Iran's Ties with South Asia : Strategic Alliance or Geographical Destiny ?

Описание: Abstract

Iran has become increasingly under pressure by the international community over the controversial nuclear program. The economic and political isolation of Iran has motivated the Iranian government to create new alliances elsewhere in the world. In the absence of a stable relationship between Iran and its neighbouring Arab countries in the Gulf, the government has put a strong emphasis on maintaining relationship with other regional players.
As the West and the regional allies of the West have turned their back to Iran (i.e. the Arab Gulf states), forming alliance in Asia has become the centre of attention for Iranian policy makers. Moreover, high demand for energy in some of the large Asian economies has been the driving factor for economic, and sometimes political, collaboration between Iran and its Asian allies. In addition to Iran's foreign policy challenges, the country has been suffering from complex domestic political issues which have surfaced since post-presidential election crisis of 2009. The combination of domestic as well as foreign policy struggle of Iran has put the country at a critical cross road. In light of the current economic and political challenges of Iran, Dr Bazoobandi will discuss Iran's foreign policy in dealing with three major South Asian players: Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

About the Speaker

Dr Sara Bazoobandi is a Middle East economic analyst with particular research interest in energy economics and political economy of the Gulf oil rich countries. She has done extensive research on various aspects of the Gulf sovereign wealth funds, and has recently published a book on the political economy of the Gulf sovereign wealth funds: a case study of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iran. In addition to her core research interest, she has contributed in various research projects on Middle East North Africa region. Prior to joining Middle East Institute, Dr Bazoobandi has worked as an economic analyst for various international corporate organizations and think-tanks including Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE), Nomura International plc and Roubini Global Economic. She holds a MSc in Economics from University of Reading and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies of Exeter University.