A Comprehensive Analysis of the Zangezur Corridor’s Threat to Iran’s National Security: A Defensive Realist Approach within the Caucasus Security Complex
Department of Law and political Science, Ne.C., Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.
10.22080/jpir.2026.30498.1491
Abstract
The Zangezur Corridor project, as a novel geopolitical variable, represents a fundamental challenge to the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the security architecture of the South Caucasus. This research aims to explain the dimensions of this threat and analyze Iran's response pattern, employing a qualitative approach and a descriptive-analytical method. The theoretical framework is based on a combination of Defensive Realism, to analyze state behavior in the face of threats, and Regional Security Complex Theory, to understand the intertwined security dynamics of the Caucasus. The central hypothesis posits that the revisionist effort by the Baku-Ankara axis to impose an exterritorial corridor and alter internationally recognized borders has created an acute security dilemma for Iran as a status-quo power.The findings indicate that the independent variable has had a direct and significant impact on the dependent variable. Iran's response, evaluated as rational within the framework of Defensive Realism, is analyzed on three levels. Iran's strategy is not offensive but rather a preemptive and defensive measure to prevent geopolitical encirclement, safeguard its own territorial integrity and that of its partner Armenia, and preserve its historical influence and vital interests within the complex security environment of the Caucasus.
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abedi gonabad, R. (2026). A Comprehensive Analysis of the Zangezur Corridor’s Threat to Iran’s National Security: A Defensive Realist Approach within the Caucasus Security Complex. Journal of Politics and International Relations, 9(2), 341-365. doi: 10.22080/jpir.2026.30498.1491
MLA
reza abedi gonabad. "A Comprehensive Analysis of the Zangezur Corridor’s Threat to Iran’s National Security: A Defensive Realist Approach within the Caucasus Security Complex", Journal of Politics and International Relations, 9, 2, 2026, 341-365. doi: 10.22080/jpir.2026.30498.1491
HARVARD
abedi gonabad, R. (2026). 'A Comprehensive Analysis of the Zangezur Corridor’s Threat to Iran’s National Security: A Defensive Realist Approach within the Caucasus Security Complex', Journal of Politics and International Relations, 9(2), pp. 341-365. doi: 10.22080/jpir.2026.30498.1491
CHICAGO
R. abedi gonabad, "A Comprehensive Analysis of the Zangezur Corridor’s Threat to Iran’s National Security: A Defensive Realist Approach within the Caucasus Security Complex," Journal of Politics and International Relations, 9 2 (2026): 341-365, doi: 10.22080/jpir.2026.30498.1491
VANCOUVER
abedi gonabad, R. A Comprehensive Analysis of the Zangezur Corridor’s Threat to Iran’s National Security: A Defensive Realist Approach within the Caucasus Security Complex. Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2026; 9(2): 341-365. doi: 10.22080/jpir.2026.30498.1491
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