How Competing Schools of Grand Strategy Shape America’s Nonproliferation Policy Toward Iran (Summer 2022)

America’s policy toward Iran’s nuclear program has shifted over the past two decades from an exclusive reliance on coercive measures to an emphasis on diplomatic measures and then back again to coercion. What explains the different policies that the United States adopted during this time? Drawing on interviews with former officials and recently published memoirs, this article disentangles two factors that have influenced policymakers when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program: the objective constraints faced by any administration, and the worldviews embodied in the alternative schools of grand strategy represented in each administration. This survey provides an indispensable guide for policymakers who will inevitably face similar dilemmas in dealing with this ongoing security challenge.