The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Defining Iran's Military Doctrine (Studies in Contemporary Warfare)

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has yet to be directly analysed as a military security complex with significant political influence. This book explores Iran's IRGC and Qods Force, focussing on its development following the Iranian Revolution, and how they have skilfully transformed Iran's defense doctrine to fight an irregular war that challenges the US and the West. Chapters detail the birth of the IRGC, its political development and influence within Iran, its relationship to militias and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, and involvement in Yemen and Iraq. Keshavarz brings first-hand knowledge of what government institutions are looking for with respect to the IRGC, outlining Iran's hybrid war capabilities that the US and West often misunderstand or miss altogether, in order to provide a foreign policy analysis that identifies the challenges of Iran's irregular capabilities and what measures are needed to combat it. Cover Contents Preface Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations 1 US Foreign Policy and Hybrid Warfare Applying the concept US foreign policy toward Iran Scope of hybrid warfare Chapters and book plan 2 Questions Remain Unanswered Hybrid warfare Iran and the IRGC Proxy wars are different Integrating the IRGC into broader Middle East scholarship 3 The Offspring of the Islamic Republic of Iran Structure and ideology Quds Force (QF) State sponsorship Understanding history 4 Laying the Foundation The purge Ineptitudes in battle Growth From conventional to asymmetric warfare The Tanker War Lessons learned 5 A Civil–Military Revolution in Post-War Expansion Integrating Iran’s civil–military relations within the study of hybrid warfare Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Seyyed Mohammad Khatami Has Iran’s civil–military transformation impacted its strategic calculus? 6 The IRGC Economy Iran’s economy reimagined Khatam al-Anbia Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions as US policy “Introspection has never been Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s strong suit” 7 The Iranian Way of War Does Iran have its own hybrid war strategy? The US invasion and Iran’s emerging shadow network Badr (بدر) Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (عصائب اهل الحق) Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) (كتائب حزب الله) Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) (كتائب سيد الشهداء) Harakat Hizballah al-Nujaba (HaN) (حركة حزب الله النجبا) Popular Mobilization Forces (الحشد الشعبي) Lebanon and Syria Yemen (انصار الله) Iran’s strategic investments and US policy 8 Rouhani and the Shadow Government “The diplomatic Sheikh” The IRGC under Rouhani An intelligence unit divides leadership The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) US withdrawal from the JCPOA The “resistance economy” and FTO designation There is no status with Iran 9 An Iranian Cyber Command? Stuxnet Capabilities and networks Hybridity in practice Cyber as a tool for hybrid wars 10 A Modern Foreign Policy in the Age of Hybrid Warfare The unintended consequences of maximum pressure and the influence of the militant networks Policy concepts and strategic thought The future of foreign policy Notes Bibliography Index "The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has yet to be directly analysed as a military security complex with significant political influence. This book explores Iran's IRGC and Qods Force, focusing on its development following the Iranian Revolution, and how they have skilfully transformed Iran's defense doctrine to fight an irregular war that challenges the US and the West. Chapters detail the birth of the IRGC, its political development and influence within Iran, its relationship to militias and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, and involvement in Yemen and Iraq. Keshavarz brings first-hand knowledge of what government institutions are looking for with respect to the IRGC, outlining Iran's hybrid war capabilities that the US and West often misunderstand or miss altogether, in order to provide a foreign policy analysis that identifies the challenges of Iran's irregular capabilities and what measures are needed to combat it"-- Provided by publisher