Asia, as the world’s largest and one of the oldest cradles of human civilization and social life, has long been at the center of the attention of human societies, states, and global political and economic processes. Until the fifteenth century, the continent was a primary center of knowledge, culture, and civilization, and many of the world’s political and economic dynamics were shaped around it. From the fifteenth century through the end of the twentieth century, however, the rise of Europe pushed this vital region to the margins of global political and economic affairs, rendering it increasingly subordinate to European power. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, however, new developments have once again brought Asia to the center of international attention and global political and economic dynamics. Economically, emerging powers across the continent are reshaping global trade and financial routes. Politically, the growing influence of China and India has heightened the significance of second-tier powers in international politics, while emerging economic powers such as South Korea and the ASEAN member states are increasingly exerting political influence. At the same time, all major traditional powers—from the United States and Europe to Russia—have significant interests in the region and have consequently become increasingly involved in its political and economic dynamics. The economic and political rise of Asia has attracted the attention of countries and regions across the world, to the extent that a new trend commonly described as “Asianization” or “Asianism” can increasingly be observed in the orientations of many countries worldwide.

In addition to these developments, Iran, while itself part of the Asian continent, has been compelled by domestic and international imperatives to focus on and strategically plan for maximizing Asia’s potential in advancing its national interests and international objectives. In this context, engagement with Asia—initially articulated through the “Look to the East” policy and subsequently within the broader framework of Asianism—has become a sustained orientation of Iran’s foreign policy. A comprehensive understanding of political, economic, strategic, and cultural developments across this ancient continent can therefore provide an important basis for policymaking and the timely formulation of appropriate strategic orientations for Iran.

Recognizing these imperatives and necessities, the primary objective of the Journal of Asian Regional Orders Studies (JAROS) is to deepen theoretical understanding and enhance policy-oriented knowledge of this strategic macro-region. To this end, the journal seeks to provide a broader platform for a deeper understanding of the region by bringing together scholarly research by Iranian and international experts and by examining Asia as an increasingly important arena and sphere of Iran’s future foreign policy. Maintaining high academic standards through rigorous oversight of the peer-review process and the selection of high-quality research is the editorial board’s foremost priority. Manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a double-blind peer-review process to ensure fairness and impartiality in the evaluation of scholarly work. The journal is committed to the principles of publication ethics and, in accordance with the principles and policies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org), conducts all editorial and publication processes in compliance with international standards and guidelines for preventing misconduct and fraud in scholarly publications.

The Journal of Asian Regional Orders Studies (JAROS) is a Gold Open Access journal published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en), which permits users to reproduce and distribute the content of published articles. At the same time, authors retain all copyright and publishing rights to their work without restriction.

The journal is published pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iranian Association of Regional Studies