احسان فلاحی

According to the "doctrine of the responsibility to protect", every government must protect its population against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. When a country loses its ability to protect its population against such crimes. This responsibility will be delegated to the international community. Due to the widespread lack of human rights in the Syrian crisis, the international community has considered itself to intervene in this country. However, the international community, especially the United Nations, has not been able to act effectively. Considering the current conditions, this article seeks to answer the question of how the "doctrine of the responsibility to protect" has caused the ineffectiveness of the United Nations in the Syrian crisis. To explain the ineffectiveness of "responsibility to support" in Syria, the deadlock puzzle in game theory has been used. Based on this theory, the interests and political considerations of the great powers in the Security Council as the main mechanism for applying the responsibility of protection have prevented the effective and desirable functioning of the doctrine of the responsibility of protection in the Syrian crisis. The hypothesis of the article is that the lack of specific criteria for the implementation of the responsibility to support on the one hand, and the conflicting and complex interests of the great powers in the Syrian crisis on the other hand have affected the performance of the UN Security Council and it faced inefficiency in the serious test phase in the case of the Syrian crisis.

The tension and conflict between Baku and Yerevan in the last three decades has affected Iran's bilateral relations with both of these two countries. On the other hand, the Economic influence of rival powers in the region, has doubled Tehran's regional concerns. Therefore, preventing the threats and taking advantage of existing opportunities have become a significant necessity for Iran. According to mentioned conditions, in the period of 2013-2021, Tehran tried to use economic opportunities created by its new approach in foreign policy in light of the JCPOA.Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan are considered as Iran's getaway to reach Russia and Europe. We will use Geopolynomics topic as a conceptual framework in evaluating Iran's bilateral relations with Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, emphasizing the approach of Rouhani's government in the field of foreign policy between 2013 and 2021. This article uses the phenomenological method to analyze the collected data.

This article intends to address the following question to some extent. What was Rouhani's government's approach to bilateral relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia?

Tehran has prioritized economic issues in its foreign policy in the post-JCPOA period. Tehran's geo-economic attitude towards the expansion of relations with the Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia shows a significant example of a new approach. In the past decades, the relations between Iran and Armenia have continued according to the existing capacities but bilateral relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have experienced a more cooperative approach compared to the last decade. The outstanding geo-economic position of the Republic of Azerbaijan improved the status of this country in Iran's foreign policy and as a result, strengthened Tehran-Baku relations (between 2013-2021) compared to Tehran-Yerevan relations.

  Geopolynomics is an analytical tool to explain the policy issues facing the post-Cold War world and the 21st century. It could be said that Geopolynomics is an informal intergovernmental regime. In fact, this term serves as informal rules between governments for economic cooperation and regional integration by taking into account the security concerns of the other side.  In other words, Geopolynomics is created from the combination of Geopolitics and Geo-economics. Therefore, it can provide a useful conceptual framework for analyzing a wide range of issues such as transit corridors, transportation, energy and trade exchanges by considering security issues. 

After the first Karabakh war Armenia faced with many geopolitical obstacles and economic challenges imposed by the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkey. Therefore, cooperation with Iran is very attractive for Armenia to circumvent the imposed restrictions. Tehran-Baku relations are affected by geopolitical problems (Karabakh conflict), ethnic issues, religious ideology, the presence of extra-regional powers (arms cooperation with Israel) the legal regime of the Caspian Sea and its common resources most of which have had a negative impact on Tehran-Baku relations. Based on the main foreign policy discourse during president Rouhani’s administrations (2013-2021), the importance of Geo-economics has become more prominent. It seems that geo-economic elements have had a greater impact on the development of bilateral relations between Tehran and Baku than Yerevan. It is also noteworthy that geopolitical concerns remain active despite Geo-economic cooperation. This issue can be examined in the following three aspects:1) The meeting of high-ranking officials,2) Important agreements reached between the two sides regarding construction of transit corridors,3) Trade volumes. n the period mentioned in this article (August 2013 to August 2021), 47 high-level meetings were held between Tehran and Baku officials. Also, more than 130 meetings were held between the ministers, deputies and senior managers of the two countries. In comparison with the Republic of Azerbaijan, only 23 high level official meetings occurred between Iranian and Armenian officials and less than 40 meetings were held among low-level government officials. The abundance of meetings can indicate the political will to cooperate. In the discussion of South Caucasus, transportation and energy exchange is the most important measure of cooperation. In this regard, the Rouhani administration has signed several agreements with Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is important to point out that these republics are parts of International North-South Corridor. This multi-purpose corridor connects Iran's southern coasts in the Persian Gulf with Russia and Europe. There is no independent railway between Iran and Armenia. The contract for the construction of this railway line was approved by the governments of Armenia and Iran in 2009.  By the end of 2013, the cost of this route was estimated at 3.5 billion dollars. This project was never implemented due to its high cost. On the other hand, Iran- the Republic of Azerbaijan railway is under construction. In addition, Iran is eager to export gas to Europe through south Caucasus region. While the transportation pipeline in Armenia is not developed, the Republic of Azerbaijan has a high potential to connect Iran to the South Caucasus gas pipeline and TANAP in Turkey. The volume of transactions between Iran and Armenia in 2020 was about 400 million dollars. This volume in 2012 was about 275 million dollars. The trade balance between Iran and Armenia has always been in favor of Tehran. On the other hand, the volume of transactions between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan has grown more than Armenia. This volume was less than 270 million dollars in 2012 and reached 495 million dollars in 2019.

