US

After the Soviet Union fragmentation, the Caspian basin, containing considerable resources especially oil and gas reserves, has gained more geopolitical importance. Iran enjoys a distinguished position in the Caspian region, while deprived from advantages of this position. US tends to isolate the Islamic Republic of Iran because its anti-dominance struggle prevents Iran from enjoying its geo-strategic and geo-economic privileged op-portunities including its unique transit situation. Iran's energy diplomacy in the Caspian basin has failed because of Iran-US antagonism and US efforts to reduce Iran's geostra-tegic position by exerting pressure on the Caspian states to transport energy from routes other than Iran.In this article, we intend to examine which of these two are more impor-tant and influential. The hypothesis we are going to discuss in this paper is: The discre-pancy of Caspian states’ diplomacy and discourse has been one of the main factors of the failure in Iran’s energy diplomacy. Therefore, the main question is: Why Iran's energy diplomacy has not been successful in Caspian Basin?

Over decades, the United States (U.S.) and Saudi Arabia are key strategic partner. Of late a series of letters of intent has been exchanged between the two countries for the arms deal totalling approximately $ 110 billion immediately, and $ 350 billion. This arms deal, is a move to combat and contest the influence of Iran in the region. The relationship between Iran and the allies of the United States waned, after the U.S. pressurised the countries to discontinue trading oil with Iran. It is anticipated that it could trigger an arm race in the region, and likely to escalate the tensions. Owing to the same, this paper aims to assesses the significance of the arms deal between the US and Saudi Arabia, and, moreover, its implications for Middle East strategic landscape. Concurrently, this paper discusses the U.S. President Trump’s vision to links the economic security with national security in detail. On the backdrop of Saudi Arabia foreign policy goals, the paper also analyses the responses of Iran

The present study seeks to answer the question, of why the EU despite its political will to expand relations with Iran and its efforts, in particular, to maintain the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) within the framework of the designed mechanisms, failed to exercise its strategic independence and fulfill its obligations within JCPOA? The findings show that the lack of European strategic independence is due to its transatlantic dependence on three levels: Institutional security deficit, Asymmetric interdependence in the economic sphere, and the preferences of European transnational corporations concerning US markets. At the level of the institutional security deficit, Given the United States security umbrella and the lack of military-defense independence, the European Union is forced to adjust its approaches to US interests and goals. At the economic level, the interdependence of economic, trade, and highly intertwined transatlantic investment interactions and the asymmetry of this relationship (US strategic economic superiority) has severely limited the possibility of EU economic action independence. The methodology of this research is descriptive-analytical and the method of data collection in the library. In this regard, books, articles, documents, Internet resources, and comments of relevant officials have been used to collect data.

Following World War II, the United States constructed a liberal international order that grew noticeably more influential after the Cold War. Today, this order is in crisis, in a way that certain  International Relations theorists mention the emergence of a post-liberal international order. In this relation COVID-19, as the most severe global public health crisis, has created an unexpected and serious problem in the International order. Taking into account this new international order, this research focuses on the following questions: What kinds of order are possible and whether COVID-19 Can be considered as an opportunity that helps China to build international order as a hegemon? In answer to these questions, this paper uses a conceptual model to predict the future international order according to the factor of Covid-19 and the role of China in this order. According to the existing models and with respect to the most important challenges for China to achieve a hegemonic position, we will conclude that the future order of the international system will remain as security-based international order, with two actors (China and Us) and two different ideologies.