This book aims to explain the specifics of the EU's approach to Iran with a special focus on the 2015 Nuclear Deal. It takes into account both the complexity of European foreign policy, in particular within transatlantic relations, and Iran's (aspired) place in the international order. It informs the reader about the special negotiation format that included a number of world powers as well as multilateral bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Security Council and highlights the challenges the Deal now faces.
Part I: Actorness, Multilateralism, and Effectiveness: How European Foreign Policy and the Iran Nuclear File are Intertwined
1. Introduction: Summary and Overview of the Book
2. Theoretical Background: Actorness and Effective Multilateralism
3. Iran 101: Its political system and foreign policy
Part II: The EU's Actorness on the Iran File
4. Europe's Distinct Approach
5. EU and US Sanctions: From Policy Ersatz to Powerful Instrument
6. The Transatlantic Tandem and Iran
Part III: Effective Multilateralism as a Policy Approach
7. The Iranian Nuclear Program - Origins and Rationale
8. The Multilateral Context: The Non-proliferation Regime, the IAEA and the UN
9. The Three Phases of (Non-)Negotiations with Iran
Part IV: What's next? The Successful Deal of 2015 and Beyond
10. Assessing the 2015 Deal in the Light of European Interests
11. Expanding the Deal: Regional Issues and Non-proliferation
12. Conclusion: Europe's Multilateralism - Is It Effective After All?
Cornelius Adebahr is a Political Analyst and entrepreneur based in Berlin, Germany, specializing on European foreign policy and transatlantic relations. He has consulted with political and academic institutions as well as international think tanks in Brussels, Tehran, and Washington, DC.