An Identity-Centered Approach to Russia’s Balanced Policy toward Islamic Countries in the Middle East: A Case Study of Iran and Saudi Arabia (2011-2020)

The purpose of the present research is to study effective criteria on Russia’s policy towards Islamic countries in the Middle East after Arab revolutions. In this regard, the main research question of the current study is: what factors have led Russia to adopt a balanced policy towards Islamic countries in the Middle East during 2011-2020? Moreover, the research relies on the hypothesis that during that the above time period, Russia, on the one hand, assisted Shi’ite groups led by Iran to fight against excommunication (Takfiri) terrorism, and on the other hand, expanded its relations with Sunni Muslim countries in order to prevent stimulation of religious fundamentalism in its Muslim republics. The current study which was conducted by a descriptive analytic method in the theoretical framework of constructivism, presents a rather distinctive analysis of the essence of Russia’s relations with middle eastern Islamic countries after Arab revolutions. The results indicate that since Arabic revolutions in 2011 and formation of new groups in the regional and international level in the Middle East, especially the Syrian crisis that initiated a new stage in Russia’s relations with the Islamic world, Moscow has attempted to adopt a balanced policy towards Islamic countries in the Middle East to remove the danger of Islamic extremism, avoid tension with those countries and reinforce relationship with them. Therefore, it is expected that Russia highlights the role of Islam in its foreign policy and that Russian politicians show more interest in constructive collaboration with middle eastern Islamic countries.