Principlism Engages Pragmatism: Iran's Relations With East Asia Under Ahmadinejad

Abstract

The present analysis emerges from a rather constant observation of the Iranian government's bilateral interactions with countries of the Northeast Asian region during the Ahmadinejad presidency from 2005 to 2013. Instead of providing a detailed account of myriad economic interactions involving the two sides, particular attention is paid to how Iran and its East Asian partners perceived and treated each other politically in that period of Tehran's tense and often convoluted relationship with the West. The article also looks at how Ahmadinejad's legacy might influence his successor's overall policy toward the East Asian region.