Foreign policy of state in the prism of historical sociology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Shahla Najafi ¹
• Mehdi Zibaei ²
• Majid Bozorgmehri ³
• Hakem Ghasemi ⁴
• GhorbanAli Ghorbanzadeh Savar ⁴

¹ Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Iran's affairs, at Imam Khomeini International University

² Associate Professor in department of political science, Imam Khomeini International University (Corresponding Author: [e-mail])

³ Professor in department of political science, Imam Khomeini International University

⁴ Associate Professor in department of political science, Imam Khomeini International University

https://doi.org/10.22067/irlip.2025.89987.1575

Abstract

Foreign policy as a field of study of international relations is usually analyzed from this point of view. However, with the entry of historical sociology into international relations and the multifactoring of events, analytics that considered the state as a general and integrated actor whose behavior is determined by systemic elements were doubted, because these theories did not explain the historical and complex trends that states act/react at the system. Historical sociology taking into account the changes and transformations in temporal, the impact/impression of trends on each other and with a comparative approach between states and societies has tried to detect the causes and being of phenomena at the level of the system, in addition, to Search articulation and interact between levels. In this sense, while considering the state as one of the main actors, it affects the analysis of its relations with society. Also, the historical sociology of foreign policy studies the causal narration of events with emphasis on history (analytical history, not traditional and narrative analysis), explaining the phenomena in a chain that has affected each other in the course of history and has impacted. In addition, this approach attention to the “transboundary” encounters that have generated and shaped theorizing. “Transboundary” (which is synonymous with "international"), means the histories that interconnect people across borders, whether those borders represent groups, States, and territories, empires or other entities. These Theories are not forged by individuals living within distinct and discrete "local" environments. Rather, the theory is forged through ongoing encounters between "here" and "there, "home" and "abroad," the "domestic" and the "foreign." Both social and political theories have international origins.

Keywords

• Historical sociology
• State
• International relations
• Foreign policy

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