Reactive Foreign Policy under the Zand Dynasty: An Examination of Iran’s Political Instruments in Its Dealings with the British East India Company

Abstract

During the eighteenth century, concurrent with the establishment of the Zand dynasty, the expansion of the British East India Company’s activities in the Persian Gulf ushered Iran–Britain relations into a new phase. These relations developed at a time when the Zand government faced institutional constraints, limited naval capabilities, and the absence of systematic mechanisms for managing foreign relations. Consequently, its interactions with the East India Company unfolded within a context characterized by structural inequality and conflicting interests. Accordingly, this study aims to explain the pattern through which the Zand government employed political instruments in its dealings with the British East India Company, drawing on the theoretical framework of reactive foreign policy. The research employs a descriptive-analytical method and is based on data collected from library and documentary sources. The findings indicate that the structural limitations of the Zand government caused its political instruments to assume a predominantly reactive, crisis-driven, and short-term character. Within this framework, instruments such as ad hoc decrees, coercive diplomacy involving threats and pressure, and conditional diplomatic bargaining were employed in response to the East India Company’s actions or its failure to fulfil its commitments. Thus, the political conduct of the Zand government was less the product of a coherent strategy than a reflection of institutional limitations and the asymmetry of power characterizing relations between Iran and the British East India Company.