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The International Politics of Secularism: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Islamic Republic of Iran

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Abstract:

This paper explores the implications of secular political authority for relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. I explain why the Islamic Revolution was perceived as such a profound threat to the United States. To understand U.S. foreign policy toward Iran it is necessary to shift our attention away from religious threats to secular modernity, and toward secular attempts to identify the ‘religious.’ In challenging the automatic linkage between secularism, democracy and freedom, the Iranian Revolution threatened American nationalism, in which these ideals are tightly interwoven. To counter this threat, Americans projected all of the negative traits that had been associated with secular modernity under the Shah—violence, tyranny and lack of democracy—onto an Islamic ‘other.’ This projection served two functions: it exculpated the United States from its association with the Shah’s regime, and it cemented the association of the United States with secular democracy in opposition to its nemesis, religious tyranny. The very identity of the United States as secular and democratic was at stake in the Iranian Revolution. The need to reclaim this identity accounts for the fervor of American opposition to Iran. Contrary to the ‘clash of civilizations’ argument, then, animosity between the U.S. and Iran witnessed over the past three decades is not a function of immutable cultural difference. It is instead the result of a series of events in which an imperial form of secular modernity was challenged and replaced by an imperial form of religious modernity, with consequences for both communities involved.

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secular (182), islam (91), religi (76), iran (69), polit (63), shah (60), p (59), religion (57), american (57), modern (55), state (53), univers (53), press (46), revolut (45), iranian (45), secularist (42), public (40), unit (37), ident (34), u.s (34), western (31),

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U.S. foreign policy, Islamic Republic of Iran, secularism, revolution, modernity, national identity
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Name: International Studies Association
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MLA Citation:

Hurd, Elizabeth. "The International Politics of Secularism: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Islamic Republic of Iran" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mar 17, 2004 <Not Available>. 2008-10-10 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p72624_index.html>

APA Citation:

Hurd, E. S. , 2004-03-17 "The International Politics of Secularism: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Islamic Republic of Iran" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Online <.PDF>. 2008-10-10 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p72624_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper explores the implications of secular political authority for relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. I explain why the Islamic Revolution was perceived as such a profound threat to the United States. To understand U.S. foreign policy toward Iran it is necessary to shift our attention away from religious threats to secular modernity, and toward secular attempts to identify the ‘religious.’ In challenging the automatic linkage between secularism, democracy and freedom, the Iranian Revolution threatened American nationalism, in which these ideals are tightly interwoven. To counter this threat, Americans projected all of the negative traits that had been associated with secular modernity under the Shah—violence, tyranny and lack of democracy—onto an Islamic ‘other.’ This projection served two functions: it exculpated the United States from its association with the Shah’s regime, and it cemented the association of the United States with secular democracy in opposition to its nemesis, religious tyranny. The very identity of the United States as secular and democratic was at stake in the Iranian Revolution. The need to reclaim this identity accounts for the fervor of American opposition to Iran. Contrary to the ‘clash of civilizations’ argument, then, animosity between the U.S. and Iran witnessed over the past three decades is not a function of immutable cultural difference. It is instead the result of a series of events in which an imperial form of secular modernity was challenged and replaced by an imperial form of religious modernity, with consequences for both communities involved.

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Page count: 38
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The International Politics of Secularism: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Elizabeth Shakman Hurd Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Northwestern University 601 University Place Evanston Il 60208 eshurd@northwestern.edu 847.467.5412 Do not cite or distribute without permission. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association March 16-21 2004 Montreal Canada. Abstract This paper explores the implications of secular political authority for relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. I
on Religious Symbols’ The Los Angeles Times (December 16 2002). 83 Ibid. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this decision in July 2003 and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in August 2003. Moore is appealing again to the Supreme Court. 84 Quoted in David Gardner and Leyla Boulton ‘An Islamist Seeking to be Europe’s New Face’ The Financial Times (December 7 2002). 85 William Graham Sumner cited in Little American Orientalism p. 117. 86


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