فصلنامه مطالعات بنیادین و کاربردی جهان اسلام
پیاپی 10 (زمستان 1400)

Prioritizing cooperation and interaction with neighbors could contribute to the stability and security of Iran's environment and provide suitable conditions for its economic development and progress. Nevertheless, with a realistic understanding of Iran's foreign policy challenges and opportunities, the approach of trans-regional actors, such as the European Union, to Iran's position and role in dealing with its neighbors cannot be underestimated. As part of the EU's global strategy, we can focus on Iran's role and position in its surroundings, especially in the Middle East.

The question discussed in this study is what policy and role does Europe play for Iran in the region, especially in the context of neighborhood policy?. In the hypothesis, it seems that the most important thing for Europe is to maintain stability and order in the Middle East within the framework of the European Union's neighborhood policy. However, a full consensus has not yet been reached on the nature and manner of acceptance of this role by Iran, and it continues to monitor major US policies in the region, so as US foreign policy is shifting to Asia, Europe's policy will become clearer. At the same time, Europe is trying to mitigate its concerns about expanding Iran's influence in the region through cooperation with the United States and its international and regional partners, with an emphasis on multilateralism diplomacy.

In this study, the European approach is discussed with a focus on multilateralism and the issue is examined in the framework of descriptive and analytical methods. The research findings showed that Iran's neighborhood policy can provide new conditions for Iran's cooperation with neighboring countries. In the EU approach, neighborhood policy is also a well-known and familiar concept. Therefore, mutual understanding between the parties is possible to help Iran to develop cooperation with neighboring countries and at the same time use the existing capacities of the European Union.
By studying the EU's global strategy, the following can be mentioned in the EU's approach to Iran's role and position in the region and relations with its neighbors:- Maintaining the targeted stability of Iran and the Middle East in the framework of neighborhood policy
- Adopting an effective multilateralism approach to Iran
- Facing the challenge of Iran's influence in the region
- Drawing a roadmap for multilateral cooperation with Iran in the form of JCPA
- Paying attention to Iran's role in dealing with the refugees and refugees crisis
- Paying attention to Iran's role in the energy sector and the economic chain of the region
- Paying attention to Iran's role in the field of challenges related to climate change

Introduction

Countries do not have the right to choose their neighbors because geography has already made it necessary for them.The emergence of geographical, political, and conceptual boundaries between neighboring countries has provided a platform for extensive cross-border cooperation between neighbors. Countries develop frameworks known as "neighborhood policies" to manage their various political, security, economic, and cultural relations with their neighbors. European Neighborhood Policy is not about relations between a country and its neighbors, but about the relations of a political-economic union consisting of 27 countries that have tried to achieve common policies by uniting sovereignty and powers in different areas and organizing relations with their neighbors. The European Union, through the European Neighborhood Policy, as a common policy has tried to regulate the relations of the European Union with the countries with which it has an immediate geographical border.

Methodology

Different patterns of neighborhood policy can be identified in the world and due to their similarities and differences, it can be used in designing and promoting Iran's neighborhood policy. One of these patterns is Europe's neighborhood policy. Accordingly, this article seeks to answer the question that what lessons can be learned from the principles, goals and functions of the European Neighborhood Policy for the design and implementation of Iran's neighborhood policy? In this context, the article first looks at the history of the formation and evolution of the European Neighborhood Policy, then will explain the foundations of the formation of this policy. In addition, the goals and drivers of the European Neighborhood Policy will be analyzed and the European Neighborhood Policy will be evaluated and critiqued. Finally, the lessons that the European Neighborhood Policy can offer to the designers, policy makers and implementers of Iran's neighborhood policy will be expressed in the framework of policy recommendations.

Result and discussion

 The European Neighborhood Policy was established in 2004 with the aim of preventing the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged European Union and its neighbors, and in order to strengthen the prosperity, stability and security of Europe and its neighbors.The review of this article showed that the European Union has developed a European Neighborhood Policy in response to the challenges posed by geographical proximity and the existence of historical and cultural ties between the Union and its neighbors. The European Neighborhood Policy is an EU foreign policy instrument that seeks to establish relations with neighboring countries in south and east of the EU's borders through largely bilateral policies or regional and multilateral cooperation initiatives. The European Union, through the European Neighborhood Policy, as a common policy between the member states, has tried to regulate the relations of the European Union with the countries with which it has a direct geographical border, within the framework of the principles and goals of the European Union and through the defined mechanisms. The European Union has used a variety of tools to advance its neighborhood policy, such as the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument and the European Neighborhood Instrument.

