نشریه مطالعات خاورمیانه
سال بیست و ششم شماره 2 (پیاپی 96، تابستان 1398)

Iran Action Group (IAG) has been created since 2018 in the U.S. Department of State and is coordinating and managing actions of all internal and foreign institutions against Iran. IAG creators have aimed 12 comprehensive targets which were announced by U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo. Congress laws, U.S. Foreign aids for states and international organizations, its trade deficit with other powers, military dependency of regional states on U.S. and its military bases around Iran are some of IAG instruments to implement its strategies. Nevertheless, despite this kind of claims, it is necessary to have a real understanding of IAG’s capacity. The article shows the scope of aims (range of regional behavioral reforms to regime change) and methods (range of sanctions to direct military attack). It prioritizes 20 strategies by using legal, resource, technical, operational, schedule and economic feasibility. Furthermore, general contradictory solutions in specific aspects are discussed in conclusion.

Among the issues considered in the international security debates over the past few decades is the question of failed states. These governments have different effects on different spheres of international relations. Failed state of Iraq has been considered internationally in recent years in this respect. The study seeks to examine the impact of the failed state of Iraq on international security. The main question of our research is that how the failed state of Iraq could have an impact on international security? The hypothesis examines the various issues that arise from the government of Iraq and influences international security, which shows that the government has been unable to solve the problems, so it has been the cause of insecurity in this country and, consequently, in the world. The Copenhagen School Theory, in fact, gives more opportunity to explore new security issues to researchers in the field of international affairs and security. Weakness and failure of the Iraqi government provided the basis for the formation of three types of fundamental, social, economic, commercial and physical threats for international setting. Iraq, as a failed state, lacks many security and human standards and, likewise, the rule of law, control of corruption and freedom, have lost their meaning among people. Threats such as unemployment, weak economy, poverty, lack of a sustainable educational system, immigration, infectious diseases, smuggling and displacement are among the most pressing social and political threat to international security, which arise from the failed state of Iraq.

There are different narratives of the reasons for Russia’s engagement in Syria, but one of the main fears of Russia is its concern about the growing presence of the United States in West Asia, which could spread to Eurasia. This has led Russia to pursue a policy of confronting the West and supporting the ruling government in the Syrian crisis. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Russia has carried out a range of measures to protect Bashar al-Assad: from diplomatic, political and even media support to direct military intervention. Some analysts who consider Russia as historically militarist and expansionist, emphasize Russian military presence, considering it in the same fashion as Soviet intervention in other countries. Other analysts who pay attention to developments in Russian foreign policy and the country’s recent attention to soft power and diplomatic procedures, view non-military dimensions of Russia’s presence as more important. Accordingly, the main question of this article is what has been the main strategy of Russia in supporting the Syrian government and preventing the United States and its allies from achieving their goal of overthrowing Bashar al-Assad? The answer is that Moscow’s prevailing security approach during the 2011-2018 period has been soft security balancing vis-à-vis the Syrian opposition groups and their global and regional supporters, and has only resorted to hard balancing in conditions of necessity and urgency. This is also due to a change in Russia’s behavioral pattern in recent years. It has paid attention to the importance of the soft and diplomatic dimensions of regaining its international status, adopting this approach in Syria and generally in West Asia.

The United States, as the world’s largest consumer of oil, has made efforts to maintain its energy security. One of the current dimensions of these efforts could be seen in use of shale oil and gas resources. In this regard, massive media discussions and advertisements have been made about the enormous impacts of this shift in energy policy and even on U.S. foreign policy in relation to the oil-rich region of the Persian Gulf. This paper aims to study U.S. shale oil production and its impacts on the internal and external dimensions of US energy security. It shows that the production of these resources has conflicting effects in various dimensions. Shale oil and gas production can improve some of the energy security indices on the domestic side, but it does not seriously affect the international requirements for U.S. energy security and, as a result, U.S. foreign policy in relation to the oil-rich region of the Persian Gulf. Consequently, we must be cautious of speculating about the massive effects of producing this type of oil on the security energy of the United States and its foreign policy toward the Middle East. In this research, an explanatory-descriptive method has been used.

In the history of Islam, extremist ideologies such as Wahhabism, under the influence of violence and extremism, have consistently labeled others as heretics and pagans. They have consistently been trying to expand their realms through waging war, bloodshed and plundering. The contemporary extremist groups share great similarities with Wahhabism in terms of ideology and demonstration of violent behaviors. Today, The ISIS and Al-Qaeda which operate under such ideologies are primarily run by Egyptian and Saudi nationals and as such these individuals have Muslim Brotherhood-Wahhabi convictions. Relying on Wahhabism with roots in Ibn Taymiyyah and Muslim Brotherhood, their followers have drawn upon extremist ideas of Sayyid Qutb and have joined hands to make a bitter concoction from Islam. Contemporary researchers generally refer to contemporary extremist groups as Wahhabi-Takfiri, Salafi or extremist (radical) Wahhabi. Employing historical and available resources as well as utilizing historical and comparative methodologies, this research attempts to recognize Salafi-Wahhabi theoretical and practical similarities among the contemporary extremist groups.

The Middle East region is going through a very sensitive transition period that has left its future in a state of uncertainty. The prediction of the upcoming developments in this region is so important that many in the world are preoccupied with it. It will not be possible to draw a view of the future of the region, except by looking at the past, as well as assessing the current balance of power in it. For the Balfour Declaration (1917) which is the basis for the foundation of Israel, essentially a dual purpose was defined; one was the displacement of Jews from Europe and getting rid of them, and the other was the establishment of a base united with the west in the Middle East, which was created for long-term conflict with Arabs and Muslims. An exploration of international affairs shows that the Middle East is the most political point in the world, whose developments had, have and will have a direct impact on global developments. Maybe, that is why it has become the main scene of the international conflict. And in addition to the first world powers, the second-rate powers also strive to gain a foothold in this region. The heavy global conflict has made the region face a very difficult situation, which makes predicting future even more difficult. Meanwhile, the internal forces are experiencing a fluctuating process, witnessing the rise of some trends and fall of others. Continuing with the research, it is appropriate to consider the strength factors of the allies of Iran and also the current status of the Western and US allies, and the role of other global powers in the region, in order to gain a better understanding of the future in the light of this. It is also necessary to look at the rise of non-state forces that now play an undeniable role. In the end, drawing on the approach of effective regional and global forces, we have concluded that the current regional challenges will continue for at least a few years, but it is unlikely that there will be a lot of change in the existing balance of power.