Explanation of the geopolitical factors affecting the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the African continent Case Study: Ethiopia

Document Type : Analytic Review

Authors
1 Ahl al-Bayt International University
2 full Profesor of Imam Sadiq University
Abstract
Geopolitics is considered a tool for advancing foreign policy goals. Geopolitics is an effort to push the world towards a situation where political affairs and its perspectives are considered integrated and uniform. Therefore, foreign policy objectives should be evaluated in line with its geopolitical perspective, which will include material resources to ideological and semantic resources. In the meantime, Iran's interaction with the African continent and Ethiopia increased significantly in the 1960s-1970s, which was influenced by economic, political and strategic factors. This research was written with the aim of explaining and investigating the geopolitical factors influencing the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ethiopia using descriptive-analytical method. The findings of the research showed that geographical, economic, cultural, political, security factors, the presence of regional and extra-regional powers are among the important factors that have pushed the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards Ethiopia. Because Ethiopia has long-standing historical and cultural ties with Iran, and from the economic point of view, due to its proximity to West Asia, it can be considered as Iran's gateway to Africa and to some extent free Iran from international isolation that it has not been able to so far. is to take advantage of this unique situation properly. As a result, it can be said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will be able to increase its influence in this country through the formulation of policies in the economic, cultural and political dimension

Keywords

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