Iran, Afghanistan, foreign policy, realism, national interests, pragmatism, Sunni-Shia divide, Iran-U.S. competition, Taliban, Islamic revolution, domestic sources of foreign policy. iv Abstract (German) Die vorliegende Dissertation befasst sich mit der Analyse der iranischen Außenpolitik gegenüber Afghanistan von 2001 bis 2014 mit dem Ziel, die Motive für das widersprüchliche Verhalten und Handeln des Iran in Bezug auf sein Nachbarland Afghanistan zu verstehen und zu erklären. Die hauptsächliche Forschungsfrage lautet: „Was ist das Wesen der iranischen Außenpolitik gegenüber Afghanistan von 2001 bis 2014?“ Konzeptionell wird Irans Außenpolitik aus der Perspektive des Realismus (Hans Morgenthau; John Mearsheimer) interpretiert. Die Dissertation umfasst einen Überblick über die Geschichte der Beziehungen zwischen Iran und Afghanistan und eine detaillierte Analyse der formellen Machtstruktur des Iran. Sie identifiziert vier langfristige Strategien der iranischen Regierung, die das Wechselspiel der drei wichtigsten außenpolitischen Interessen Irans erklären können: Sicherheit, politische und wirtschaftliche Interessen. Dies ist eine qualitative Studie, die historische Rekonstruktion, Inhaltsanalyse und die Analyse semi-strukturierter Interviews, durchgeführt im Rahmen der Feldforschungsforschung im Iran und in Afghanistan, nutzt. Die Analyse der Primär- und Sekundärquellen hat die Beantwortung der Forschungsfrage zum Wesen der iranischen Außenpolitik gegenüber Afghanistan ermöglicht und die widersprüchliche Politik des Iran gegenüber Afghanistan aufgezeigt. Der Ansatz des Realismus hat sich als angemessener Ansatz erwiesen, um die drei wichtigsten außenpolitischen Interessen des Iran (Sicherheit, politische und wirtschaftliche Aspekte) angemessen zu analysieren und den widersprüchlichen Charakter der iranischen Außenpolitik zu erklären. Dennoch konnte der Realismus die Besonderheiten der geographischen und kulturellen Strategie der iranischen Regierung (schiitischer Faktor) nicht vollständig erfassen. Zukünftige Forschungen könnten sich auf diesen Bereich konzentrieren, um den kulturellen Faktor in Irans Außenpolitik gegenüber Afghanistan aufzuzeigen. Schlüsselwörter: Iran, Afghanistan, Außenpolitik, Realismus, nationale Interessen, Pragmatismus, sunnitisch-schiitische Teilung, Iran-USA Konkurrenz, Taliban, islamische Revolution, innenpolitische Faktoren der Außenpolitik. v Preface This work I lay before you today is a result of many interesting and enriching meetings with excellent people in very contrasting environments. It is my attempt to contribute to the body of academic research, whereby I can make use of my previous knowledge but at the same time distance myself from what I have experienced in the past, being born and raised in the country called Afghanistan. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages in writing about the country of your origin. On the one hand, it equips you with the tools the foreigners might never get a chance to use: the first–hand knowledge about events, proficiency in the local languages (Dari, Farsi, Pashto), and most importantly, the inner emotional urge to write something that may someday make the lives of the people in your homeland better. On the other hand, though, it requires the constant effort of remaining impartial about the context and ensuring your judgments are free from the influences of your past. In the particular case of Afghanistan and Iran, such research was also coupled with sensitive field research in life-endangering areas, where there were real risks for personal security. I am very grateful that despite all these hurdles and obstacles on the way, this research was completed and represents the first research done by the local researchers from the region of the study on the Foreign Policy of Iran towards Afghanistan. I am grateful to so many people who made this academic endeavour and my personal growth as a researcher both in Afghanistan and in Germany a reality. I thank my extended family in different countries, for without their moral support, I would never be able to fulfil all the plans and steps necessary for completion of this project. My greatest gratitude and regard goes to my “Doktorvater”, my principal supervisor Professor Dr. Klaus Schlichte, an exemplary German scholar, Professor of International Relations: Politics in World Society at the University of Bremen, for accepting me as a PhD student at the stage when this project did not even have stable financing and for guiding me as a torch and illuminating for me the unknown corridors of political science, for encouraging me and for being very patient in many regards. You are vi the best academic supervisor one could dream of, it is to you I owe the finalization of this project. I am blessed that my research has received the attention of Professor Dr. Mushtaq Kaw, a renowned Indian scholar, Head of the Department of History at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad, India. I am grateful for the honor to get to know him personally and for agreeing to step into the process as a second supervisor. His outstanding expertise and pert opinions expressed with regards to this study have brought a fresh impulse into my thinking and contributed greatly to the finalization of this project. I thank Mrs. Marit Rasmussen, J.D., the former Country Director of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in Tajikistan for her interest to read this study and to help proof-read the final version. I thank my dear friend Jan Voigt for his continuous support throughout all these years. I thank my friend Suhail, for his sincere help in reading the early versions of these chapters and for his encouragement. My gratitude for friendship goes to Dr. Rebin Fard, a talented young scholar and a great listener. I thank my niece Hilola for her technical support that brought this piece of writing into the reader-friendly form, for her jokes and positive attitude. I thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the financial support of this research and for making my research stay in Germany comfortable in every respect, which allowed for concentration on this research. I thank all the interview-partners in Afghanistan and Iran for the empirical knowledge, which has enriched the analytical chapters if this study. Thank you to all, whom I could not mention here for the scarcity of space or for other reasons, but who know I value them and imply them here. The thoughts presented herein are the product of my own analysis, the ideas of others that influenced the study were properly referenced. I hope that this work will be interesting to read not only for those coming from the political science background but also for the general public interested in the affairs of the region. Farid Muttaqi, Bremen, October 15, 2018 Table of Contents vii ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents Abstract (English) ...........................................................................................................