This research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the economic and political situation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Iran's foreign relations. The main findings of the article were that bilateral relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan increased more than the relations between Iran and Armenia from 2013 to 2021. The stated conditions are a normal choice for Iran because the geo-economic position of the Republic of Azerbaijan has more potential for expanding bilateral relations with Iran. Contrary to the Republic of Azerbaijan's geo-economic importance, Armenia is Iran's vital geopolitical partner in the South Caucasus.

Indo-Pacific Region has become a center of competition between the leading powers, and it has drawn the attention of key international and local players. One of these major powers is the UK actively revisiting its position in the world, particularly after Brexit. British government has published the “Global Britain” vision in the Integrated Review in order to reconsider its position as a major power in the world. The Integrated Review makes the UK government to deepen its engagement and consolidate its place in Indo-Pacific Region for a long-term. The Integrated Review document obliges the government to strengthen the UK’s persistent presence in Indo-Pacific Region. Hence, UK has tilted its strategy toward the region in order to consolidate its changing identity as a leading European power and as an international political player.  In this study, the main questions are “what is the position of Indo-Pacific Region in Britain’s new strategy? and what are the Britain's reasons for tilt toward the region?” Referring to the Bernard Cohen's theory "Geopolitics of the World System", it has been argued that the international order has been changed due to China and Russia revisionism, and Indo-Pacific Region is now considered as the arena of competition for great powers. This change has made the UK to shift its strategy toward this global hotspot and play an active and independent role at international environment. The main goal of Integrated Review is to deepen the UK’s engagement in the Region as a European nation for gaining economic and security advantages in the coming decade. The main reasons of Britain’s strategic orientation toward the region could be the economic consequences of Brexit, changing in China stance, prioritizing the US-Britain relations, achieving security-military goals, and boosting bilateral relations with Japan and India, as two regional powers. This study employed a descriptive-analytical approach in research conduction.

Russia has had Asymmetric Security Strategy During the past three decades, the Evolution in Russia Security Strategy Seems more than usual. Russians have experienced three different Models of Security Strategy From 1991 until 2021. this article reviews the mentioned models by applying the combined analysis framework of realism theory and SWOT Strategic models. Therefore, research was carried out to answer the following question. How was been the developments of Russia's Security Strategy? We use the strategic document of the Russian Federation to answer the question. The result indicates that Russia's security strategy was defensive in the 1990 decade but after passing the stages in 2000 decades, it became Offensive after 2010. According to the SWOT method, Our findings fall into three categories: First OW Strategy in the 1990s, Second ST strategy in 2000 and third SO Strategy in 2010s. This study used qualitative techniques to analyze.

