Abstract
This study examines how Iran strategically utilizes the Strait of Hormuz as an instrument of geoeconomic statecraft in formulating foreign policy amid intensifying international sanctions following the United States withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018. Employing Neoclassical Realism and Geoeconomics as the theoretical framework, this study analyzes how domestic elite decision-making mediates systemic pressure and transforms geographical assets into sources of asymmetric bargaining power. Through a single-case study approach supported by qualitative deep analysis of institutional reports, academic literature, and policy documents, this study finds that Iran systematically operationalizes the Strait of Hormuz through three interconnected mechanisms: asymmetric military signaling, energy market volatility instrumentalization, and diplomatic negotiation leverage. The 2026 US-Iran War crisis, analyzed as a documented empirical case (28 February to 17 June 2026) based on dated institutional sources and not as a scenario simulation, is the case most consistent with the argument that the Strait of Hormuz functions as a deliberate instrument of diplomatic bargaining rather than only a reactive military instrument.
Recommended Citation
Hayat, Daffa Rabbani Widy
(2026)
"The Strait of Hormuz as an Instrument of Iran’s Geoeconomic Statecraft in Shaping Foreign Policy Amid the Dynamics of Contemporary Conflicts,"
Jurnal Wacana Politik: Vol. 11:
Iss.
3, Article 14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v11i3.14
Available at:
https://journal.unpad.ac.id/wacanapolitik/vol11/iss3/14
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