Iran’s role as a regional power is more significant than many in the West may realise. The country lies between Central Asia/the Caucasus and the Gulf region on the one hand, and, on the other, between the Mediterranean/Levant region and South Asia. Many of these areas are of increasing strategic importance. This book explores Iran’s role as a regional power, focusing on relations with South Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan and Armenia. It outlines the historical context, including Persia’s rule of these countries before the nineteenth century, and discusses Iran’s approach to foreign and regional policy and how both internal and international factors shape these policies. The book assesses Iran–Azerbaijan and Iran–Armenia bilateral relations to demonstrate how those policies translate in Iran's regional and bilateral relations. The book concludes by considering how Iran's relations in the region are likely to develop in the future.
This book focuses on Central Asia's place in world affairs and how international politics of state-building has affected the Asian region, thus filling the gaps in ongoing discussions on the rise of Asia in global governance. It also attempts to generalize and contextualize the "Central Asian experience" and re-evaluate its comparative relevance, by explaining the complex dynamics of Central Asian politics through a detailed analysis of the effects of major international actors -- both international organizations as well as current and rising great powers.--Publisher's description.
This book delves into the connections between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the countries of the southern Caucasus region following the 1979 revolution. It focuses on their political, economic, and cultural interactions and elaborates on Iran's foreign policy principles, discourses, and significant decision-making institutions. It also addresses the process of nation-state building in the southern Caucasus, the challenges involved, and the geopolitical and strategic importance of this area for Iran. Factors influencing the relations are scrutinised, alongside an evaluation of the proposed accession of the Republic of Azerbaijan into Iran, based on insights from Hashemi Rafsanjani's diary. The work further investigates the legal framework of the Caspian Sea and Aras River, examines the strategic implications of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for Iran and other relevant actors, and analyses the repercussions of the Ukraine war on transportation routes. This book will help researchers of the Middle East and the Caucasus better understand Iran's relations with the region.
This book assesses Iran’s role in contemporary geopolitics. In particular, it examines three main intertwining circles: Iran’s development and political challenges, its relationships with neighbouring countries, as well as its relations with the major global powers — China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With contributions from over 20 authors, the book spans such critical aspects of contemporary geopolitics as modern history, natural resources, the economy, the social-political context, and strategic thinking. Particular focus is placed on Iran’s relations with its neighbours - Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, and the Persian Gulf States. Furthermore, the book offers both a bilateral and multilateral dimension on how nuclear sanctions imposed on Iran have impacted its strategic planning, from the economic and military perspectives.
The multicultural region of Central Eurasia is living through its early post-independence years and as such serves as an ideal case to study and analyse theories of identity and foreign policy in a non-European context. Looking to re-introduce identity as a multidimensional factor informing state behaviour, this book analyses the experiences of the different Central Eurasian states in their post-independence pursuits. The book is structured into two broadly defined sections, with the first half examining the different ways in which the combination of domestic, regional, international and trans-national forces worked to advance one national identity over the others in the states that comprise the region of post-Soviet Central Eurasia. In the second half, chapters analyse the many ways in which identity, once shaped, affected foreign policy behaviours of the regional states, as well as the overall security dynamics in the region. The book also looks at the ways in which identity, by doing so, enjoys an intricate, mutually constitutive relationship with the strategic context in which it bears its effects on the state and the region. Finally, given the special role Russia has historically played in defining the evolutionary trajectory of the regional states, the book discusses the ways in which Russia itself and its post-cold war policies towards its former colonies have been conditioned by factors associated with Russia’s evolving post-Soviet identity. Placing the region firmly within existing theories of identity and state practices, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of Central Asian Politics, Security Studies, Foreign Policy and International Relations.
Bestselling author and eminent foreign policy scholar Zbigniew Brzezinski's classic book on American's strategic mission in the modern world. In The Grand Chessboard, renowned geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski delivers a brutally honest and provocative vision for American preeminence in the twenty-first century. The task facing the United States, he argues, is to become the sole political arbiter in Eurasian lands and to prevent the emergence of any rival power threatening our material and diplomatic interests. The Eurasian landmass, home to the greatest part of the globe's population, natural resources, and economic activity, is the "grand chessboard" on which America's supremacy will be ratified and challenged in the years to come. In this landmark work of public policy and political science, Brzezinski outlines a groundbreaking and powerful blueprint for America's vital interests in the modern world. In this revised edition, Brzezinski addresses recent global developments including the war in Ukraine, the re-emergence of Russia, and the rise of China.
In this global era, Central Asia must be understood in both geo-economic and geopolitical terms. The region's natural resources compel the attention of rivalrous great powers and ambitious internal factions. The local regimes are caught between the need for international collaborations to valorize these riches and the need to maintain control over them in the interest of state sovereignty. Russia and China dominate the horizon, with other global players close behind; meanwhile, neighboring countries are fractious and unstable with real potential for contagion. This pathbreaking introduction to Central Asia in contemporary international economic and political context answers the needs of both academic and professional audiences and is suitable for course adoption.
This comprehensive exploration of the international environment examines not only traditional political-military concerns but also economic, ethnic, and environmental issues and the role of crime, terrorism, the drug trade, and migration in the security environment of Russia and its neighbours to the south. This approach takes account of both the internal and external aspects of security problems and their interplay. The participation of international authors facilitates the consideration of each problem from all relevant points of view.