The Role of Border Interactions in Converging with Neighboring Countries (Case Study: Iran-Iraq border)

One of the prerequisites for the entry of neighboring countries into the process of globalization and the establishment of sustainable regional and global peace in the twenty-first century is convergence. Given some of the obstacles to Iran's convergence with neighboring countries, the need for feasibility studies and the design of appropriate strategies with emphasis on border interactions to create convergence, taking into account the realities of time, seems necessary. One of the most important neighboring countries around Iran is Iraq. Despite having the most common border, as well as various similarities, even after the fall of the Ba'athist regime and the rise of the Shiites, Iran and Iraq still suffer from some obstacles to sustainable and systematic convergence, which if not addressed can lead to divergence and serious challenges in the coming decades. Therefore, the present study, with a mixed method design (descriptive-analytical and survey) and multi-criteria decision-making problem-solving method seeks to answer the question of whether the role of border interactions with respect to regional and international conditions in the twenty-first century is the most appropriate strategy in Iran in creating convergence with Iraq? In this regard, by using library and field studies and using SWOT technique, 4 strengths, 4 weaknesses, 5 opportunities and 3 major threats in border interactions affecting Iran's convergence with Iraq were identified and 8 practical strategies were developed. Strategies were prioritized using the MCDM method through questionnaires and interviews. The results of the pairwise comparison questionnaire show that the strategy of "creating geo-economic links in border interactions" to create the grounds for Iran's convergence with Iraq were in the first place and other strategies were in the next ranks.