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Futurology is an interdisciplinary field of research that predicts and presents possible futures using diverse methods. Also, Security is the most famous concept in human history and the pursuit of a secure state has been the first choice of political units throughout history. Accordingly, the futurology of the security of Iran is the main topic of this article, which tries to present the secure state and possible and optimal scenarios for the security of Iran in the twenty-year vision. In other words, the objective of this article is to identify the geopolitical criteria affecting the security of Iran and to introduce its desirable security future with a futuristic approach in the twenty-year vision. This article is fundamental research that uses quantitative and qualitative models. First, with the help of existing studies in security, its criteria are classified into six groups: military, economic, geographical, cultural, political, and environmental. Second, the effective criteria for the security of Iran are presented, and third, the opinions of experts are collected through a questionnaire. The data and key criteria for optimal security of Iran in the new century were analyzed and extracted by the TOPSIS method. The results showed that the three criteria of ‘Strengthen infrastructure’, ‘Impacts of Climate Change’, and ‘Increasing military capabilities' are the key geopolitical criteria of the security for Iran. These three criteria create eight security scenarios. Finally, the scenario of ‘strengthen multidimensional infrastructure, adapt to climate change, and increase hardware military capabilities’ with a higher score, should be the criterion for formulating the roposed security perspective of Iran in the new century.

The significance of having an alliance was defined in the Great War when weak European and strong countries decided to ally to fight the mighty power of the Central Powers. Afterward, fragile countries decided to join strong alliances to overcome threats from their neighbors. The Second World War was another example of being allied with strong countries to cope with threats from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Japanese Empire. During the Winter War and Russia-Ukraine War, Finland, and Ukraine, respectively, resemble weak countries with limited military and economic capabilities taking on a dominant and belligerent force. Neorealism is one of the structural theories in International Relations, which states that states intend and follow the balance of power to ensure their security. Neorealism posits that security organizations and alliances are vital tools in the pursuit of balancing threats and ensuring national security. This research aims to highlight the importance of alliances with Russia's neighbors to avoid future conflicts with Russia. The main question of this research is why Russia's neighbors need to form or join alliances to hedge against Russia's aggression and assist member states in reducing the large amount of budget spent on military expenses. This research argues that Finland's position in 1939 and Ukraine's in 2022 are the consequence of self-reliance under an anarchic system without having an alliance and leading to final defeat or territory cession. This paper argues alliances can secure European countries and act as a shield from Russia's threats. This research will employ the explanatory method as its research method.

Free trade can influence political stability by fostering economic growth, reducing poverty, and increasing employment opportunities, leading to a more content and stable society, while also potentially reducing tensions by creating interdependencies with other countries. While free trade offers many benefits, free trade also brings monopolization and corporate Power. It can be seen in favor of large multinational corporations that have the resources to dominate markets. The objective of the article is to examine how Malaysia's free trade agreements work with Pakistan, New Zealand, India, and Australia that have influenced political stability. While free trade is often touted as a mechanism for economic growth and political cooperation, its impact on political stability remains complex. So, this article will analyze whether these trade agreements have effectively contributed to Malaysia's political stability, considering both positive outcomes and potential risks. The methodology employs a mixed-method approach, including a qualitative, doctrinal and socio-legal approach. The results shows that Malaysia's free trade agreements with Pakistan, New Zealand, India, and Australia have impacted economic growth, more foreign investment, and stronger diplomatic relations, created a more stable political environment and making Malaysia more resilient to economic shocks. The article also suggests for strengthening the bilateral agreement between all countries for boosting economic market.

The decades-long imbroglio in Afghanistan has negative impacts on both the domestic and foreign affairs of Pakistan. Along with other economic, political and strategic impacts, it also negatively impacts the interests and connectivity with energy-rich Central Asian Republics. The primary objective of this study is to explore the impacts of Afghanistan’s issue on Pakistan’s engagement in Central Asia. The imbroglio is impacting Pakistan's engagement with Central Asia in two ways. First, Afghanistan is located on the crossroad; all the shortest routes connecting Pakistan with Central Asia cross through its territory. Therefore, the insecurity in the country made it unconducive for any connectivity project. Trans-Afghan railway project, TAPI, TAP-500, CASA-1000, and many other projects between the two regions are still a dream. Second, the Afghan policy of Pakistan to support the Taliban was not liked by the CARs. It has also negatively impacted Pakistan's engagement with them. This study is based on the Complex Interdependence Theory, which helps to understand why, despite these problems and differences, Pakistan and CARs are cooperating and working together.

