Edward Wastnidge
Biographic Data
| ID | 4140843 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Edward Wastnidge |
| GIVEN NAMES | Edward |
| FAMILY NAME | Wastnidge |
| SIGNATURE | WASTNIDGE E |
| AFFILIATIONS | The Open University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2311-0619 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Islamic Republic of Iran and International and Regional Orders
Recent years have seen considerable debate about the shifting contours of international order, regarding whether or not there is a "Western liberal world order" and the power and influence of its illiberal challengers.Indeed, the old certainties of the bipolar international system created by the Cold War are an increasingly distant memory, and the unipolar moment of unchecked US dominance is now seen as an interregnum in the seemingly inevitable …
Iran and Central Asia
Central Asia has played an important role in Iran's regional and international relations since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The region occupies a prominent place in Iran’s contemporary geopolitical imagination and Tehran has consistently sought to leverage its cultural and historical ties to strengthen relations with Central Asian states. While often viewed as an ‘ideological’ actor due to its revolutionary heritage and policies in the…
Towards a post-imperial and Global IR
This article argues that Dialogue among Civilisations can be put forward as a crucial contribution to debates addressing IR’s Eurocentrism. It highlights the blurring of West/non-West, domestic/international, and imperial/post-imperial bifurcations. This is evident in three ways. First, Dialogue among Civilisations needs to be appreciated in Iran’s wider historical context and its multifaceted intellectual heritages. This demonstrates that the id…
Reinforcing the Resistance
Hamas's al‐Aqsa Flood operation, Israel's brutal response, and the regional escalation of the conflict, including Iran's and Israel's unprecedented strikes on each other's territory, mark a critical juncture for the Middle East. These events have brought a renewed focus on the Levant as a key area of Iranian geopolitical interest and rivalry with Israel. Syria and the broader subregion are viewed by Tehran as vital for its national security and t…
Iran
Iran's Soft Power in Afghanistan and Pakistan, by Zahid Shahab Ahmed and Ali Akbar. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2023. 192 pages
The resistance axis and regional order in the Middle East
A decade on from the Arab Uprisings, politics across the Middle East remains contested, both within and between states. As a mix of strategic alliance, security community, and ideational network, the Resistance Axis provides a compelling study into questions of regional order in the Middle East, given its long-standing counter-hegemonic outlook vis-à-vis the US and its regional allies. While comprised of a number of constituent parts, what holds …
Saudi Arabia and Iran
Since 1979, the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran - the two major powers in the Muslim world - has played a prominent role in shaping Middle Eastern politics. The rivalry, political in nature yet couched in Islamic rhetoric, reflects a desire to ensure regime security and legitimacy, whilst also increasing influence across the Middle East. Since the 2003 Iraq War, the rivalry has become increasingly vitriolic, resulting in the emergence of pr…
The Gulf States and the Horn of Africa
De-securitizing through Diplomacy
As a country often defined in terms of its sectarian identity, the Islamic Republic provides an interesting test case for the notion of de-sectarianization. Iran’s position as the pre-eminent Shi’a-majority power in the region has presented it with opportunities to draw on its historical confessional linkages, but it also singles it out as a unique case. Building upon the theoretical and conceptual frameworks provided by the sectarianization thes…
Transnational identity claims, roles and strategic foreign policy narratives in the Middle East
The question of identity, not only framed within the context of the nation state, but also in terms of wider transnational identities, be they religious, ethnic or political, remains a key feature in the politics of the Middle East. Drawing on contributions from Foreign Policy Analysis and the concept of strategic narrative, this paper explores how identities beyond state borders are utilised as justification for a state’s foreign policy decision…
Transnational religious networks and geopolitics in the Muslim World
Debates around the sectarianisation of politics across the Middle East and Muslim world more broadly have opened new spaces of enquiry into the interrelationship between religion and geopolitics. The nature of links between Iran and Saudi Arabia and various groups in the Muslim world differs across time and space, shaped by a range of context specific factors. Networks are shaped by the interaction of their constituent parts and the organisation …
Imperial Grandeur and Selective Memory
Since the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish government’s foreign and increasingly domestic politics have been characterized as ‘neo-Ottoman,’ a concept which both its critics and champions have wielded in different ways. The article revisits and reassesses articulations of neo-Ottomanism in Turkish foreign policy, and explores the significance of its appearance in Turkey’s domestic politics in Turkey. In doin…
Calling out Saudi misadventure
