Functional Convergence in Russian and Iranian Foreign Policy: А Constructivist Analysis of Responses to the US Strategic Pressure

This study examines the ideological convergence between Russian revisionismFootnote1 and Iranian resistance in their opposition to the American hegemony. Employing a qualitative comparative case study design with an abductive reasoning approach, this research draws on both primary and secondary data, analysed through the constructivist frameworks of Alexander Wendt and to a lesser extent Ted Hopf. The analysis examines how shared ideas, collective identities, and socially constructed interests shape the foreign policies of Moscow and Tehran. The analysis identifies three commonalities: anti-Western and anti-liberal rhetoric driven by national identity; regime survival as a core national interest; and the construction of strategic partnerships with states and non-state actors opposed to the US influence. These are not merely tactical alignments but reflect deeper ideational structures rooted in historically constituted identities. The inquiry introduces the concept of ‘functional convergence’ to capture how Russia and Iran a secular federal republic and a theocratic Islamic republic produce functionally equivalent foreign policy orientations towards a common adversary without sharing ultimate goals or regime characteristics. The findings challenge materialist accounts that explain Russian-Iranian cooperation solely through power balancing or economic interests, demonstrating instead that identity, ideas, and the social construction of interests are constitutive of foreign policy. By integrating empirical comparison with constructivist interpretation, this study contributes a fresh theoretical perspective on the Russia-Iran convergence and introduces functional convergence as a conceptual tool for analysing opposition to the US hegemony.