نشریه مطالعات اوراسیای مرکزی
پیاپی 10 (بهار و تابستان 1391)

A new era of relations has begun between Iran and the newly established republics of the Soviet Union such as Georgia. Transformation in power distribution system at international level, collapse of the Soviet Union as an important northern neighbor of Iran and formation of several republics alongside Iran’s northern borders are among the reasons behind the new ties. Georgia’s declaration of independence and its recognition by the Islamic Republic of Iran opened a new chapter in mutual relations. However, in the past two decades relations between two nations have undergone ups and downs due to status of two countries, regional and international parameters and the role played by decision makers and officials. Thus, the mutual relations have oscillated widely between two opposing ends of cordial and strained ties. To shed light on the reasons for ebb and flow of bilateral ties, the article studies some factors including international structure or system, the role played by officials and elites of Iran and Georgia, cultural and historical commonalities and differences as well as norms and values on the basis of two theories of Neorealism and constructivism.

Today regional integration has become the main source of concern for governments. In the era of globalization different parts of the world have formed regional groupings. Realizing their geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-economic status, these regions have regional structures with various degrees of regionalism. Geopolitical region of the Caucasus is considered as one of the geopolitical regions that has developed rivalry between the Greatpowers, i.e the United States and Russia. To secure their benefits and maintain their presence in this region, these powers resort to any possible means. Encountered with some territorial and borderline challenges as well as issues related to autonomy, countries of this region seek to achieve a regional grouping in the form of GUAM Regional Organization. With the aim of establishing joint forces that could prevent and resolve regional problems, GUAM Regional Organization was set up in 1997 by Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova.

Following collapse of the Soviet Union, regional integration has been regarded as one of the requirements that need to be met by various regions wishing to be a part of globalization process. The ECO region, particularly countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus are not an exception. Nevertheless, this region has been faced with some integration challenges. Employing an analytical-descriptive approach, this article attempts to study the role played by political-regional elites in taking opportunities and responding to the ECO challenges, as one of the most influential factors that has affected actions of regional players. Taking into account “decision-making theory”, the article analyses the role of political elites in regional integration. The main question of the article is “what role is played by regional-political elites in regional integration process within the ECO?” The article hypothesizes that in light of political structure of studied countries, the elites have had a significant role in the ECO decision-making process. In fact, positive perspective of elites on the ECO has had a great impact on convergence among members and the ECO’s success.

The leaders of the Soviet Union adopted atheist and anti-religious policies toward Muslim nations during decades of ruling over Central Asia; the polices that posed a threat to the existence of Muslims. Following the outbreak of Second World War, the government of the Soviet Union was forced to revise its hostile policies toward Muslims and establish Muslim Religious Department also known as Muftiat Department to regulate religious life of the country’s Muslims. The article’s main question is “what approaches were adopted by religious scholars to counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union against survival of the Muslim Community?” The paper shows that this group of scholars introduced Islam and Socialism as two compatible schools of thought that could coexist despite their differences. The article’s main question is “what approaches were adopted by religious scholars to counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union against survival of the Muslim Community?” The paper shows that this group of scholars introduced Islam and Socialism as two compatible schools of thought that could coexist despite their differences.

Collapse of the Soviet Union is considered as the most significant development happened in the last decades of the previous century. Transformation of power relations and balance of forces at regional level as well as activation of transregional and particularly regional powers to maintain their presence and extend their influence over southern Soviet Union could be mentioned as consequences of such a development. This is while; these powers had been previously prohibited from playing active roles by the Soviet Union. In this big game, the main rivalry has been developed between Iran and Turkey, two regional powers that border Central Asia and Caucasus and enjoy significant geographical and historical status in addition to an ancient civilization. The article reveals that despite current commonalities, these two countries have faced some barriers to integration in Central Asia. The paper proceeds with studying the most common obstacles, i.e. ideological and economic rivalry as well as confrontation between regional roles (geopolitics).

The Chechen Republic (commonly referred to as Chechnya) is a part of vast territory of Russian Federation that has been a source of contention since collapse of the Soviet Union. Identity elements and tattered cultural bonds have strained ties between two nations of Chechnya and Russia. Various aspects of crisis in Chechnya have been addressed by many theoretical approaches of international relations, including “critical security studies” as the youngest one. This approach has investigated the issue of security and its root causes from a critical perspective. It has also added humanism to the lexicon of security terms of international relations. Employing the approach of critical security studies, the paper reasons that lack of identity recognition and discord between rulers of Russia and Chechnya have provoked crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys close and amicable relations with small and Christian Republic of Armenia. On the contrary, the ties between Iran and seemingly significant Shia Republic of Azerbaijan are frayed. While Tehran’s close relationship with Yerevan is widely attributed to geographical and economic isolation of Armenia, Iran-Azerbaijan unfriendly relations have stemmed from suspicion and lack of trust. From a historical perspective, Iran Russia special relations are based on rivalry between Russia and Western powers, rather than real and common interests between these two neighbors. Russia that still has a significant influence on the south Caucasus region tries to limit Iran ’s economic influence in Armenia and Georgia. Moreover, Armenia’s efforts to enhance its foreign relations with the West and Russia signal that Tehran may not rely on its long-term close ties with Yerevan.