Conclusion

The findings of this paper show that the European Neighborhood Policy is a very complex policy that addresses the heterogeneous group of EU neighbors in the East and South. Despite the fact that neighborhood policy is presented in a broad and uniform framework, this heterogeneity of neighboring countries has led the EU to resort to the "principle of differentiation" in practice; That is, to implement practical neighborhood policy plans for each neighboring country based on the specific circumstances of that country. Also in this framework, the two principles of conditioning relations with neighbors in relation to positive Conditionalization and negative positive Conditionalization have been considered. Examining the European Neighborhood Policy as a powerful tool of the European Union to advance the Union's relations with neighboring countries and secure its various benefits through it,has lessons that can be learned  by policy makers in the field of formulating and implementing Iran's neighborhood policy. Some of these lessons are listed in the Policy Recommendations section of the paper for Iran's neighborhood policy makers

In the international system, which is anarchic in nature due to Kenneth Waltz's theory and its actors tend to impose will on other actors according to their Hobbesian nature, balance of power has always been a practical way to create public security in the world. In the meantime, weaker countries are motivated to avoid regional hegemony by forming regional and international coalitions to withstand the threats of powerful global actors by forming a higher power that is the product of the convergence of smaller powers. From the beginning of the victory of the Revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran confronted the bipolar system of that time with the strategic slogan of "neither East nor West". However, events such as the capture of the US embassy in Tehran, the Iraqi war against Iran, etc., deepened Iran's conflict with the United States. The Islamic Republic has sought to join one of the strongest regional coalitions to counter the US hegemony. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes two veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia, as well as India's economic power, is a viable option for the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the same time, the huge energy reserves (oil and gas) of its members and the geopolitical position of its members, as well as their nuclear and military capabilities, have given the organization the potential to counter the US hegemony. By becoming a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2021, the Islamic Republic will be able to pursue its "Look East" policy in order to overcome Western economic sanctions, and by converging with its powerful members, China and Russia to have the upper hand in negotiations with European governments on Iran's nuclear case known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(BARJAM). The military confrontation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the United States, which took place after the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force of Iran, General Soleimani, carried out by the direct order of the President of the United States and resulted in the Islamic Republic’s serious response in a missile assault against the Amerrican military base in Iraq, with Iran's full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, now reached a new stage. US leaders now see Iran's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a serious threat to their interests in the region and are seeking an alternative plan to thwart the Islamic Republic's alliance with the East. Iran's full membership in this organization will have significant geopolitical, military, political and economic effects on the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States. But the realization of these cases depends on the proper functioning of the diplomatic apparatus of the Islamic Republic and regional and global developments in the future. Iran must be able to solve its problems with the world system while joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Iran's nuclear program and the problems caused by the FATF are serious obstacles to Iran's prominent role in the international system. At the same time, membership in other international organizations will help complete this process. Of course, the Islamic Republic of Iran is trying to join the Eurasian Union in order to achieve this goal and wants to use the economic capacity of this union to neutralize another part of the economic problems caused by Western sanctions. The consequences of NATO's eastward expansion policy, which has led to many tensions in the region, including the Crimean and Ukrainian crises, should not be repeated elsewhere, including in the Persian Gulf. China and Russia also desperately need a strong asymmetric player like Iran to secure energy in the region and counter NATO's eastward expansion. Therefore, their serious support for Iran's full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization indicates the strategic balance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization with the hegemony of the Western world led by the United States of America. The water crisis, which has plagued eastern Iran for years due to Afghanistan dam projects, and the long-stagnant water transfer program from Tajikistan to Iran, must be completed using Iran's full membership capacity. The development of the tourism industry and the use of Iran's potential capacity in this industry is another economic goal of Iran to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which should be pursued with the cooperation of other members and the rich tourism revenue gained by some countries in the region, including Turkey, will be to a large extent absorbed by Iran's tourism potential.

The resurgence of interest in regionalism dates back to the 1990s, and the interest generated by regional convergence processes in Asia, Africa and the United States shows that this phenomenon is not limited to the European Union. Iran, China, Brazil and Russia are among the most neighboring countries in the world. In an active and dynamic foreign policy, correct knowledge based on scientific approaches is an indisputable element, therefore, the issues of the neighborhood policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in an environment with unique geostrategic, geo-economics and geo-cultural features will not be outside this framework .Iran's neighbors include 15 countries with an area of 27,409 square kilometers, a population of 707 million and a GDP of $ 3,238 billion, which shows a tremendous capacity in recognizing strategic requirements based on positioning. In the periphery of Iran, Russia in the north, Turkey in the west, Saudi Arabia in the south and Pakistan in the east have more potential to influence the interactions and coordinates of regional relations. Therefore, it is necessary to examine Iran's position on the basis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in accordance with each of the actors.

