The Analysis of Space of Dependency and Space of Engagement in Aras Free Trade - Industrial Zone

Aras Free Trade and Industrial Zone, attributed as one of the six viatal gateways for Iran's local and national economy to seek co-linkeage with global economy, is an output action of various systems in various spatial scales. In other words, this trade and industrial unit as a geographical structure, has its evolutionary trend commanded by systems that organize it intrinsically (in local scale) and extrinsically (under the impacts of other spatial scales) though it is differentiated in the form of one of the structural-functional component of space and its site is defined and determined in space. It appears that the construcuration of Aras Free Trade and Industrial Zone in the space of dependency is overshadowed by the functionality of other power centers located in the spaces of engagement that acts in wider geographical scales. In fact, based on what was previously mentioned, the current research carried out in descriptive-analytical research method seeks to explain the spatial scales influential in the geographical structure and system of Aras Free Trade Zone for which a conceptual-theoretical framework of three-layered global, national and local scales, suggested in World Systems Theory by Peter Taylor in coalition with various spaces of dependency and spaces of engagement, were applied to analyze the status quo. Therefore, according to the findings of this research,the spatial scales influential in the evolutionary trend of Aras Free Trade Zone apparently is more varied than levels of triple geographical scales suggested in World Systems Theory. Indeed, besides threats and opportunities of capitalistic global economy in the widest scale, i.e. global scale, the ideology of nation-state in national scale, i.e., the macro-views of Iranian statecraft men and the impacts of the space of dependency in local scale, i.e., the site and location of Aras Free Zone in Jolfa, the action of two regional (sub-national) scales in North-Western Iran and geopolitical and geo-economical advantages and fixed of Southern Caucasia in regional (supranational) scale are also influential as well as effective in the spatial organization of Aras Free Trade - Industrial Zone.