Realism and Israel-America’s Dirty War in Iran

Among the theories of International Relations, Realism offers the most concrete explanation for America and Israel’s imperialist campaign against Iran.

In this context, a deluge of commentaries explaining the nuances of the conflict—including belligerents and weapons involved—have been circulating on social media in general and global intellectual circles in particular. However, one important missing aspect of this conflictual puzzle is the theoretical explanation behind the ongoing war.

In the realm of international relations, theories play a critical role in not only explaining the nature of state behavior but also explaining the factors that contribute to that behavior and how states respond to the actions of other states and non-state actors. The four key theories that have explained most events in the realm of international politics are Liberalism, Marxism, Realism and Constructivism. Among these, with regard to the ongoing Iran-U.S.-Israel war, realism appears to be the most important theory that explains the actions of the state actors involved in this conflict.

Let’s analyze them one by one.

Classical realism is rooted in a lineage dating back to the times of the Greek philosopher Thucydides. The high priests of this school include Thomas Hobbes, Niccolo Machiavelli in the medieval period and Hans Morgenthau and Henry Kissinger in the modern period.........

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