The status of South-East Asia studies in academic research and its pathology

One of the geographic areas that has attracted interest of international Academic researchers over the last two decades is the Southeast Asia. The main reason for this is the role of China and South-East Asia countries in the global economy and the strategic and geopolitical importance of the region. Given to this conditions, the question is: How much interest of Iranian scholars and academics in the field of international relations and its subcategories have been addressed to South-East Asia Countries? What are the weaknesses and strengths of these researches? The research hypothesis is that Iranian academics have not shown little interest to the research in South-East Asia in the past two decades. Two quantitative and qualitative methods have been used to evaluate the above question and hypothesis. The findings of the research show that the South-East Asia region Compared to the Middle East, Europe and the Americas has attracted little interest in scientific community and published articles are weak in terms of the theoretical approach, research methodology, scenarios, and prediction of the future.