The book "Iran and What's in It: The Hegemony Project from Rise to Decline 2003-2026" traces the path of the Iranian project from the moment of its rise after 2003 to experiencing its decline and then the attempt to restore the project in 2026, and raises a strategic question about the future of Tehran's ambitions and its position in the Middle East after the current American-Israeli war.
How does a country with regional ambitions seek to transcend the limits of its influence and build an extended network of relationships and alliances that transcend its geographical borders? More importantly, are the tools of military, political, and economic power sufficient to achieve hegemony, or are there other conditions related to regional acceptance, legitimacy, and the ability to continue?
These questions lead to the essence of the book “Iran and what is in it: The Hegemony Project from Rise to Decline 2003 - 2026” by Dr. Hoda Raouf, recently published by “Al-Ain Publishing House”, and the introduction by Dr. Ali al-Din Hilal, on the future of Iranian hegemonic policies in the Arab region, which provides an analytical reading of the path of the Iranian regional project over a period of about two decades, in an attempt to understand its motives, tools and limits, leading to the current moment in which Iran faces an extremely difficult strategic test in The aftermath of the US-Israeli war in 2026.
The book does not limit itself to tracking the development of Iranian foreign policy, or monitoring its movements in a number of Arab countries, but rather takes the concept of hegemony as an entry point to understanding the nature of the role that Tehran seeks to play in the Middle East. Iranian influence was not merely the result of the availability of material capabilities or favorable regional conditions, but rather was linked to a broader ideological, political and strategic project, formed through the interaction of the perceptions of the ruling elite with the capabilities of the state, and with the transformations witnessed in the regional and international environment.