Saudi Arabia has once again gained the unconditional backing of the United States to pursue its regional agenda. Its historical use of its vast oil wealth to promote Wahhabism abroad as a means of maintaining stability at home facilitated the rise of a sectarianized, harsh interpretation of Islam that gained global reach with devastating consequences across the Muslim world and beyond. This commentary provides a sketch of Saudi-led soft and hard …
Iran and Syria
Diplomacy and Reform in Iran
Nuclear power has for the most part dominated Western media and academic analyses concerning Iranian foreign policy in recent years. This focus, however, can be misleading, especially as regards the early presidency of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005). In a riposte to Samuel Huntington's 'Clash of Civilisations' theory, Khatami proposed that there ought to be a 'Dialogue among Civilisations'. In this book, Edward Wastnidge examines Khatami's proposit…
The Modalities of Iranian Soft Power
Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft powe…
Détente and Dialogue
Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran's relations with the OIC were largely characterised by mutual mistrust and a continuing battle for hegemony within the organisation. This piece explores how Iran sought to utilise one of the world's pre-eminent religious-based international organisations as an arena to further its position in the Muslim world not, as in previous years, through reprimand and alleged subversion, but rather through a po…
The Modalities of Iranian Soft Power
Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft powe…
Imperial Grandeur and Selective Memory
Since the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish government’s foreign and increasingly domestic politics have been characterized as ‘neo-Ottoman,’ a concept which both its critics and champions have wielded in different ways. The article revisits and reassesses articulations of neo-Ottomanism in Turkish foreign policy, and explores the significance of its appearance in Turkey’s domestic politics in Turkey. In doin…
The resistance axis and regional order in the Middle East
A decade on from the Arab Uprisings, politics across the Middle East remains contested, both within and between states. As a mix of strategic alliance, security community, and ideational network, the Resistance Axis provides a compelling study into questions of regional order in the Middle East, given its long-standing counter-hegemonic outlook vis-à-vis the US and its regional allies. While comprised of a number of constituent parts, what holds …
Iran and Syria
De-securitizing through Diplomacy
As a country often defined in terms of its sectarian identity, the Islamic Republic provides an interesting test case for the notion of de-sectarianization. Iran’s position as the pre-eminent Shi’a-majority power in the region has presented it with opportunities to draw on its historical confessional linkages, but it also singles it out as a unique case. Building upon the theoretical and conceptual frameworks provided by the sectarianization thes…
Transnational identity claims, roles and strategic foreign policy narratives in the Middle East
The question of identity, not only framed within the context of the nation state, but also in terms of wider transnational identities, be they religious, ethnic or political, remains a key feature in the politics of the Middle East. Drawing on contributions from Foreign Policy Analysis and the concept of strategic narrative, this paper explores how identities beyond state borders are utilised as justification for a state’s foreign policy decision…
Transnational religious networks and geopolitics in the Muslim World
Debates around the sectarianisation of politics across the Middle East and Muslim world more broadly have opened new spaces of enquiry into the interrelationship between religion and geopolitics. The nature of links between Iran and Saudi Arabia and various groups in the Muslim world differs across time and space, shaped by a range of context specific factors. Networks are shaped by the interaction of their constituent parts and the organisation …
Détente and Dialogue
Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran's relations with the OIC were largely characterised by mutual mistrust and a continuing battle for hegemony within the organisation. This piece explores how Iran sought to utilise one of the world's pre-eminent religious-based international organisations as an arena to further its position in the Muslim world not, as in previous years, through reprimand and alleged subversion, but rather through a po…
The Modalities of Iranian Soft Power
Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft powe…
Diplomacy and Reform in Iran
Nuclear power has for the most part dominated Western media and academic analyses concerning Iranian foreign policy in recent years. This focus, however, can be misleading, especially as regards the early presidency of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005). In a riposte to Samuel Huntington's 'Clash of Civilisations' theory, Khatami proposed that there ought to be a 'Dialogue among Civilisations'. In this book, Edward Wastnidge examines Khatami's proposit…
Calling out Saudi misadventure
Saudi Arabia has once again gained the unconditional backing of the United States to pursue its regional agenda. Its historical use of its vast oil wealth to promote Wahhabism abroad as a means of maintaining stability at home facilitated the rise of a sectarianized, harsh interpretation of Islam that gained global reach with devastating consequences across the Muslim world and beyond. This commentary provides a sketch of Saudi-led soft and hard …
