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Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 25.2 (2005) 273-278



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Iran's Hostage Crisis:

International Legitimacy Matters

The further backward you look, the further forward you can see.
Winston Churchill

A quarter century ago revolutionary Iran took over the American Embassy in Tehran and held fifty-two Americans hostage for 444 days—a crisis that has cast a long shadow on Iranian foreign policy behavior. A quarter century later U.S. hostility toward Iran continues. Whatever else might be said to be fueling this hostility today, there is little doubt that it is rooted in the hostage crisis of 1979–81. For example, America's current suspicion that Iran plans to go nuclear is based, above all else, on U.S. suspicion of Iran's intentions. Iran claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, whereas the United States alleges it is for making nuclear weapons. The jury is still out, but the objective assessment of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) so far does not support the Bush administration's allegation.

As important as the study of the hostage crisis is in terms of understanding U.S. relations with Iran, I believe that the crisis constitutes a significant case study of the importance of international legitimacy in international politics. Liberal international relations theorists such as Joseph Nye are not alone in acknowledging the importance of international legitimacy in world politics. No less a theorist than Hans Morgenthau, the leading traditional realist, believes in the relevance of legitimacy to state power. In his words, "Prestige has become particularly important as a political weapon in an age in which the struggle for power is fought not only with the traditional methods of political pressure and military force but in large measure as a struggle for the mind of men."1

Because the concept of "legitimacy" in international relations is elusive, I would like to say upfront what it means to me. I think legitimacy is an intrinsic aspect of national power, and balance of power alone fails to explain the dynamics of international politics. In other words, a nation may lose legitimacy in international politics when it dismisses the relevance of world public opinion. By contrast, a nation may win legitimacy when it exercises power according to widely accepted international rules, principles, and norms.

Defying the World Order

The hostage taking became the crucible of Iran's largely confrontational foreign policies for most of a decade. The crisis occurred amidst revolutionary political chaos, economic paralysis, acts of terrorism, armed insurrection, ethnic insurgency, summary executions, and generally a [End Page 273] basic lack of internal security in 1979–81, reminiscent of the chaos that marked the end of the constitutional revolution in 1911. A multitude of political factions vied for power, many with diverse ideological orientations. The Islamist students who took over the American Embassy claimed to follow the Khomeini line (Khatt-i Imam), the supporters of the National Democratic Front followed Musaddiq's secular path (Rah-i Musaddiq), followers of Fada'iyan-i Khalq espoused a version of Marxist-Leninist ideology, the members of the Tudeh Party pressed for Soviet-style communism, and the Mujahidin-i Khalq (People's Fighters) espoused a mix of Islamic and Marxist tenets.2 The dominant ideology that influenced the students' action is difficult to identify. Massoumeh Ebtekar, the revolutionary students' spokesperson, claims that they were influenced by Ali Shari'ati, who, she says, "persuaded them to accept the leadership of Imam Khomeini with courage and devotion." I have not been able to verify this statement. She also claims that the students excluded the leftist groups from their rank.3

Khomeini's ideology, however, is more relevant than Shari'ati's to the development of the hostage crisis because he incited students against the United States before the takeover of the American Embassy, and he endorsed their action afterward. What follow are his statements on both occasions. Three days before the takeover, Khomeini used the anniversary of the shah regime's...

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