جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "بالکان" در نشریات گروه "علوم سیاسی"

In international politics, states are continually working to expand their influence in other countries and regions. The need to maintain a balance of power between rival or adversarial states has been a fundamental aspect of the nation-state system. Consequently, states are persistently seeking to identify and engage balancing forces in their surroundings to counter threats posed by alliances and coalitions of opposing powers.However, when a state cannot find balancing forces within its immediate region, it may seek to counterbalance threats by extending its influence beyond its territorial neighborhood. This strategy allows the state to shift the dynamics of power and reduce pressure from adversaries. The Islamic Republic of Iran's growing focus on non-neighboring countries and regions outside the Middle East reflects this approach. Over the past four decades, regional rivals and adversaries have exerted substantial pressure on Iran, leading to significant developments such as the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and extensive international sanctions. In response, Iran's foreign policy has actively sought allies beyond its region, from Central Asia and North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, South America, and, more recently, West Africa. In this context, Southeast Europe, particularly the Balkans, has also emerged as a key area of focus.Since the Islamic Revolution, particularly from the 1990s onward, Iran has actively sought to leverage cultural, political, military, and economic ties to establish its presence and influence in the Balkans. However, Kosovo's independence and the relative resolution of the longstanding 200-year crisis have transformed the political landscape in the region. These changes have created a new dynamic environment, altering the domestic political conditions of regional actors and reshaping the priorities and presence of trans-regional actors. This paper seeks to address the question, “What opportunities and challenges did Iran's foreign policy encounter in the Balkans between 2008 and 2023 within an evolving political context?”

In this study, a strategic planning approach is employed using the SWOT model to identify and analyze the opportunities and challenges faced by Iran's foreign policy in the Balkans. The analysis begins by evaluating Iran's internal strengths and weaknesses in its interactions with other influential states in the region following the significant changes in 2008. Subsequently, the opportunities and threats emerging from this diplomatic landscape are outlined. Finally, the paper examines how Iran has leveraged international opportunities in the Balkans to mitigate its internal weaknesses and counter regional threats by capitalizing on its own capabilities.

The findings reveal that Iran has struggled to use its military and economic tools to bolster its influence in the post-conflict Balkans, particularly given the expansion of NATO and the European Union in the region. As a result, Iran has shifted its focus to cultural diplomacy, using its ties with the Muslim population, promoting the Persian language, and at times, focusing on leftist anti-establishment sentiments to enhance economic exchanges with Balkan countries. However, this approach has also exposed Iran to new threats in the Balkans, including NATO's expansion, increased activities by Israel and Saudi Arabia to counter Iran's influence, the establishment of the U.S. missile defense shield, the spread of Salafism, and the presence of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq in the region.

Research data indicate that Iran has attempted to leverage its military, economic, and cultural resources to enhance its influence in the post-conflict Balkans. However, in the military-security domain, factors such as NATO's eastward expansion and the perception of the Balkans as a traditional sphere of influence by Russia and Turkey have limited Iran's ability to get a foothold. Economically, the gradual integration of Balkan states into the European Union, coupled with competition from rivals like China, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, has created significant challenges for Iran. Moreover, international sanctions have critically undermined Iran's capacity to fully utilize its economic potential in the region.Culturally, Iran's focus on forging ideological connections, rather than promoting its cultural heritage, Persian language, and historical ties, has sparked concerns about the spread of its political Islam in the Balkans. This ideological approach has also been ineffective in countering the growth of Sunni Salafism among the region's Muslims. As a result, Iran's confrontational cultural strategy in the post-conflict Balkans, rather than fostering stronger political and economic relationships, has fueled Iranophobia. Ultimately, it should be said that a shift in Iran's cultural diplomacy and emphasizing its cultural assets and language, could open new political and economic opportunities in the Balkans.

Kosovo is the only European country that 90% of its population is Muslim, but the country's independence is still in dispute with Serbia. After years of negotiations, in September 2020, the Washington Agreement was finally signed between Serbia and Kosovo as a step towards resolving this conflict. The United States after the North Korean issue, agreement with Taliban, claiming the end of the Syrian crisis, presenting the deal of the century, withdrawing from JCPOA and moving embassies to Jerusalem and normalizing relations of some Arab countries with the Zionist regime, entered the old Balkan dispute. This agreement has other dimensions too, The Kosovo government and the Israeli regime recognize each other, and Serbia moves its embassy to Jerusalem. Analysis of the factors involved in Kosovo's independence, as well as the results of the agreement and its effects, is one of the most important issues in the world of politics. Therefore, the present article examines the visible and invisible dimensions of the Serbia-Kosovo agreement. It seems that the Washington agreement has pursued the interests of Trump and the Zionist regime more than resolving one of the oldest conflicts in the Balkans.

With Putin's reelection on March 2018, a new era of relations started between Russia and the West. During the period of Putin's presence in the Kremlin, relations between West and Russia have experienced some periods of tension and peaceful concords. In early 1990s, there were prospects about Russia’s becoming a democratic state and becoming part of the normative framework of the West. After the end of the Cold War, Russia sought an equal status in international system and it also was against Western values and normative imposition. The main question of the article is "how the areas of disagreement between the Russian Federation and the West can be assessed?" The author believes that there has been a divergence between Russia and the West’s attitude towards the international system after the end of the Cold War. Russia tries to stabilize its position as a global power ​​and the rejects the existence of its specific spheres of influence that is claimed by the West.