Phar, Kim Beng and Hamzah, Luthfy (2026) From Venezuela to Greenland, now back to Iran again? Awani International, NA (NA). pp. 1-4.
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Abstract
This article examines the limits of coercive power in United States foreign policy through the successive geopolitical crises involving Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran in early 2026. It argues that the increasing reliance on military pressure, unilateral intervention, and high-threshold strategic demands reflects a broader foreign policy approach that prioritises assertiveness over multilateral constraint and negotiated accommodation. Particular attention is given to the United States–Iran confrontation and Tehran's strategic trinity of nuclear development, ballistic missile capabilities, and regional proxy networks, which collectively form a security architecture closely associated with deterrence and regime survival. The article contends that American demands for Iran to dismantle these capabilities create a strategic impasse, as compliance would require Tehran to fundamentally alter the core logic of its national defence doctrine. While regime change may consequently appear as an alternative to prolonged coercion, such an approach carries substantial risks of regional war, proxy escalation, energy market disruption, and political instability. The article further argues that domestic opposition within Iran does not necessarily guarantee the emergence of a liberal or Western-aligned political order following regime collapse. Situating these developments within the wider transition towards multipolarity, the article highlights the declining effectiveness of unilateral pressure in resolving foundational geopolitical conflicts. Ultimately, it advocates renewed negotiation frameworks, regional security architectures, and calibrated confidence-building measures as necessary alternatives to coercive escalation, arguing that the central strategic challenge facing the United States is not merely whether Iran can be compelled to relent, but whether American power can adapt to the constraints of an increasingly resistant multipolar international order.
| Item Type: | Article (Electronic Media) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | United States foreign policy; Iran; coercive diplomacy; strategic trinity; regime change; deterrence; strategic overreach; multipolarity; unilateralism; regional security; confidence-building measures; geopolitical escalation |
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JZ International relations |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) Office of the Rector |
| Depositing User: | Mr Muhammad Syameer Luthfy Bin Hamzah |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jul 2026 11:25 |
| Last Update: | 21 Jul 2026 11:25 |
| Queue Number: | 2026-07-Q4197 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/130099 |
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