According to Relative similar approach of I.R Iran with Russia and China, it is possible to use the potential of Russia and China to design the optimal Security strategy for I.R Iran. Therefore, this research offers some suggested strategies and tries to answer the following question. Which strategies are suitable for I.R Iran to utilize the Russia and China's abilities? In order to suggest strategies, We applying the SWOT method and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). The basic data of this article gathered by In-depth semi-structured interview and Ayatollah Khamenei's Statements. Gathered information set in survey. The result of Internal Factors Evaluation (IFE) and External Factors Evaluation (EFE) show the Central Strategic position. Therefore, strategies have been presented in the form of four aggressive, contradictory, adaptive and defensive patterns. But the final classification based on the matrix (Q.S.P.M) shows that aggressive strategies (S.O) and adaptation (O.W) based on the use of China and Russia are highly desirable, with the first five strategies based on cooperation with China and Russia, especially in economic dimensions

Replacing steel pipes with composites is one way to combat corrosion in fluid transfer pipelines. Glass fiber polymer composites are corrosion resistant and in addition to having high strength, they are a cheaper option than steel pipes. In this paper, the mechanical behavior of composite and steel pipes used in oil transmission pipelines for fault angles at 45, 61, 75° under reverse fault is investigated using Abaqus software. The mechanical strength and maximum displacement size of composite pipes buried under reverse faulting are compared with steel pipes. The onset of damage in GREs and the yielding point of steel were predicted using Hashin’s initiation criteria considering four failure modes and the von Mises Stress, respectively. Quasi-static solution was used to analyze the soil’s behavior due to nature of loading. The yield point of soils was calculated according to Mohr-coulomb. The results showed that In reverse faulting, the compressive force will often be the yielding factor of buried pipes and In order to safely operate the buried pipe, steel pipes should be used at angles above 61° of reverse fault and unidirectional composite pipes at angles less than 61°. In addition, the maximum allowable displacement of the reverse fault at different angles of the fault is at least 70% higher for the unidirectional composite pipes of glass-epoxy fibers than the steel pipes. The results of this study can be used in the design studies of composite buried pipelines in areas with corrosive soils and active fault crossings.

After the victory of communist revolution in China, Nationalism had been combined with communist teachings as result of cultural revolution at the Mao era. The outputs of mentioned process caused to formation of ideological and transnational principles in Chinese foreign policy. But after nearly three decades, People's Republic of China has not achieved its foreign goals and faced with turmoil in domestic economy. Therefore, at the late of 1970s Beijing endeavored to improving their relations with the outside world, especially with the United States. Over the 1980s-decade transnationalism ideas replaced with pragmatist nationalism. These developments paved the way for control the nationalism narrative by China development-oriented government. It is important to point out that one of the most important factors which influence states foreign policy is the kind of nationalism narrative. There are different kinds of nationalism in china's political temporary discourse, but only one of them has taken dominant position in China’s foreign policy. The aim of this article is to analyze the conceptual developments of Chinese nationalism and its impact on the development-oriented foreign policy. The research will examine main kinds of nationalistic attitudes in China and try to answer the following question: how do dominant narrative of nationalism contribute to construct the development-oriented foreign policy in china? Developmental outlook of China has directed it to interpret and promulgate nationalism in a pragmatist way as well as along its development-oriented foreign policy.

To analyze above mentioned issues the authors used a research desk method; we used various international publications, like monographs, scientific articles, and statistical data. This research has written by descriptive-analytic method and constructivism theory used as analytical framework.

Researchers owing to the goal of their research have classified Chinese nationalism from different perspectives. The authors of this article divided Chinese nationalism into three following categories: ethnical nationalism, liberal nationalism and pragmatism nationalism. The first one (ethnic nationalism) is usually defined as “to the process whereby a group or community that shares a common history, culture, language, and territory is persuaded to assert its identity in such a way that it acquires the authority to be in charge of its own affairs, usually through the creation of an independent state.” When ethnic nationalist interests are mobilized to achieve state interests, that is, state nationalism, a more assertive brand of nationalism tends to emerge. The second one (liberal nationalism) was introduced in the early twentieth century as a means to improve China through political and social reforms. It defines the nation as a group of citizens who have a duty to support and defend the rights of their state in the world of nation-states, but also to pursue individual freedoms. The third one (pragmatist nationalism) is a state-led and largely reactive, pragmatist nationalism does not have a fixed, objectified and eternally defined content, nor is it driven by any ideology, religious beliefs or other abstract ideas. This kind of nationalism is a form of nationalism that is more ready to compromise with the outside world for the sake of state interests. After Deng Xiaoping launched the reform pragmatist nationalism has taken significant foreign policy implications. China’s diplomacy began to serve economic development under the guidance of keeping a low profile and accumulating strength quietly. In addition, nationalism is becoming more influential within the government as it begins to overshadow communism and becomes the concept that draws the government and people closer to the economic objectives more effectively.

