Explanation of the Zionist regime Periphery Doctrine in the Caucasus and Central Asia (Emphasis on Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan)

Document Type : مقالات علمی -پژوهشی

Authors

mehdi moosavi ¹

Bahador Zarei ²

Marjan Badiee Azandahi ³

¹ Assistant Professor of Geopolitics Department. Aja Command and Staff University. Tehran. Iran

² Associate Professor of Political Geography and Geopolitics. University of Tehran. Tehran. Iran

³ Assistant Professor of Political Geography and Geopolitics,. University of Tehran. Tehran. Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/pg.2022.76377.1146

Abstract

The Zionist regime has attempted to break out the geopolitical isolation with the doctrine of peripheral unity and to establish relations with other countries Since the 1960s. Areas such as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Caucasus, and Central Asia were given priority by Israel. In the present study, the descriptive-analytical method was adopted to examine the periphery doctrine of Israel in the Caucasus and Central Asia as two important geopolitical areas in northern Iran. Our study indicates that the Zionist doctrine, despite a good start, failed to establish sustainable regional partnerships with five countries (i.e., Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan). In contrast, the Israel periphery doctrine in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has been somewhat successful than these five countries. In this regard, the main Israel stimuli for relations with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is including the supply of energy resources (40% of Azerbaijan and 25-25% of Kazakhstan), the existence of two countries with a Muslim majority population, a secular structure and the use of this as a leverage, the sale of weapons, as well as the co-border of these countries with Iran, and the using military and cyber capacity for eavesdropping. It is also worth mentioning that Israel remains a minor commercial partner for Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, despite the uproar created by commentators. Russia, Turkey and Iran are the biggest trading partners of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan (Iran's commercial ties with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in 2020 were about ten and three times more, respectively, than the Israel’s). A more precise analysis of arms sales also shows that Israel is not a major supplier of arms to either Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan, and Russia plays a key role in this context.

Keywords

Israel

Periphery Doctrine

Caucasus

Central Asia

Azerbaijan

Kazakhstan

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