Document Type : Original Article
Author
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
1.Introduction
In the era of new geopolitics, competition over transit corridors and connectivity infrastructure has become one of the principal arenas of power redistribution in the international system. Iran’s geographical position as a connecting link between the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Indian subcontinent has long provided the potential to serve as a regional connectivity hub. However, the formation and intensification of alternative corridors in its peripheral environment have confronted this potential with structural challenges. The central research question is: How does the dominance of the security logic in Iran’s foreign policy affect the country’s geopolitical position in the competition among surrounding corridors? The research hypothesis posits that corridor competition in the peripheral environment (independent variable), operating through the dominance of the security logic over the geoeconomic logic across five levels—decision-making, budgetary allocation, banking and finance, border and customs governance, and external actors’ risk perception (mediating variable)—has weakened Iran’s realized position within the regional corridor network (dependent variable).
2. Method
This study employs a qualitative method and a process-tracing approach within the theoretical framework of new geopolitics. Data were collected through documentary research and analyzed in two stages of open and axial coding. The temporal scope of the sources primarily covers the period from 2003 to 2026, with particular emphasis on the years following 2013. The unit of analysis is the proposition, and causal inference is drawn by examining the sequence of external stimulus, observable foreign policy response, and measurable consequence for Iran’s corridor position.
3. Discussion
Iran’s geopolitics in the twenty-first century is the product of the dynamic interaction among peripheral security developments, the nuclear program, domestic political-economic dynamics, and changes in the regional and global order. These factors have given rise to components such as asymmetric deterrence, the expansion of the Axis of Resistance, sanctions, the Look East policy, and the strategic significance of the Strait of Hormuz, all of which reflect the relative weight of the security logic. Peripheral corridors operate at three levels: at the structural level, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor redefine intercontinental connectivity patterns; at the network level, the International North–South Transport Corridor and the Middle Corridor intensify competition among alternative routes; and at the regional level, Iraq’s Development Road seeks to capture a share of the region’s transit capacity. Quantitative comparison indicates that the primary operational pressure on Iran’s current position is exerted by the Middle Corridor, while the banking and financial level carries the greatest weight in weakening the country’s corridor standing.
4. Conclusion
The findings confirm the three-variable relationship proposed in the study. The network level is the most decisive for understanding Iran’s present situation, and the banking-financial level exhibits the most direct and measurable effect. Realizing Iran’s potential position requires the completion of key infrastructure on the North–South Corridor, a reduction in the impact of banking and financial constraints on transit, and a gradual rebalancing of security considerations and geoeconomic imperatives. Without such a strategic readjustment, peripheral corridor competitions may shift Iran from a potential hub to a relative periphery.
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