International trade regulations are often perceived with the labels of security and stability. World Trade Organization (WTO) being the main organization in this globe to regulate and facilitate affairs of international trade has established a stable system for its member states to deal with trades being done between them. Malaysia and China are both member states of the WTO, and these two countries had a long history of trade relationship to date, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would signify as the latest proof of the business relationship between China and Malaysia Through years of progress, Malaysia has become an important partner of China in Belt and Road cooperation and has achieved fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation. Even though the BRI is still rapidly developing till today, looking at this initiative on the legal side, actually there is no law ever enacted in line to handle legal issues born from the initiative specifically, which there are two reasons contributing to such matter generally, namely BRI’s lack of basis in public international law and the difference in legal systems of BRI participating countries. As such, this doctrinal study will use a qualitative method to look into the legal issues of BRI through three aspects, namely: (i) institutional issues; (ii) dispute resolution; and (iii) criminal issues, beside discussing the impact of BRI towards Malaysia from an economic perspective.

During the post-Cold War era, while western countries continued to exert their influence on the world stage, Indian and Iranian officials turned their focus to the East. They introduced the Look East Policy and Look to the East Policy respectively, with the aim of leveraging the political, economic, cultural, geographical, and security opportunities available in that region. By adopting these policies, both India and Iran sought to deepen their engagement with countries in East and Southeast Asia, diversify their trade and investment portfolios, and reduce their dependence on western nations. The objective of this article is to analyze India and Iran's Look East Policy and Look to the East Policy, with a focus on their outcomes for national well-being, security, and the potential in the economic, political, and security domains with respect to Eastern countries. To do so, researchers primarily discuss the importance of the Look East Policy in the foreign policy of both India and Iran and discuss why this region comes to the center with full-fledged attention. Furthermore, they scrutinize the accomplishments of India and Iran as well as the structural barriers they encounter in the region, along with their approaches to pursuing their objectives and interests in the area. This article presents an analysis of the constraints, difficulties, and successes of the Look East policy.  

The Persian Gulf has long been a major geopolitical target of debate between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose relations exert the greatest degree of influence over geopolitical affairs and proceedings of this region. In the course of the past decade, these long-standing relations sustained various political blemishes and tensions, the aftermath of which ushered in the withering of the region. Yet, current shifts in the status of Iran/Arabia relations bespeak of eases in such tensions, which in practical terms can significantly change the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf, promising improvements in the economics, security, and military standing of this region. In this light, the present study proceeds with an analysis of the key factors and influential drivers affecting the prospective geopolitics of the Persian Gulf, with an emphasis on relations between the two countries thereof. In terms of methodology, this study is an applied research employing data obtained via interviews with experts of the field. As evident from the findings, the most influential parameters affecting the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf include factors of trans-regional partners, authoritative powers, joint markets, maritime cooperation, oil and gas trades, arms races, intra-regional conflicts, currency relations, transit of goods and interventions by China. Taking into account such factors allows for a geopolitical convergence in the region.This future study regarding the sources of tension and  regional opportunities in the Persian Gulf, particularly from the perspective of constructive strategies in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, benefits from the use of innovative research techniques..

Drug trafficking is one of the main problems in Central Asia, and addressing it requires huge efforts. However, the efficiency of these efforts is doubtful, since the more effort, the more adaptive drug trafficking becomes. In Central Asia, this problem is associated with both historical prerequisites and the socio-economic situation in the region. This article discusses drug trafficking in Central Asia as an economic phenomenon and identifies the key factors that enable public policy to be more efficient in this field. The authors have analyzed the main strategy for the development of Central Asian countries and the development of synergistic actions system for developed economies (the main consumers of Afghan drugs), which may contribute to a significant reduction in drug trafficking. The major contribution of the article is in the analysis of existing and possible new routes of drug trafficking and the development of an index to assess the country's attractiveness for drug traffickers. The authors have identified two new routes and emphasized the downward trend in the attractiveness of the traditional Northern route. The novelty of the article lies in the developed conceptual models: drug circle; upstream – midstream – downstream drug trafficking; the Index of Drug Trafficking Attractiveness.     