Facing chronic economic problems and acute political crisis at home and from a relatively weak geopolitical position abroad, the Chinese state took a pragmatic attitude toward nationalism and made sure that China’s foreign policy was not dictated by emotional rhetoric. The results of the article shows that China's development-oriented foreign policy has compelled Chinese ruling party to economic interpretation of nationalism which have led to impressive economic indexes so that will replace the US dominant economic status in third decade of new millennium.

China as a rising power tries to boost its position in different regions of the world including Central Asia and the South Caucasus. China has made a grand entry into Central Asia and has a growing presence in the South Caucasus region since 2013 by introducing a comprehensive vision of economic development with its Belt and Road initiative (BRI). This article provides a comprehensive insight into China’s strategy in South Caucasus. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in China’s regional policy. Most of them believe that the essence of China’s “New Regionalism” is its desire for a multipolar world based on the principles of non-interference policy and the formation of supranational and transnational integration groupings to strengthen their economic potentials. China’s attitude to South Caucasus follows the fundamental principle which was mentioned above but“each region has its own unique characteristics” that cause it to become a point of special consideration. For example, South Caucasus is a traditional sphere of Russian influence. So, any changes in the balance of power and political-security developments in the region will have implications for Russia. Therefore, cooperation between the South Countries and regional organizations (i.e. EU and NATO) and trans-regional powers (i.e. USA) will cause Russian reactions. This while South Caucasus countries try to diversify their bilateral and multilateral relations to reduce economic and political dependency on Moscow. Despite the complicated political and security situation in South Caucasus, Chinese authorities have not shown security and political ambitions in this region. They just try to develop regional economic cooperation among China and South Caucasus countries. On the other hand, China has good relations with Iran and Turkey that will facilitate Chinese partnership with the South Caucasus region. The foregoing discussion raises this question: What is china’s strategy in South Caucasus? The PRC has employed a unique “cluster approach” to the Southern Caucasus. The importance of the south Caucasus in Chinese foreign policy is defined by cooperation with neighboring countries (Iran and Turkey) adjacent area and connection to the belt and road initiative. To analyze above-mentioned issues the authors used a research desk method; we used various international publications, like monographs, scientific articles, and statistical data. In this research, the descriptive-analytical method and inter-regionalism theory are applied to address china’s strategy in South Caucasus. The fairly recent phenomenon of inter-regionalism has begun to arouse the interest of scholars and has given rise to a new field of studies in international relations. Given the novelty of the field, it does not come as a surprise that the views which have been offered so far on the nature of inter-regionalism run the gamut from “Much sound and fury about nothing” to “A building block in an emerging multilayered system of global governance”. Although inter-regionalism emphasizes relations from outside. The Belt and Road initiative is known as a brand of Chinese foreign policy. Evaluating Chinese foreign policy in Eurasia without considering BRI cannot be a realistic approach. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious program that will connect Asia to Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks along six other corridors to improve regional integration and increase trade and stimulating economic growth. 1. China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor; 2. New Eurasia land bridge economic corridor; 3. China Central Asia-west Asia economic corridor; 4. China-Pakistan economic corridor; 5. Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor; 6. China-Indo-china peninsula economic corridor. South Caucasus is the subsidiary land bridge in China-Central Asia Caucasus economic corridor. China has had relatively little geopolitical contact with the region and is thus free of the baggage associated with various regional conflicts. This creates favorable grounds for developing and deepening its relations in the region. China’s interests in the South Caucasus are essentially derived from its wider foreign policy agenda: securing access to new sources of raw materials where possible, creating a stable environment around China’s extended periphery and to some extent opening up new markets for Chinese companies. South Caucasus has served as a subsidiary bridge in BRI. The South Caucasus states themselves generally view China in positive terms, as an increasingly important trading partner and a source of much-needed investment. It seems impossible to achieve the developmental goal without access to resources and the international market in the contemporary World. China by considering the above-mentioned reality tries to improve its place in different regions of the world including the South Caucasus. Given that, this paper will attempt to answer the following question. What is the South Caucasus’s position in China’s long-term strategy? “China has formed a cluster approach toward the south Caucasus which means that south Caucasus importance in Chinese foreign policy defines by interaction with influential countries and a mega project like” the One belt one road initiative”. To analyze the above-mentioned issues, the author used inter-regionalism theory as a conceptual framework. This research was written by using the descriptive-analytical approach.

