Iranian Drones at the Service of Authoritarian Geopolitics

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 2020s, Iran has increasingly employed its drone technology in geopolitical conflicts beyond its borders. The Iranian leadership asserts that a new world order is emerging, signified by American decline. This paper offers new insights into how the Iranian regime has employed its drone technology to challenge US interests and advance a revisionist worldview. Drawing on critical geopolitics, the paper conceptualises ‘Authoritarian Imagined Geopolitical Alternatives’, to make sense of the Iranian perspective. This is achieved through a discourse analysis of official documents: speeches by the Supreme Leader and selected Persian articles. Two case studies (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East during the Gaza war) complement the analysis by demonstrating the significance of Iran’s drone programme.