ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a conceptual framework that incorporates foreign policy analysis micro-level theories into macro-level theories of international relations to offer a comprehensive understanding of bilateral relations. Foreign policy analysts have argued that in both Saudi Arabia and Iran the creation of foreign policy rested in the hands of a few key decision-makers who were in most cases personally responsible for the conduct of foreign relations. A conceptual framework will be developed based on theories in international relations and foreign policy analysis to examine the dynamics of Saudi-Iranian relations since the 1990s. When it comes to international relations theories pertaining to Saudi Arabia and Iran, Realism and structuralism/Marxism are possibly the most convincing explanations of the behaviour of the two states toward one another. The individual level of analysis concentrates on the personal characteristics of key foreign policy decision-makers.