Southeast Asia is a region undergoing economic development and technological advancement. This region's economic growth is supported by the digital world, which contributes in the form of a digital economy. However, as the digital economy grows, cyberspace lacks stable cyber security governance. As a result, this area is extremely vulnerable to all types of cyber threats. The author intends to interpret the role of state actors, non-state actors, and international organizations in developing cybersecurity governance in Southeast Asia through this article. In a conceptual framework, the preparation of regional governance must involve collaboration across actors due to their distinct functions. Such governance can maintain cyber security while also accommodating stakeholders in the Southeast Asian region through multi-sectoral collaboration. Therefor, the authors argued that the collaboration between state, non-state, and regional organization are needed to overcome cyber threats. In addition, regional cybersecurity governance should be a turning point to make more secure cyber space in Southeast Asia.

Maintaining security, dealing with threats, and having military power to realize these things are the main concerns of countries that have security concerns. Therefore, strengthening internal power and improving the level of defense is one of the basic priorities of the government's policies. As a country with geostrategic, geopolitical and geoeconomic positions, Iran is facing important security challenges at the national, regional, and transnational levels, especially after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The country has been at the heart of US political considerations due to Iran's political approach as a regional power in the Middle East. Iran has continuously faced serious challenges, especially from the US and Israel, and as a result, it has paid special attention to preventing possible threats from overcoming the dangers. For the national security of the country, Iranian policy makers have identified threats to national security and are trying to take measures to avoid risks. The development of military technology is defined as a key deterrent mechanism against security threats.This article analyzes the impact of the evolution of missile technology on Iran's defense-security strategy. The descriptive and analytical method is used in this article and the geopolitical and geostrategic threats against Iran are discussed. Next, Iran's defense strategy and defense policy are analyzed, then defense diplomacy and deterrence strategy are examined. The main purpose of the article is to explain Iran's goals in developing missile technology. This technology aims to create a deterrent mechanism against threats to regional and extra-regional security.

In June 2014, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani issued a fatwa mandating Iraqis to volunteer in the security forces to fight against ISIS. Consequently, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), otherwise called Alhashd Alshabi, were formed primarily from these volunteers, most of whom were Shias. In December 2016, the Iraqi Parliament issued a law that granted full legal status to the PMF. However, the PMF continued to face accusations of disobedience to the laws of the Iraqi state and the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, raising concerns about its impact on the state's stability. This article aims to examine the nature of some PMF violations of the rule of law, explore the root causes of this phenomenon, and assess the possibility of eliminating or mitigating it. It argues that this phenomenon has social, historical, and religious origins tied to the relationship between the Shia in Iraq and the state. In particular, the internal divisions within the PMF stem from differences in perspectives regarding the rule of law. Thus, the article suggests that addressing this problem requires a long-term strategy beyond mere legal transformations. The article adopts a qualitative approach, which relies on the collection and analysis of data from the literature.

This study examines the infrastructural geopolitics of South Asia, with a particular emphasis on port developments and the effects of ports on the geostrategic positioning of South Asian countries. The infrastructure assists in the transportation and movement of goods between different countries. Many nations have invested significant money in developing modern ports that capitalize on globalization. South Asian countries have consistently bolstered their ports to compete with their Western counterparts in commerce. The evolving nature of international relations reveals that ports also play a different purpose in geopolitics. The world's fastest-growing region is suffering from a lack of infrastructure. Due to low intra-regional investment and trade, South Asia has poorer infrastructure than neighboring Southeast Asia. China invested in South Asian countries to achieve its goal of establishing a global trading route in the absence of intra-regional investments and trade in South Asia. Meanwhile India has also invested, for example, in Bangladesh and the Maldives to fortify its position in the Indian Ocean. How valuable are those Chinese investments to South Asian nations? According to the literature, it depends on the country's location and investment policies. China's rise as a revisionist power has drawn differing reactions from its neighbors and the world's dominant powers.