Introduction

This chapter introduces the study, its parameters, subjects, and core research question: what insights can be gained by exploring non-Western perspectives in a contemporary foreign policy setting, involving a state that openly rejects Western hegemony? It introduces the primary problem that the self-referentially Eurocentric approach of mainstream International Relations (IR) analysis is obscuring important perspectives on the relationship between Iran and the West. It also introduces core theoretical frameworks of the study, such as postcolonialism, constructivism, and non-Western IR theory and advocacy. There is also discussion of relevant scholarship relating to Eurocentrism in IR, Iran's position in global politics, and the call for more consideration of perspectives from beyond the West.