The method of this research is descriptive-analytical which was done based on strategic studies and in terms of purpose, it is an applied study. The statistical community consists of researchers and analysts specializing in each field by snowball method. The total number of the statistical population is 16 people. To collect data, library resources, documents, backgrounds and surveys were used. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by several experts and reliability using Cronbach's alpha method (0.89). The questionnaire included 48 questions for Russia, 40 questions for Turkey, 82 questions for Saudi Arabia and 47 questions for Pakistan, regarding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Iran and each of the countries mentioned in the bilateral relations. Likert was prepared in six options. In this article, one of the most important weaknesses of the SOWT technique was considered by researchers. The high or low of threats and weaknesses was less calculated, so in this study, by correcting this shortcoming and considering the negative score for weakness and threat, and the degree of severity and weakness in the range of 0 and 4 were considered negative.

Based on the calculations, the score of Iran's internal factors in relation to Russia is equal to -0.91405 and the total score of Iran's external factors in relation to Russia is equal to -1.47627, which indicates that it is in the range of defensive strategies. Based on the calculations, the score of Iran's internal factors relative to Turkey is equal to -1.17748 and the total score of Iran's external factors relative to Turkey is equal to -0.4771, which indicates that it is in the range of defensive strategies. Based on the calculations, the score of Iran's internal factors in relation to Saudi Arabia is equal to -0.91078 and the total score of Iran's external factors in relation to Saudi Arabia is equal to -0.70421, which indicates that it is in the range of defensive strategies. Based on the calculations, the score of Iran's internal factors relative to Pakistan is equal to -0.63056 and the total score of Iran's external factors relative to Pakistan is equal to 0.120456, which indicates that it is in the range of conservative strategies. Based on the calculations, the score of Iran's internal factors in relation to the four selected neighbors is equal to -0.90822 and the total of Iran's external scores in relation to the four selected neighbors is equal to -0.63428, which indicates the position of Iran in the range of defensive strategies.

 Findings show that in the current situation, Iran is in a maximum defensive position in its neighborhood and especially in relation to the main countries of the region. The findings of this article in the form of a limited study show that affected by various internal and external conditions and far from any fantasies, the current situation of Iran in its neighborhood and especially in relation to the main countries in the region is in a maximum defensive position and on the horizon. In the short term, if national strategies are adopted commensurate with the sources of domestic and foreign power of the country, one can hope to be in a conservative position. Adopting aggressive approaches in the current situation (December 2021), especially in neighborly relations with selected countries, will not involve much geopolitics to strengthen national interests. It should be noted that the current world is an intertwined network based on participatory and competitive currents with a focus on geo-economics’. If we understand the roots of the formation of the situation, we can hope to find real solutions.

