Over the stunning end to the Afghan crisis of long 20 years, the lone superpower had to withdraw, costing a trillion dollars in occupation and handing over power to the Taliban.
The influence of geography, the nature of ethnicity, resilience in fighting for decades without collapsing, and the Afghan people's disdain for foreign interference, among other factors, provided material for warfare studies.
It demonstrated to the world that money and military power cannot subdue any country built on the legacy of ancient empires spanning thousands of years. Countries are adapting to the nation-state system imposed by global realities, but some prefer to operate under their own models and systems without ignoring international norms.
The issue with internationalism is its failure to recognize that nations have unique systems of democratic principles, whether secular or non-secular, rather than the Westphalian model favored by the West.
If lessons had been intentionally learned from the Afghan War, a miscalculated effort in the ongoing Iran War, expected to end in weeks, has now lasted months with no clear end in sight.
Should we know what Iran is, and is there anything beyond to know of barely a nation in the modern sense of the term? The typical area study, as done in all war games using a similar template for all nations, fails, as Iran has already shown, enduring the war for more than a month and is willing to endure further.
As Homa Katouzian narrates in ‘The Persians, Ancient, Medieval and modern Iran,’ unlike Germany, Iran doesn’t forge a new national identity born of ideological fervor and romantic dreams, devoid of realistic views of the country's history and society.
Iranian history, like other countries, experienced conflicts over power, religion, and creed, but they never showed up with ethnic or racial hatred or a sense of superiority or inferiority.
It was not a project of German Aryanist nationalism nor the Pan-Turkism of an extreme and aggressive cult of national worship, inflated with self-glorification, and interpretation of every issue of the world on the basis of its own cult of national worship.
After a brief period of identity claims rooted in Islamic culture, following the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, Iran settled into an identity of Islam and traditionalism, reinventing itself from the modern concept of pre-Islamic Persia.
Whenever Iran assumes the identity of traditionalism, they look back to Islam and Shia tradition. If there is any crisis in their identity, it largely stems from conflicts with the prevailing states rather than from cultural conflicts.
Iranians don’t describe themselves in terms of a single, pure race in historical or empirical terms; they have a huge capacity to receive, absorb, and adapt foreign cultures, from Babylon in the sixth century BC to America in the 20th century.
Iran is a consciousness of a social and cultural collectivity, which makes the country and its people unique and distinct from the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Indians, and Chinese.
Homa Katouzian further discusses the various factors that unite the Iranian people and shape their shared identity over time. The first is the Persian language, serving as the common tongue and the medium of high literature and culture.
Although most dynastic rulers have come from outside Iran, unlike African or Indian colonies, Iran has maintained its language and resisted regression into modernity.
The second factor is Shia Islam, which the vast majority of Iranians follow, with its aspects and implications deeply rooted in Iranian culture since the pre-Islamic era.
There is no fundamental difference in the Islamic practices between Iran and Sunni Muslims worldwide; the divide, as depicted by the Western world, is political.
The third factor is territoriality, despite territorial expansion and contraction over the ages, which has led to the formation of several states within Iranian lands and to the establishment of a distinct Iranian cultural region.
Apart from geographic and cultural identity, Iranians view themselves as distinct in social and psychological ways. One can identify an Iranian persona and character that are unique from others. Hospitality, ritual politeness, courtesy, generosity, and similar traits are the strengths of the Iranian people as a whole.
With a sense of both individual and collective pride, Iranians are capable of great humility. The Iranian social and historical insecurity, often caused by frequent foreign invasions, tends to lead them to dissimulate, meaning hiding their true beliefs, religious or otherwise, which is not solely due to the Shia faith.
However, there is another side to this dissimulation; Iranians also openly and strongly express their emotions when needed.
A typical Iranian usually takes a firm stance, both in thought and action; they see compromise as an abandonment of principles and a betrayal of their integrity.
Viewing Iran simply as a regime to be swiftly removed to fit into the Westphalian world order is a serious mistake. The Afghan war lasted 20 years and placed a heavy burden on Western economies.
Is there really a luxury in allowing the Iran War to drag on with a process that could take months? Can the intelligence input from the USA or Israel be further taken as authentic to let the war continue, and the world sleep in solace?
Is there a lesson to be learned that a governance system that is democratic in principle but Islamic in appearance cannot be erased, and the Westphalian system mainly exists to uphold the geopolitical dominance of the United States and Israel?
Iran doesn’t crumble with the decapitation of its leaders, while it has systems beneath to lead the nation with the full support of its people, who don’t fear death. Iran is not a monarchical state like its neighbors in the Middle East, but rather a resilient country with a strong society that supports its government, enduring hardships while maintaining a unique identity.
Iran is more than just a state; it is a civilization capable of developing a new system or model that others might follow, beyond the Westphalian framework. Without wise leadership, the ongoing conflict could not only lead the world into a prolonged economic downturn but also reshape global power balances.
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