The Iran Case and European Foreign Policy: Multilateralism, Sanctions, and Global Actors (2003–2023)

This dissertation, "The Iran Case and European Foreign Policy: Multilateralism, Sanctions, and Global Actors (2003-2023)", will examine the emergence of Iran's nuclear program and its intersection and evolution with international politics, particularly the role of the European Union. The scope of this research will examine the nuclear issue in the larger context of regional security in the Middle East, the global non-proliferation regime, and the policies of major powers like the United States and China. The dissertation will examine Iran's regional ascent after 2003, as well as how Iran's nuclear program was developed from its inception during the time of the Shah to its revival following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first part of the analysis will introduce strategic ambiguity and the unintended dual civilian-military potential of nuclear technology as important influencers of international perceptions and responses. This phase of the analysis will go on to introduce the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and its three pillars of non-proliferation, disarmament, and civil use, as well as Iran's place in that regime as it relates to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Review Conferences. The following sections discuss the policies of the United States and China. The U.S. response is identified through overall confrontation to negotiation during the Obama Administration, a withdrawal from the JCPOA by Trump, and the later context of confrontation, negotiation, and potential for re-engagement in response to new regional and global threats. The section on China provides an overview of China's position against the Iranian backdrop of economic cooperation and pragmatic engagement. In the end, this thesis also analyzes the European Union's diplomacy and sanctions policy, the issue of foreign policy actions such as INSTEX, as well as member states, against a bigger backdrop of multilateralism and, with respect to trade, foreign external action.