From Knowledge to Wisdom: Uncertainty and Ontological (In)Security in Iran’s Foreign Policy

Abstract It has become the convention to associate exposure of foundational indeterminacies in a state’s identity with change. Many ontological security and poststructuralist works international relations argue that revealing such uncertainties is threat status quo—maintaining existing narratives practices used for constituting subjectivity. The article claims revelation does not necessarily lead rupture; moreover, it can be keep quo. investigates case Islamic Republic Iran show how polity try conceal related self-identification simultaneously embrace them. In former, pursues certainty regard its self through process othering: Its constituted opposition certain antagonistic others. latter, Iranian subjectivity articulated non-Western context, where modern gaze knowledge-seeking categorizations rejected. Instead, an “authentic” mode wisdom introduced makes possible incorporate incompatibilities self-identification. As result, both concealing embracing identity-related serve reproduction