Subversive Statecraft in Bolivia and Iran: Critical, Interdisciplinary Approaches to International Relations Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

We live in an increasingly multipolar world where traditional power asymmetries are being challenged like never before. It is precisely under these conditions that the distinction between “powerful” and “marginalized” states grows analytically unstable. This thesis examines two structurally peripheral states whose modes of marginalization generate distinct yet equally consequential forms of sovereign agency: Bolivia, rendered invisible through systemic indifference, and Iran, rendered alienated through systemic exclusion. Turning to case studies of Bolivia’s protectionist lithium industry and Iran’s illicit aviation procurement networks, I argue that marginalized states do not merely endure exclusion. Rather, they strategically exploit it. Conditions of oversight and subalternization, respectively, become operational cover under which these states pursue what I redefine as subversive statecraft: the conversion of marginality into a resource for quietly undermining the international system. My analysis is rooted in a mixed-methods approach, combining historical, open-source data, and discourse analysis. It situates these findings within an interdisciplinary theoretical apparatus that treats Indigenous, feminist, and postcolonial epistemologies as analytical tools alternative to Eurocentric ones. In doing so, this thesis challenges the interpretive limits of mainstream International Relations, which often fails to recognize forms of agency that do not conform to conventional metrics of power. Ultimately, I advocate for a more humanistic and theoretically plural approach to understanding power, agency, and subversion in contemporary international order. 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I. The Hegemonic Mind and its Erasures 6

II. What Is Power? 8

III. The Politics of Visibility: the Gaze, Marginalization and the Space Between 11

IV. Mimicry, Hybridity, and Liminality: The Structural Conditions of Subversive Agency 13

V. Subversion, Not Resistance: A Conceptual Distinction 17

VI. Why Bolivia and Iran: Strategic Resources as Sites of Subversion 19

Chapter 1 23

Introduction: Contextualizing The Bolivian Lithium Anomaly 23

Part I: Tracing Bolivian Resource Sovereignty and the Discovery of Lithium 28

Bolivia’s Indigenous Roots 30

Colonization, Extraction, and Resistance: 31

Water and Gas Wars: 34

MAS and Plurinationalism: 37

Finally, On Lithium: 38

Part II: Contemporary Bolivia is Overlooked (‘Over-sight’) in the Contemporary International Community 41

Part III: Bolivia’s Lithium Strategy as Subversive Statecraft 45

Anibal Quijano’s Coloniality of Power in the Law: Ley N° 928: 49

Strategic Restraint As Subversive Statecraft: 51

Chapter 2 58

Introduction: An Aspirational Iran 58

Part I: Success in the Skies 60

The Mohammed Reza Pahlavi Era (1941–1979): 61

The Islamic Republic (1979 - present): 64

Open-Source (OSINT) Discoveries of Iranian Commercial Aviation Procurement Irregularities: 68

1. Irregularities in procurement vs official transfer dates 69

2. Utilization of permissive hubs as staging grounds 71

3. Irregular ferrying patterns—sometimes in bulk 72

4. Other administrative and ownership anomalies: unknown holders, VIP designations, and opaque title histories 73

Part II: Contemporary Iran is, In Fact, Subalternized 75

Reconciling Subalternism and the State: 75

Iran’s Subalternization: 77

Part III: Illicit Plane Procurements as Subaltern Statecraft 81

Conclusion: A Look Forward 85

Bibliography: 92

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Latin American Studies Political Science, International Relations Middle Eastern Studies
Keyword	Subversive Statecraft Agency Lithium Postcolonial Bolivia Illicit Statecraft Iran Latin America Marginalization Aviation Subaltern Studies
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Rose Deighton-Mohammed, Emory University
Committee Members	Thomas D. Rogers, Emory University Oussama Cherribi, Emory University

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