The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards Syria (2015-2020)
Subject Areas : International Relations
Syed Mohammad Reza Mosavi
1
,
ramin bakhshi
2
1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah, Iran
2 - PhD student in International Relations at Allameh Tabatabai University
Keywords: Identity, interests, foreign policy, Iran, Syria, Middle East,
Abstract :
The relations between Syria and Iran have been a stable feature in the political landscape of the Middle East for more than 34 years. The Iran-Syria alliance is one of the components that shape the regional order in the Middle East. The political alliance between Syria and Iran has been maintained through a shared understanding of the threat, a convergence of interests in Lebanon and Iraq, and a shared vision of Palestine, Israel, and the United States. This strategic partnership has been guided through mutual economic, diplomatic and political assistance in meeting each other's strategic needs. The purpose of the current research is to investigate the relationship between identity and material interests in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards Syria in the period (2015-2020). In this research, the complex relationship between identity and material interests, which are mutually consistent, is examined in order to understand the multifaceted factors that shape the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards Syria. While the regional identity of Iran is examined in the framework of Shia-Islamic ideology, the material interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the regional level are usually ignored. Therefore, this article seeks to answer the question, what effect did the identity and interests have on the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards Syria? This article will examine the economic drivers of the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy towards Syria through a critical structuralist approach.
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Andrew Bennett and Jeffery T. Cheekel, Process Tracing: From Philosophical Roots to Best Practices. (Simon Fraser University, 2012), 10.
Ariel Jahner, “Saudi Arabia and Iran: The Struggle for Power and Influence in the Gulf”, International Affairs Review, Volume: XX, No: 3, Spring 2012, p. 44.
Asher Susser, “Iran and the Arabs: The Historical Shift in the Balance of Power”, Strategic Assessment, Volume: 18, No: 3, October 2015, p. 16.
Bill McSweeney, Security, identity and interests: a sociology of international relations. Vol. 69. (Cambridge University Press, 1999): 73.
Goodarzi, Jubin M, (2013)Syria and Iran: Alliance Cooperation in A changing Regional Environment, Middle East Studies 4(2) January, pp. 31-59.
Imad Mansour. "Iran and instability in the Middle East: how preferences influence the regional order." International journal 63, no. 4 (2008): 948.
Jamakoohi, K., Alizadeh, E., & Esfandabadi, H. M. (2019). Analyzing the capacity of Iran non-oil exports to the region no. 2* countries. iBusiness, 11(04), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.4236/ib.2019.114006
Jutta Weldes, "Constructing national interests," European Journal of International Relations 2, no. 3 (1996): 284.
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Shaar, Karam. (2019). The Syrian Oil Crisis: Causes, Possible Responses, and Implications, Middle East Institute, August 27, 2019, Available at,https://www.mei.edu/publications/syrian-oil-crisis-causes-possible-responses-and-implications
https://en.irna.ir/news/84129630/Official-Iran-exports-73m-worth-of-goods-to-Syria
https://iransyriaeconomy.com/6808/%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-13%DB%B9%DB%B9-%D8%A8%D9%87/
سهیلی نجف آبادی، سهیل؛ کشیشیان سیرکی، گارینه(1397). سیاست خارجی جمهوری اسلامی ایران درقبال تحولات خاورمیانه (بیداری اسلامی) با تاکید بر بحران سوریه، تحقیقات سیاسی بین‌المللی، 10(37)، 37-52.
عباسی، مجید(1394). بحران سوریه تبلور نظریه واقع گرایی در سیاست خارجی جمهوری اسلامی ایران، رهیافت انقلاب اسلامی، 9(32)، 85-104.
محمدی، سامان؛ ذاکریان، مهدی(1399). نقش هویت در شکل دهی و هدایت سیاست‌های جمهوری اسلامی ایران در قبال بحران سوریه، مطالعات روابط بین‌الملل، 13(50)، 155-186.
Ahmad Majidyar, Iran Expands Its Economic Sphere of Influence in Syria, September 13, 2017, The Middle East Institute, Available at https://www.mei.edu/publications/iran-expands-its-economic-sphere-influence-syria
Alexander L. George and Andrew Bennett, Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences (The MIT Press, 2005), 206.
Andrew Bennett and Jeffery T. Cheekel, Process Tracing: From Philosophical Roots to Best Practices. (Simon Fraser University, 2012), 10.
Ariel Jahner, “Saudi Arabia and Iran: The Struggle for Power and Influence in the Gulf”, International Affairs Review, Volume: XX, No: 3, Spring 2012, p. 44.
Asher Susser, “Iran and the Arabs: The Historical Shift in the Balance of Power”, Strategic Assessment, Volume: 18, No: 3, October 2015, p. 16.
Bill McSweeney, Security, identity and interests: a sociology of international relations. Vol. 69. (Cambridge University Press, 1999): 73.
Goodarzi, Jubin M, (2013)Syria and Iran: Alliance Cooperation in A changing Regional Environment, Middle East Studies 4(2) January, pp. 31-59.
Imad Mansour. "Iran and instability in the Middle East: how preferences influence the regional order." International journal 63, no. 4 (2008): 948.
Jamakoohi, K., Alizadeh, E., & Esfandabadi, H. M. (2019). Analyzing the capacity of Iran non-oil exports to the region no. 2* countries. iBusiness, 11(04), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.4236/ib.2019.114006
Jutta Weldes, "Constructing national interests," European Journal of International Relations 2, no. 3 (1996): 284.
Karin M Fierke, Critical approaches to international security. (Polity Press, 2007): 81.
Kayhan Barzegar, “Iran and The Shiite Crescent: Myths and Realities”, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Fall/Winter, Volume: XV, Issue: 1, 2008, p. 90.
Majid Rafizadeh, Implications of the growing Iran-Syria economic relations, Friday 30 September 2016, AL ARABIYA, Available at https://english.alarabiya.net/views/news/middle-east/2016/09/30/How-Iran-is-gradually-owning-Syria-economically
Nader Ibrahim M. Bani Nasur, “Syria-Iran Relations (2000-2014)”, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol: 4, No: 12, October 2014, p. 80.
Navvar Saban, Factbox: Iranian influence and presence in Syria, THU, NOV 5, 2020, atlantic council, Available at https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/factbox-iranian-influence-and-presence-in-syria/
Salam Al-Saadi, "Iran’s Stakes in Syria’s Economy", Sada (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), June 2, 2015. Accessed May 22, 2016, http://goo.gl/xqAyP5
Salam Al-Saadi, "Mostawradat Soreyah Tartafe’e wa Iran Tohaymen," [Syria’s imports increase and Iran dominates] Al-Modon, 14 November, 2014. Accessed May 22, 2016, http://goo.gl/AMNHCx
Shaar, Karam. (2019). The Syrian Oil Crisis: Causes, Possible Responses, and Implications, Middle East Institute, August 27, 2019, Available at,https://www.mei.edu/publications/syrian-oil-crisis-causes-possible-responses-and-implications
https://en.irna.ir/news/84129630/Official-Iran-exports-73m-worth-of-goods-to-Syria
https://iransyriaeconomy.com/6808/%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-13%DB%B9%DB%B9-%D8%A8%D9%87/