China and Iran experience harsh colonization in the 18th and 19th centuries by Europeans. During the two world wars, they became battlefield among the rival powers. After that China and Iran faced with the revolution in 1949 and 1979 respectively, the foundations of Foreign policy in both countries affected by their distasteful historical experiments and revolutionary principles. Therefore, Beijing and Iran consider the international order as injustice. So, Beijing and Tehran have had similar aims (not equivalent) in challenging international order. At the same time, Iran is in the center of world energy eclipse. Therefore, Iran and China attach much importance to their reciprocal relations. The foregoing discussion raises this question: How Iran and China's expectations and realities shape their bilateral relations? States may have different expectations from each other, but the inconsistency between expectations and realities may result in a strategic fault. There is ample support for the claim that “china's attitude to Iran is more economically and partly geopolitically against the United State. In contrast, Iran's expectation from China is more based on geopolitical leverage vis-à-vis the United States”. In this study, the discussion centers on the regional and International levels of actions between Iran and China. This research has been conducted in the framework of interdependence theory by the descriptive-analytical method.

Countries Economic dependency on fossil fuels caused to increasingly demand for stable supply of oil and natural gas. Therefore, energy pipelines are acquiring increasingly greater significance as the most stable supply method. Despite the limited extent of south Caucasus, it Considered as an important region for the energy transition. by taking geo-restrictions into account, the pipelines of the region should transfer from neighbor areas to reach the Consumption markets. Turkey by optimal use from a mentioned condition not only has become a transit country but also has supplied domestic consumption as well. This naturally begs the following question. What is Turkey's placement in Geopolitics of energy at the south Caucasus? and what is the implication of this situation for Iran? By applying the concepts of "Energy Hub Country" and " Energy Transit Country" has argued that Turkey is a transit country for the Caucasus. the initiative of energy transition from turkey without the participation of Iran caused to reduce Tehran Influence in compression with Ankara, Especially in Economic arena. This assumption is examined by applying the framework of geopolitics of energy and neorealism theory in International relations. This study used descriptive analytical method.

Since the early of 1980s china has treated according to low profile foreign policy to protect itself from negative consequences of international crisis. Although china is ally of Iran and Russia in Syria but has tended to avoid tensions with opposite sides. Therefore china behavior is somehow against United States and its allies but it is not originated from the china desire to geopolitics competitions. China has not involved in Syria crisis directly but seeking to acquire proper economic position at post crisis era. In this article the researchers try to answer the following question: How has been the china approach in Syria Crisis? How will be the china role in post crisis Syria? The following hypothesis examines in the frame work of soft balancing theory. China has indirectly contributed to balance of power in Syria. But Beijing is more concerned about its economic status in the post-Crisis era, than the political and geopolitical fate of Syria. Evidence of this study shows improving the china role in post crisis era. This article has written by descriptive-analytical method.

China, as a rising power, is an important market for fossil fuels. Meantime, the supply of fossil fuels depends on the geopolitical position of the exporting countries. The Persian Gulf and Central Asia are rich regions from an energy perspective. These regions have appropriate locations for supplying the Chinese market. Iran is located between the Persian Gulf and Central Asia. In this article, we try to compare the importance of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia and assess the Iranian position in this context.  Based on the security complex theory, we attempt to answer the following questions: What is the position of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia in China's geopolitics of energy? What is Iran’s role as a sub-system of these areas in China's energy geopolitics?
China tries to diversify its energy suppliers. However, the land secure route (Central Asia) is more advantageous than the dangerous maritime route (Persian Gulf). Therefore, Iran, as a country that links these two regions, has the  potential to act as a link between the two regions, and as such increase China’s energy security.

In the age of Globalization Soft power has an Equals important like as Hard Power. According to Joseph Nye''''s Theory, the result of Hard and soft Power Combination is Smart Power. So Russia and USA along with hardware competition, are rivals in the field of soft power. Although mentioned Competition dose not limited to the Specific Area But it has Double Importance in the Geopolitical Zone like South Caucasus Because by Soft influence Exploitation of long standing interests become Easier. According to Russia and USA tries to Apply their soft power in south Caucasus. Present article Answers the following Question; What these Moscow and Washington''''s tools to apply their soft power in the South Caucasus? And what are the differences and similarities with each other? To Answer these Question we use the Joseph Nye''''s Soft Power Theory. The result of this research indicate that "USA Soft power has political, Cultural and Economical Elements with Universal Dimension But Russia''''s Soft Power has more Historical- Cultural Dimension with Regional range. The soft power in the United States has a civilian background, but in Russia it has a more governmental character." So the manner of Applying the soft power in south Caucasus is Different. The present study was conducted by using library and internet resources

