When securitisation fails and succeeds at the same time: the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and functional actors in the US

ABSTRACT

This article explores how the 2015 Iran nuclear deal ended up being hailed as both a dangerous historic blunder and a significant peace initiative, despite both sides relying on the same securitisation discourse (Balzacq, T. (2010). Securitization theory: How security problems emerge and dissolve. Routledge). It aims to understand how a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian threat gained acceptance, despite years of confrontational US approaches. The central argument posits that functional actors undermined the securitising actor's authority to define the course of action. Traditional pro-Israel entities were challenged by other pro-Israel actors, notably J Street, which contested the notion that rejecting the deal was common sense for Israel's interests. This, in turn, influenced certain lawmakers’ perspectives. Overall, the paper redirects attention from the securitisation process to the overlooked contestation over the securitising actor's status and its implications for the audience and outcomes of securitisation.

KEYWORDS:

• Securitisation
• Iran
• J Street
• foreign policy
• functional actors

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This does not mean, in any way, that Israel was the reason why the Americans negotiated this deal and, although Israel was very involved with the American experts and diplomats negotiating the deal, the extent to which they might have had a say in the content of the deal is hard to assess. Likewise, there is no claim in this paper that the whole discussion was removed from US domestic political interests and dynamics. Rather, it underlines that pro-Israel and Israeli actors took centre stage in advocating against the deal, making Israel a critical issue in the adoption process within the US and participating in the construction of the domestic politics and interests.

2 J Street is a pro-Israel, liberal advocacy group created in 2007. They advocate for a two-State solution to the Palestinian-Israel conflict and for the JCPoA.

3 Congressional staffer 3, in discussion with the author, January 2022; Ex-American Administration member, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

4 Ex-American Administration member 1, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

5 Congressional staffer 6, in discussion with the author, March 2022.

6 Congressional staffer 1, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

7 Congressional staffer 4, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

8 Congressional staffer 1, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

9 Ex-American Administration member 1, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

10 Ibidem.

11 Ibidem.

12 Ibidem.

13 These claims are based on a review of actors’ speeches and addresses on their own websites, on institutions’ websites or in the media. Therefore, they are not based on an appraisal of their positions by the author, but well on actors’ own sayings.

14 Congressional staffer 2, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

15 Ex-American Administration member 2, in discussion with the author, May 2022.

16 Congressional staffer 5, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

17 Ex-American Administration member 3, in discussion with the author, January 2023.

18 Ibidem.

19 Ex-American Administration member 4, in discussion with the author, May 2022.

20 Ex-American Administration member 5, in discussion with the author, January 2023.

21 For a more extensive report, see Elizabeth Drew’s paper in The New York Review, October 22, 2015.

22 Ex-president of an organisation that advocated for the deal, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

23 Congressional staffer 3, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

24 Ibidem.

25 Ex-American Administration member 2, in discussion with the author, May 2022.

26 Ibidem.

27 Ibidem.

28 Ibidem.

29 Congressional staffer 3, in discussion with the author, January 2022.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Université Catholique de Louvain: [Grant Number ARC n°16/21-072 (SERTIS)].

Notes on contributors

Jérémy Dieudonné

Jérémy Dieudonné is a PhD candidate and Teaching assistant at UCLouvain, Belgium. He works on the identity and security dynamics in the Middle East and in Middle Eastern policies and politics in the United States. He is writing his PhD thesis about the making of the American foreign policy towards Iran and in relation to Israel.