Abstract:
Examlnln1 different experlenca ofvarlou1 ethnic communities In the Iranian society, the author trl11 In thl1 article to explore the challenaes poted to Iran'• national Hcurlty because of the rise or ethnoc1ntrl1m. He elaborates 011 primordial tle1 and their political1lplfteance throu1hout the Iranian history from the ancient times to tbe contemporary el'I. He pays attention to the concept oriranlan peoples In order to deal with the luue of ethnocentric tendencies In Iran. He maintains that to prevent the problem• arlllna from ethnocentrism, policies at two domestic and external level• have to be considered Hrlou1ly. ldeall1m In rorel1n pollcy and Inattention to the rules1overnln1 the lnternatlonal sy1tem, In the author's opinion, account mainly for the foretan support for ethno-centrlst 1roups within Iranian society. Hence, he concludes that In order to avoid the appearance or ethnic problems, Iran should punue a reall1t rorelan policy based on the country's national Interests.
Machine summary:
<8> Iran and the Issue of Iranian Peoples Alongwiththe two abovementionedcomrmmitiesthat were communities accommodatingimmigrantsfrom different ethnic groups (such as the United States) and newly multi-ethnic communities (whether formed by territorial conquest like the Soviet Union or established by forced integration of one group in another territory based on the requirements of international and regional system like Turkey and Iraq), there is a third kind of communities having ancientterritorial frameworkwithin which there exist groups with some primordial ties such as linguistic dialects, religion or even race, which have transformed into principal and integrated elements of a national society, not through immigrationor territorial conquest and integration resulting from the requirements of internationaland regional system rather through a long process of historical development.
The beginning of Iran-Iraq war, economic crisis resulting from the war, inefficiency and reluctance of the political system to establish a broad-based government allowing popular participation and also disregarding Iranian national unity and identity as well as extremist emphasis on the religious dimension of Iranian identity led to the emergence of importantpolitical, social, economic and cultural crises which manifested as the politicization of primordial (linguistic and religious) ties and the rise of divergence in the regions inhabited by Iranian peoples during the decade following the end of the war.
In other words, although in Iranianhistory, linguistic• religious groups have had an important role in political resurgences, promoting cultural heritage and defending Iran vis-A-vis foreign threats, the developments occurred during the past half century, whether in domestic dimensions or regional and international ones, show that this very ethnic diversity can be a factor contributing to the emergence of serious threats and challenges.