Realism, in the sense of pursuing goals by disregarding the law and moral values, in the speeches of Ahmadinejad can be identified through how he defines the West, particularly the United States, and their actions. He classifies the United States as a realist actor, proving his knowledge of the tradition by speaking of the U.S. as a power. Khamenei’s influence in his remarks is evident although what is striking is that the former president does not demonize the United States and its allies such as Israel the way the supreme leader does. Ahmadinejad simply never used the term ‘Great Satan’ in referring to America in his speeches at the UN. He only makes an association by saying that ‘the self-proclaimed centres of power’ ‘have entrusted themselves to the Devil’.403 Practicing the realist tradition is synonymous to following the
teachings of Lucifer since the former president urges that the ‘centres of power’ are accountable for the ‘current abysmal situation of the world’.404 Below, I discuss the details of the actions of
the West that, according to Ahmadinejad, have brought distraught to the international society reflecting realism in his worldview.
When it comes to the institution of diplomacy, the United Nations is an important regime through which sovereign nation-states of international society can discuss, interact and negotiate certain issues and was founded based on the rationalist tradition. As I am going to elaborate in the last section of this chapter, Ahmadinejad’s political discourse contains a strong rationalist dimension amidst the dominance of revolutionism and realism. For the former president, the true potential of the United Nations has not been realized as the ‘powers’ have instrumentalized the Security Council, using it as a tool of ‘threat and coercion’ making certain global arrangements unjust and discriminatory.405 Here he exposes the realist dimension of the
403 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “Address by Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the I.R. Iran at the 67th
Session of the UN General Assembly (2012),” United Nations, accessed October 8, 2015, http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatements/67/IR_en.pdf
404 Ibid.
405 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before
the 61st Session of the UN General assembly (2006),” United Nations, accessed October 8, 2015, http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/61/pdfs/iran-e.pdf
164 institution of diplomacy as coercion in the UN becomes a meansthrough which the powerful states attain their goals. He believes that the Security Council can no longer perform its obligation of maintaining ‘international peace and security based on justice’ due to the ‘monopolistic powers’.406 The very definition of the United States and its Western allies as
‘powers’ already denotes the former president’s realist understanding of their position and action in the international system. In the institution of diplomacy, according to the statements of Ahmadinejad, the West negotiates from a position of power showing their independence from the system and their capacity to coerce other nation-states with the Security Council being one of their instruments.
Since realist actors in the international system disregard international law and norms to pursue their objectives, Ahmadinejad’s description of the actions of the United States and its allies affirm his realist classification of them as he accuses them of violating international law despite being the ones who drafted it.407
‘Threats with nuclear weapons and other instruments of war by some powers have taken the place of respect for the rights of nations and the maintenance and promotion of peace and tranquility; For some powers, claims of promotion of human rights and democracy can only last as long as they can be used as instruments of pressure and intimidation against other nations. But when it comes to the interests of the claimants, concepts such as democracy, the right of self-determination of nations, respect for the rights and intelligence of peoples, international law and justice have no place or value’.408
Occupation of a sovereign nation-state, such as Iraq, is one of the recurrent issues that the former president points out as an example of the United States’ violation of international law – a similar argument seen in the speeches of the supreme leader. He condemns occupation as ‘an unforgivable crime’ referring to U.S. unilateralism and the Israeli conflict as such actions defy international law, and made it a point to remind the international society of these issues at the UN each year.409
The realist institutions of balance of power, great power management and war are perhaps the most prominent in Ahmadinejad’s speeches. Already by referring to the United States and the
406 Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 62nd
Session of the UN General Assembly (2007)”
407 Ibid.
408 Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 61st
Session of the UN General assembly (2006)”
409 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran at the
65th Session of the UN General Assembly (2010),” United Nations, accessed October 8, 2015,
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/65/PV.12; Ahmadinejad, “Address by Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the I.R. Iran at the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly (2012)”
165 West as ‘centres of power’ he expresses their dominant position in the international system in a realist framework. Statements such as: ‘Certain powers equate themselves with the international community’ and ‘consider themselves the masters and rulers of the entire world’ clearly reflects the former president’s realist perspective of the West.410 These can be traced
within the institutions of balance of power and great power management as he adds to it that the ‘powers sacrifice all human values, including honesty, purity and trust, for the advancement of their goals’.411 The powers are devoid of morality as they embark on a realist path in the
international society and are depicted not as the devil but as a ‘bully’ that uses the language of threats, intimidation and advocates arms race.412 A constant state of conflict within the international system reflects the realist institution of war. To this end, Ahmadinejad highlights the militarism and possession of nuclear weaponry of the U.S. and its allies as part of their national interest to facilitate arms race in their favour to preserve their positions of power.413 Explicitly positioning the U.S. and its allies as the ‘powers’ in an international system behaving within the confines of the realist tradition reinforces Ahmadinejad’s realist worldview. He calls attention to the flaws generated within the system as the ‘powers’ break international law and engage immorally with weaker nation-states. Like the supreme leader, the former president’s finds the solution in the revolutionist vision of Islam, which opposes immorality and materialism. Ahmadinejad feeds the anti-imperialist discourse as he raises the issue of injustices committed by the West inflicting suffering to the people of the region through military intervention after 9/11. He crafts the binary opposition from within international society by classifying the two poles of ‘the powers’ and ‘the rest’ showing parallelism with the supreme leader’s ‘the Great Satan’ and ‘us Muslims’. I discuss Ahmadinejad’s revolutionist campaign within the United Nations in the next section before expanding on the rationalist contents of his arguments at the end of this chapter.
410 Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 61st
Session of the UN General assembly (2006)”
411 Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 62nd
Session of the UN General Assembly (2007)”
412 Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 62nd
Session of the UN General Assembly (2007)” Ahmadinejad, “Address by Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the I.R. Iran at the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly (2012)”
413 Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 63rd
Session of the UN General Assembly (2008)” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “Address by H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President of the I.R. of Iran before the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly (2009),” United Nations, accessed October 8, 2015, http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/pdf/IR_en.pdf; Ahmadinejad, “Address by Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the I.R. Iran at the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly (2012)”
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