An Explanation of Geopolitical Factors Influencing Iran-Iraq Relations

Iraq was born after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and was recognized as a sovereign state in the international system. Before the emergence of Iraq as an independent country, Iran and Iraq had intertwined historical and geographical links coupled with a reciprocal geopolitical dependency. However, with the birth of a new Iraq, a combination of geographical inequalities and geopolitical bottlenecks gave rise to intensified geopolitical rivalries between Iraq and Iran. This situation tempted both countries to tap into their maximum geopolitical potentials to enhance their national power and meet their national interests which in turn swept aside their dependency for a geopolitical challenge.Domestic turmoil and absolute authoritarianism in Iraq transformed political parties and ethno-religious groups into sources of pressure on the Iraq state. In response, the Iraq state began to utilize geopolitical capacities to pose geopolitical challenges to regional countries, in particular Iran. The main question we are seeking to answer is “what are the most important geopolitical foundations influencing Iran-Iraq relations”? A number of factors have been proposed in answer to this question which, among other things, includes hydro-politics, the Kurds’ struggle for independence, national identity, religious divisions, rivalries of political factions and geographical borders. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK :
2.1. Geopolitical foundation
Geopolitical foundations are the result of the effects of geographical factors and interplay of geographical and political phenomena in the environment which lead to the generation of power (Hosseinpour, 2013, P.169). Geopolitical foundations depend on geopolitical relations which bring about the geopolitical superiority of geographical and political phenomena. Geopolitical components are geopolitical foundations which may determine global, regional, and national geopolitical constructs. Of geopolitical components with inherent potentiality of geopolitical foundations, the following items could be mentioned: 1. Central and historical cores (associated with national or regional identity, ideology or centers for generation and development of governments), 2. Capitals and political centers (political axis, hub and realm of the state, the reciprocal behaviors of the public and the state), 3. icomenies (the most active economic regions), 4. Effective national and regional territories (with acceptable resources and a massive development potential), 5. Empty and unpopulated areas (defensive depth), 6. Borders (boundaries of political realms of regions, hotbeds of conflicts), 7. Heterogeneous areas (regions targeted by minorities for secession, government’s gaps) (Cohen, 2008).
2.2. Geopolitical relations
Geopolitical relations refer to a set of relations among political actors based on politics, geography and power. Geopolitical relations are characterized by different communication patterns such as interaction, rivalry, conflicts, hegemony and influence.
2.3. Geopolitical Code
It refers to assessing geographical locations and forms the basis for formulation of micro and macro strategies as well as designing operation plans of national and trans-national development in overseas operation agenda (Taylor, 1994). Descriptive analysis is conducted in this research. The research materials were collected via employing library method (books, journals, and the Internet), interviewing academic professors, military, and security experts, and attending relevant meetings of experts. Iraq geopolitical codes have been categorized as stable and variable. The most important stable geopolitical factors in Iran-Iraq relations include Iraq’s restricted access o to the Persian Gulf, geopolitics of Najaf and Karbala, hydro-politics of the Arvand River (Shatt al-Arab) and border disputes over division of water. The intellectual significance of Baghdad and Mosul, Arabic identity, annexationist movements and the plurality of the religious, tribal, and political entities are among Influential geopolitical codes. CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS: Over the past fifty years, Iran and Iraq have viewed each other from a security perspective. Under the current circumstances, the increasing positive attitude towards Iran among Iraqi actors leads to Iran-Iraq security cooperation. Geographical locations, connecting roads to important regional countries, water networks and other stable geopolitical factors are the Iraq government’s sources of power. A proper foreign policy is one that can truly reflect the national power of a country and extend its geopolitical range. This is realized when the foreign policy of a given country can utilize all available capacities (and even apparently unavailable ones) as strategic assets and resources to enhance its power range at national, regional, and international levels. Most of Iraq’s geopolitical codes affect its relations with Iran either positively or negatively. However, it is the level and range of Iran’ geopolitics which must be analyzed within the framework of geopolitical strategies of both countries. For Iraq, the national power is not recognized within its geographical and political factors and it thus defines geopolitical codes for itself which exclusively affects its relations with Iran. In contrast, Iran’s geopolitical codes have regional coverage. The geopolitical strategy developed for Iran is to play an influential role at the regional level. The most favorable geopolitical strategy for Iran would be utilizing Iraq’s geopolitical codes to enhance its level, depth, and influence across the region. For the same reason, Iraq’s application of its geopolitical codes to adjust its relations with Iran greatly influences the quality and orientation of Iran’s geopolitical strategy in the region. In other words, Iraq’s geopolitical elements help improve its relations with Iran. This amity in turn helps Iran use such geopolitical codes to further its geopolitical range in the region.