Iran and Syria
Transnational identity claims, roles and strategic foreign policy narratives in the Middle East
The question of identity, not only framed within the context of the nation state, but also in terms of wider transnational identities, be they religious, ethnic or political, remains a key feature in the politics of the Middle East. Drawing on contributions from Foreign Policy Analysis and the concept of strategic narrative, this paper explores how identities beyond state borders are utilised as justification for a state’s foreign policy decision…
Transnational religious networks and geopolitics in the Muslim World
Debates around the sectarianisation of politics across the Middle East and Muslim world more broadly have opened new spaces of enquiry into the interrelationship between religion and geopolitics. The nature of links between Iran and Saudi Arabia and various groups in the Muslim world differs across time and space, shaped by a range of context specific factors. Networks are shaped by the interaction of their constituent parts and the organisation …
Imperial Grandeur and Selective Memory
Since the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish government’s foreign and increasingly domestic politics have been characterized as ‘neo-Ottoman,’ a concept which both its critics and champions have wielded in different ways. The article revisits and reassesses articulations of neo-Ottomanism in Turkish foreign policy, and explores the significance of its appearance in Turkey’s domestic politics in Turkey. In doin…
De-securitizing through Diplomacy
As a country often defined in terms of its sectarian identity, the Islamic Republic provides an interesting test case for the notion of de-sectarianization. Iran’s position as the pre-eminent Shi’a-majority power in the region has presented it with opportunities to draw on its historical confessional linkages, but it also singles it out as a unique case. Building upon the theoretical and conceptual frameworks provided by the sectarianization thes…
Saudi Arabia and Iran
Since 1979, the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran - the two major powers in the Muslim world - has played a prominent role in shaping Middle Eastern politics. The rivalry, political in nature yet couched in Islamic rhetoric, reflects a desire to ensure regime security and legitimacy, whilst also increasing influence across the Middle East. Since the 2003 Iraq War, the rivalry has become increasingly vitriolic, resulting in the emergence of pr…
The Gulf States and the Horn of Africa
The resistance axis and regional order in the Middle East
A decade on from the Arab Uprisings, politics across the Middle East remains contested, both within and between states. As a mix of strategic alliance, security community, and ideational network, the Resistance Axis provides a compelling study into questions of regional order in the Middle East, given its long-standing counter-hegemonic outlook vis-à-vis the US and its regional allies. While comprised of a number of constituent parts, what holds …
Reinforcing the Resistance
Hamas's al‐Aqsa Flood operation, Israel's brutal response, and the regional escalation of the conflict, including Iran's and Israel's unprecedented strikes on each other's territory, mark a critical juncture for the Middle East. These events have brought a renewed focus on the Levant as a key area of Iranian geopolitical interest and rivalry with Israel. Syria and the broader subregion are viewed by Tehran as vital for its national security and t…
Iran
Iran's Soft Power in Afghanistan and Pakistan, by Zahid Shahab Ahmed and Ali Akbar. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2023. 192 pages
Iran and Central Asia
Central Asia has played an important role in Iran's regional and international relations since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The region occupies a prominent place in Iran’s contemporary geopolitical imagination and Tehran has consistently sought to leverage its cultural and historical ties to strengthen relations with Central Asian states. While often viewed as an ‘ideological’ actor due to its revolutionary heritage and policies in the…
Towards a post-imperial and Global IR
This article argues that Dialogue among Civilisations can be put forward as a crucial contribution to debates addressing IR’s Eurocentrism. It highlights the blurring of West/non-West, domestic/international, and imperial/post-imperial bifurcations. This is evident in three ways. First, Dialogue among Civilisations needs to be appreciated in Iran’s wider historical context and its multifaceted intellectual heritages. This demonstrates that the id…
The Islamic Republic of Iran and International and Regional Orders
Recent years have seen considerable debate about the shifting contours of international order, regarding whether or not there is a "Western liberal world order" and the power and influence of its illiberal challengers.Indeed, the old certainties of the bipolar international system created by the Cold War are an increasingly distant memory, and the unipolar moment of unchecked US dominance is now seen as an interregnum in the seemingly inevitable …
Law (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Politics (11 works) · History (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · History (8 works) · Islamic Studies and History (8 works) · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts (8 works) · Political economy (8 works)