Pan-Iranism

Pan-Iranism (Persian: پان‌ایرانیسم) is a nationalist ideology that espouses the necessity of socio-cultural intimacy between all Iranian peoples.

According to the Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics: "One important point distinguishing the radical nationalism of pan-Iranism from pan-Arab or pan-Turk orientations in the region is the fact that the Iranian version currently does not seem to include irredentist plans in its political program. Rather than demanding the return the lands separated from Iran in the past, such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, or the Kurdish areas of Iraq and Turkey, the Pan-Iranist Party emphasizes the cultural integration of the Iranian civilizational basin."

However, there are some streams of this form of pan-nationalism that promote irredentist views and ambitions, namely by demanding the territorial unification of all Iranian-inhabited lands in West Asia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia. More specifically, radical pan-Iranists typically take the view that the historic boundaries of Iran, such as those of the ancient Achaemenid Empire, must be revived to the extent where Iranian peoples are brought closer together under one state.

Origins and ideology

Iranian political scientist Mahmoud Afshar developed the Pan-Iranist ideology in the early 1920s in opposition to Pan-Turkism and Pan-Arabism, which were seen as potential threats to the territorial integrity of Iran. He also displayed a strong belief in the nationalist character of Iranian people throughout the country's long history.

On the eve of World War I, pan-Turkists focused on the Turkic-speaking lands of Iran, Caucasus and Central Asia. The ultimate purpose was to persuade these populations to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and join the new pan-Turkic homeland. It was the latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis, which, contrary to Pan-Turkist intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the strongest advocates of the territorial integrity of Iran. After the constitutional revolution in Iran, a romantic nationalism was adopted by Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the pan-Turkist irredentist policies threatening Iran's territorial integrity.