Iran and Caucasus have a common history. Cultural, ethnic, religious, linguistic and geographical cohesion of Caucasus with Iran are obvious factors that engage Tehran in the issues of this region. This area has been part of the Iranian territory in different eras and at periods of times the Russians and Turks have ruled this region. Iran's foreign policy attitude in the region confirms that Geopolitical motives and pragmatist policies have been the basis of Tehran's orientation in the region. The main purpose of this article is assessing the foreign policy of Iran in the framework of Robert Jervis's theory on Perception and misperception. Therefore present article tries to address the questions, whether Iran's Foreign policy is offensive or defensive in Caucasia? How the Caucasian states’ perception from the Iran's foreign policy has been formulated? The authors believe that Iran's behavior in South Caucasus is completely defensive. But the dominant conception on Iran's foreign policy is offensive towards the region by the interested players. So the rival actors in South Caucasus pursue cautious and sometimes negative approach towards Iran. The authors use the following factors to assess Iran's offensive or defensive behavior in the South Caucasus: Ideological or geopolitical behavior in the Caucasus Security strategies in the Caucasus The alliance and coalition policy in Caucasus Bilateral interactions in Caucasus   Ideological or geopolitical behavior in the Caucasus By the time of the USSR collapse, the Islamic Revolution of Iran had a history of more than 10 years. Incumbent president Hashemi Rafsanjani had pursued a pragmatic foreign policy in order to rebuild the devastation of the Iran-Iraq war. Therefore, Iran pursued a less ideologically driven foreign policy, especially in regard to Central Asia and the Caucasus. Despite the strong influence of the Islamic ideology on Iranian foreign policy, the foundational relationship with the Caucasian countries was based on geopolitical and realistic motives. It is important to point out that ideological foreign policy is usually accompanied by offensive behaviors, While the geopolitical attitude is more consistent with reality-based as well as status qua decision-making. Therefore, Iran's foreign policy in the Caucasus has had a more defensive rather than an offensive nature.   Security strategies in the Caucasus The worst security situation in any region is the “neither, nor war” status. This situation shows a frozen crisis. The unresolved Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazian and South Ossetia crises are undoubtedly the main pressing problems in the South Caucasus. According to the fragile security situation in the region, influential countries have special outlooks and strategies for the Caucasus. These outlooks show the offensive or defensive nature of countries’ behaviors in the region. Unlike the other competing countries, Iran has introduced the most comprehensive security model for the Caucasus. Iran's Security model (3+3) contains the participation of all neighboring countries and prevents the interference of trans-regional powers.   The alliance and coalition policy in Caucasus The increased cooperation between Russia, Iran and Armenia has led to speculation regarding an emerging set of regional alignments. Iran's position in the de facto alliance system in South Caucasus is not based on Tehran's identical proactive motives. The impact of high level of approaching of Azerbaijan to Israel and also the rising influence of USA, Israel and Turkey in South Caucasus have caused to much closer relationships of Iran with Armenia in context of Russia-Armenia-Iran axis. In other words, coalition between Baku-Ankara-Tel Aviv has caused more cooperation between Iran with Russia as well as Armenia. Therefore, the orientation of Iran toward the north-south axis is a reactive action with a defensive function.   Bilateral interactions in Caucasus Despite the fundamental contradiction between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the West, Tehran has tried to build constructive relationships with the Western-oriented countries in south Caucasus. Iran is the only neighbor of the region that has embassies in all three South Caucasus states, while Russia and Turkey have closed their embassies respectively in Georgia and Armenia.   Conclusion The regional states’ perception of the Iran foreign policy in South Caucasus is not in direction with which Iran practically has followed in the region. They do not evaluate the Iranian behavior without considering the Iran orientations in the Middle East. Conception of the Iranian Foreign Policy in South Caucasus has created in the light of dominant discourse of Iranian foreign policy in other regions and world politics. In system theory, different regions, especially neighboring regions, have an impact on each other. But these areas have not the same significance and effectiveness. Accordingly, the Middle Eastern developments have significant effects in the Caucasus. Tehran’s behavior in the Middle East has caused the US denial of the Iran role in many issues of the Caucasus like as energy transmission pipelines, militarization of the Caspian Sea and the desire to join NATO by the neighboring states. In addition, USA by pursuing “everything without Iran in Caucasus” tries to eliminate Iran's role in different projects in the region. This strategy is not due to Iran's “geopolitical defensive approach” in the Caucasus, rather it is rooted in Iran's offensive foreign policy against Israel as a strategic ally of Washington in the Middle East. Iran's deprivation from regional interests by the US in the Caucasus shows that the Caucasian neighbors did not perceive Iranian pragmatist actions as positive behaviors. Iranian attitude in South Caucasus is  less assertive than Turkey, Russia, Israel and USA, but the existing facts shows that Caucasian neighbor are cautious in expanding relations with Iran given to misperception of Tehran policy towards other regions.

