A Study Of Anti-Americanism In Iran (1979-1989)

Anti-Americanism in Iran is a typical representative of global anti-Americanism and has its own uniqueness compared with anti-Americanism in other countries and regions.Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution,Iran established the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini on April 1,1979.The new regime of theocracy has distinct anti-American characteristics,which endows the Iranian anti-Americanism with institutional rationality,and makes the Iranian anti-Americanism realize the unity of anti-American regime,anti-American theory and anti-American action.The period of 1979-1989 was the first high point of Iranian anti-Americanism,and the anti-American speech,anti-American propaganda and anti-American demonstration were the concentrated embodiment of the anti-Americanism in Iran during this period.The anti-Americanism of 1979-1989 set the tone of the future Iranian anti-Americanism and also fixed the basic model of the future Iran-US relations.The anti-Americanism in Iran is a profound reflection of the relations between the two countries.The 1953 coup opened the door to anti-Americanism in Iran.Iran’s people resent the United States for being the mastermind of the 1953 coup.The coup sowed anti-American “seeds” in the hearts of the Iranian people,which“accelerated”with American support for the Pahlavi dictatorship,and eventually led to the outbreak of the first anti-American revolution,the Islamic Revolution.The Islamic revolution in Iran turned relations between the two countries from close Allies to bitter enemies.After the revolution,the contradiction between Iran and the United States in ideology,political system,geo-strategy and other aspects escalated,the United States sanctions against Iran intensified,Iran’s hostility to the United States also deepened accordingly.The sharp deterioration of relations between the United States and Iran between 1979 and 1989 fueled the rise of Iranian anti-Americanism.This paper mainly includes the introduction and the conclusion of three parts,the body is divided into four chapters.The first chapter explores the causes of Iranian anti-Americanism from 1979 to1989 from four aspects including historical reality,theory and politics.The 1953 coup is the historical root of Iranian anti-Americanism.The containment and suppression of the new Iranian regime by the United States is the realistic factor of Iranian anti-Americanism.The conflict of values between the two countries represented by Khomeini doctrine is the theoretical factor of Iranian anti-Americanism.Consolidating the new regime and shaping the status of regional power are the political factors of Iran’s anti-Americanism.The second chapter analyzes the development of anti-Americanism in Iran from1979 to 1989,which consists of three parts.The first part is about the Islamic Revolution and the outbreak of anti-Americanism in Iran,which describes the anti-American tendency of Iranian society before the Islamic revolution,the process of revolution,the establishment of the anti-American regime and the collapse of the Iran-U.S.relationship after the revolution.The second part is about the hostage crisis and the upsurge of anti-Americanism in Iran.It analyzes the Iranian people’s hatred of the United States after the revolution,the occurrence of the hostage crisis,the American aggressive rescue of hostages and the collapse of the pro-American Bazargan government.The third part is the Iran-Iraq War and the upsurge of anti-Americanism in Iran.It describes the Iran-Iraq War between the United States and Iran,and analyzes Iran’s anti-American performance in this period,namely,overthrowing the government of Bani Sadar,fostering the regional anti-American proxy-Hezbollah,and fighting against the Arab countries that are pro-American.The third chapter analyzes the characteristics of anti-Americanism in Iran from1979 to 1989.In this paper,the anti-Americanism in Iran is summarized into three aspects: the first is the dominance of religious forces.This paper summarizes the dominance of religious forces in Iran’s anti-Americanism from two aspects: the rise of religious forces in Iran’s political process and its position in Iran’s anti-Americanism struggle.The second is the diversity of anti-Americanism forms in Iran.By analyzing the anti-American speech of the Iranian leadership,the anti-American travel of the Iranian people,the anti-American propaganda of the media and the diplomatic,political,economic and cultural aspects of the new regime,this paper summarizes the diverse characteristics of anti-Americanism in Iran.The third is the systematicness of anti-Americanism content.Iranian anti-Americanism is supported by anti-American theory and anti-American regime,both of which provide theoretical and institutional guarantee for anti-American actions,making Iranian anti-Americanism show systematic characteristics.The fourth chapter analyzes the influence of anti-Americanism in Iran from 1979 to 1989.For Iran,anti-Americanism bolstered the nascent Islamic Republic,and set the tone for its post-1989 anti-Americanism,but it also slowed down Iran’s development process to some extent.For the Middle East,Iranian anti-Americanism has impacted the original regional order and complicated the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli issue.For the United States,the anti-Americanism in Iran challenges its interests in the Middle East and makes the United States has to adjust its Middle East policy.It has become a strategic choice to draw Iraq into the Middle East and establish a power base in the Gulf.The conclusion part summarizes the foregoing,briefly analyzes the development of Iranian anti-Americanism after 1989,and predicts its development prospect.It holds that Iranian anti-Americanism will not disappear in the short term.