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.