As not confined to lands and borders, religion is a basis for transnational identity. Therefore it is assessed as a source of soft power among neighboring and coreligionist countries. During the USSR era all policies were designed in the framework of communist ideology and dictated from Moscow to other parts of the country. But after the Collapse of the Soviet Union, the internal ties were ended. However, Russia remains an influential country in near abroad. But, the absence of communism led to an ideological vacuum in Russia's relations towards its new neighbors. Therefore Christianity is one of Russia's alternatives to eliminate the mentioned vacuum. The present article tries to answer the following questions: How is the role of church assessed in Russian foreign policy? How is the effectiveness of religious diplomacy assessed in Georgia and Ukraine? Although the role of the church in Moscow's foreign policy is interpreted as a soft power, Russian religious diplomacy was used as a hard power instrument in Ukraine and Georgia, rather than serving as a soft power. This hypothesis is examined in the context of Joseph Nye's soft power theory.

Relation between human rights and World Trade Organization (WTO), is only a small part of an old issue but it is an updated matter of trade and ethics. Various different human life arena cannot be easily separated in the process of globalization. International economics activities have an effect on human rights at the most remote place on the earth. The primary mission of World Trade Organization is coordinating economic activities of states organizations. But the main purpose of countries representatives in international organizations is maximizing their government’s interests. In this article, we seek to answer this question: What is the impact of national interests on human rights in World Trade Organization? Less developed and developed countries try to show that they are eager to establish a constructive linkage between human rights and trade rules in WTO. But, in fact, a conflict is going on between these two groups of countries. This conflict broken out over the commercial interests of countries, has a negative impact on human rights.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the destruction of the communist totalitarianism, The context Prepared for strengthening of democracy in the new independent Republics. Formulation of Constitutions based on free elections, noted The end of the authoritarianism era in these republics. But between the years 1991 through 2000 a new model of authoritarianism in the region was developed. According to at the beginning of the third millennium a new form of authoritarianism was ruling in all five Central Asian republics. Now after more than two decades, this process is still continuing. This paper reviews new model of authoritarianism in Central Asia and trying to answers the following questions: what are the domestic roots of authoritarianism in Central Asia? “Neo-Authoritarianism is multi-faceted phenomenon Central Asia that has Political, Economic and Social background”. Each of these dimensions have been divided into several subdirectories and have examined by using the Neopatrimonialism theory. Due to the fact that Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia are the worst authoritarian situation, so tried to More emphasis on these couontries.Method of This article is descriptive- analytical study and prepared by library sources

From the late 1980s, the development-oriented paradigm has become a dominant approach in China's foreign policy. Hereby, Beijing tries to absorb the international resources in its national economy. After four decades, the Chinese economy has made remarkable progress by applying peaceful interactive foreign policy. Beijing now has substantial oversea economic and political interests. Maintaining and expanding these interests are top priority in China's foreign policy. But pure emphasis on economy in foreign policy will not materialize the mentioned priority. China's fifth-generation elites are aware about this shortcoming. So in Xi Jinping's era, China's development-oriented foreign policy has faced with modifications. Therefore, this question comes up that how the range and continuity of China’s development-oriented foreign policy has been in the Xi Jinping period? Even though Xi Jinping has commitment to China's development oriented foreign policy; but it has attached with more Political-military assertiveness. This hypothesis will be tested in the framework of Adrian Leftwich developmental state theory as well as Robert Kagan’s theory on history. This research has been undergone by descriptive-analytic method.