Relations with neighbors are the starting point of countries' foreign policy. The quality of the relationship with the neighbors also determines the order or interactive confrontational structure in the area. Stressful and unstable areas are either the product of tense neighborly relations or the result of flawed neighborly relations. On the other hand, calm and stable areas are the product of regimes and rules that depend on neighborhood relations. Neighborhood relations, not necessarily neighbor relations, naturally lead to endogenous regionalism. Relative peace and stability, mutual coexistence, minimal understanding of the main issues and political and security interdependence, even asymmetrically, are the most important features of endogenous regionalism. In this type of regionalism, the interventions of extraterritorial powers are also balanced. Negative interventions of extra-regional powers decrease and their positive interventions increase. The European Union and North America and East Asia are three models of regionalism in which the starting point of the regionalization process has been neighborhood relations.   Neighboring is the beginning of foreign relations and the starting point of endogenous regionalism. Relative peace and stability and the gradual reduction of the negative interventions of extraterritorial powers are the consequences of the realization of neighboring policy and the beginning of endogenous regionalism. Successful regionalism in Europe, North America, and East Asia also began with neighboring politics. Neighboring policy, which regulates the normative dimensions of relations with neighbors, is a strategic policy for the Islamic Republic of Iran; despite the official policies of the Islamic Republic, the realization of neighborliness in Iran's foreign policy has always faced serious obstacles. In this research, we intend to explain the most important obstacles to the realization of neighboring policy for Iran in a scientific way, while explaining the neighboring theory. Accordingly, we have designed the question: "What are the most important challenges to the implementation of the neighboring policy and what strategies can be drawn to overcome these obstacles?". The hypothesis is: "dual perspective of hegemony-inspiration in Iran's foreign policy" in the first place and the "dual trust-balance" in the second place, are the most important obstacles to the realization of neighborhood policy. The solution of the first double standard and the management of second double is the most important issue of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic for the realization of the neighboring policy. The method of confirming the hypothesis in this article is explanatory.   Neighborhood policy is a systematic, gradual, and delicate process that requires elite consensus, political elite self-confidence, confidence-building, trust-building, and participatory pursuit by the initiator of neighborhood policy in a relatively stable region with minimal foreign intervention. Neighborhood policy will gradually create a region with internal rules and regimes, and will include peace and stability and the reduction of negative interference by foreign powers. The implementation of this policy in Iran faces structural and brokerage obstacles. The dual perspective in theory and practice is the first obstacle. In the upstream documents and practice of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic, a vague and dual perspective is evident. This duality is solvable. The foreign policy perspective must be clearly and concisely defined. Iran's foreign policy must choose between inspiration and hegemony. The realization of hegemony has very serious obstacles in front of it, while it is in complete conflict with the neighborhood policy; While inspiration strengthens and supports that neighborhood policy and the means to achieve it are available. After defining a revised foreign policy outlook, it is essential that the Iranian diplomatic apparatus manage the process of balancing power in the turbulent Middle East with the process of building trust in neighborhood policy. The management of these two processes will be the main issue of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy for the realization of the neighborhood policy and the development of endogenous regionalism in the Middle East.

International and regional environmental conventions not only could be effective for environmental protection but also it could be a best opportunities and capacities for cooperation between Iran and neighboring countries. There are about 280 international and regional environmental conventions. About 70 conventions are global and the rest are regional. The following manuscript is going to explain about the most important environmental conventions that Iran is the member of. Environmental conventions have too many benefits not only for Iran but also to its neighbors. These conventions not only help to protect our regional ecosystem and natural resources but also those are the best opportunities and capacities for other cooperation such as eco-tourism, scientific, economical and even political cooperation. It seems that the establishment of regional environmental fund and headquarter office would be the first step of serious cooperation for environmental protection of our region between Iran and its neighbors. The inclusion of the environment in the category of public goods necessitates the need for government intervention in its protection. On the other hand, the integration of natural resources and the transmission of environmental impacts on a transnational and international scale reveals the need for conservation measures at levels beyond the geographical borders of a country. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the development of environmental concerns and the emergence of cross-border aspects of its effects, the formation of international and regional treaties and conventions to protect the environment began. Therefore, each time, depending on the case, one of the issues related to the environment, from the pollution of common waters to the trade of endangered species and the transfer of hazardous waste, was the subject of this treaty. Among the special features of environmental treaties are their universality, non-political, non-security and their dynamism.   According to Article 9 of the Civil Code, ratified international treaties that are compatible with the Constitution are in accordance with the law in terms of implementation and validity and can create rights and obligations in the normative system and subject matter of the country. Regarding international, regional or bilateral environmental treaties, the provisions of these treaties force the parliament and the government to implement them. After the country joins an international treaty, the Cabinet issues ratifications, determines the national authority and executive regulations to interpret the obligation of the institution affiliated to the executive branch to comply with the treaties. In this regard, it is necessary to enact a national enforcement law, either independently or within other laws (such as the five-year economic-socio-cultural development laws). Therefore, within the country, a national authority is designated for each international treaty, which in international treaties related to environmental protection is definitely this authority in most cases, although in other cases, other organizations and institutions (such as Ports and Shipping Organization) are also responsible for this task. The existence of numerous international, regional and bilateral treaties and conventions can greatly reduce the damage to the common regional environment. A noteworthy point in this regard is the dispute over the determination of the country of the damage processor in the event of environmental damage. In this regard, the establishment of a regional compensation fund in the region is proposed. This fund can be effective in financing the necessary expenses for environmental protection based on the set principles. The principle of payment by the polluter, the imposition of duties and taxes on exporting countries or buyers of oil in the region, the tax on fishing, the collection of fines for the entry of pollutants into the sea from land and the receipt of assistance from international environmental funds can all be financial resources can provide the fund. The fund can help countries that have environmental problems or need to acquire new equipment or technologies to protect the environment, especially the marine environment, by providing loans and facilities. Selecting an appropriate national authority, establishing a permanent secretariat and holding periodic meetings can also be more effective in making these conventions more effective for Iran and its neighbors.