Vacuum of power was one of the most important consequences of USSR Collapse. Regional and Trans-Regional countries have been pulled to south Caucasus to extend their influence on this region. Turkey and Israel thought alliance with Azerbaijan Constitute East-West Pivot. This cooperation threatens common interests of Russia and Iran. Reaction of Tehran and Moscow creates North-South axis thought alliance with Armenia and attempts to affect influence of East-west axis. But interaction between Tehran and Moscow does not seem so sustainable. Thus, this question can be raised: What is the nature of Iran and Russia’s cooperation in South Caucasus? What is the level of Iran and Russia’s foreign policy interaction to deal with the East- west axis? “With the passing of more than two decades of Soviet Union dismantlement, Tehran and Moscow cooperation has not reached strategic level. Regional interactions of Iran and Russia has defensive nature with tactical function.” This hypothesis will be tested by alliances and coalitions in realism theory.

In the post-bipolar period, the nature of international conflicts has changed and peacekeeping missions increased in Critical parts of the world such as Africa. Sudan crisis can be nominated as the greatest humanitarian catastrophe in the world that has provoked the reaction of countries and the United Nations. The UN Security Council through prescription of multiple resolutions play vital role as the main operator of keeping the international peace and security. Current article evaluates peacekeeping missions in Africa and seeks to answer why the Security Council’s peacekeeping missions have not been successful in South Sudan, Darfur and Abyei? Failure to follow the effective components in peacekeeping operations caused to fizzle the UN in these missions. The mentioned elements include consent and goodwill of the two parties, impartiality, collaboration and participation of key foreign players, sense of security for the parties involved, transparency in the functions and powers of the mission, timely and rapid deployment of peacekeeping operations, domestic and international coordination and cooperation, competent leadership of the peacekeeping mission, and considering the causes and reasons of war.

Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism is one of the most important threats to peace and security in the Middle East. ISIS considered as one of the most dangerous phenomenon of terrorism in the region. This group has seized some parts of Iraq, Syria and Libya . Current study intends to answer the following question; what is the main reason of the continuation and reproduction of terrorist groups like ISIS in Middle East? Although, the countries of region involved in fighting against terrorist groups for a long time, but they have not achieved success in this arena yet. So according to game theory and deadlock dilemma following hypothesis has been proposed. Conflicting interests of beneficiary actors caused they take the strategy of Non-cooperation. Hence this issue has developed appropriate ground to form and continuity of terrorist groups like ISIS in Syria and Iraq. This research based on Descriptive and Analytical Method .

In the age of globalization, political, economic and military issues have intertwined. So crisis in one region affects the interests of actors in the other regions. Ukraine as one of the Soviet Republics survivors had been faced with multiple crises, which Zenith of it was United States and Russia Confrontation about Crimea Peninsula. This article tries to answer the following question: what are the origins of Ukraine Crisis in 2014? And what is the impact of Russia and United states confrontations in Ukraine crisis on Iran national interest? “Ukraine crisis has origin in Competition of U.S.A and Russia that has emerged in Orange and Blue Revaluation. This crisis has strengthened the relations between Tehran- Moscow, in order to fulfill Iran's national interests. To test this claim, Iran’s National interests have been investigated in local, regional and international level.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Three Republic has been formed in the South Caucasus; Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The Soviet collapse was caused in the area to form Power vacuum. This issue raises Regional and trans-regional power rivalry. In the meantime, Because of proximity Iran and Turkey has a particular sensitivities relative to the area. These three countries have created new opportunities and challenges facing Iran and Turkey, As a result, formed Tehran and Ankara's Competition in The reigon. Azerbaijan and Armenia are particularly important for having Mutual border with Iran. This article with using of critical geopolitics seeks to answer this question, What matters is Origin of competition between Iran and Turkey? How is the foreign policy orientation of the two countries in the region? There is competition In political, economic and cultural arena. Iran has a regional approach to the South Caucasus issues. Whereas Turkey Runs Their policies In this area With trans-regional approach and cooperation with U.s.a policy.

Since 2001 Ashgabat lunched more normal pattern of neutrality. In 2006, with the arrival of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow as new leader, The process of change in foreign policy intensified. In view of the aforementioned considerations, this paper seeks to answer the two main questions: what kind of changes Turkmenistan's neutrality strategy have experienced? And what have been the economic consequences of this strategy? The hypothesis here is that the Turkmenistan’s foreign policy until 2006 was based on Isolation. After 2001 negative neutrality has been adopted. Then, with the arrival of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, active and positive neutrality has been adopted. This strategy explain as one of the main factors of economic growth in Turkmenistan in the last ten years (2016-2006).