Iranian Foreign Policy Strategy Regarding China's Belt And Road Initiative

Abstrak

The Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure development project initiated by China by building roads and railroads connecting Asia to Europe and the Indo-Pacific port line starting from Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. One country with an important strategic position in this project is Iran, which geographically connects the BRI Southern Corridor (China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor), which connects Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, and the Balkan countries. This article explains Iran's foreign policy strategy regarding China's BRI based on Lovell's typology of foreign policy strategies (1970). Using a qualitative method, the findings of this article are that Iran is implementing a concordance strategy of foreign policy. Iran implements tactical objectives by exploiting tactical advantages, reducing tactical losses, increasing bargaining position, and strengthening deterrence. Iran also performs tactical strategies consisting of "declarations and commitments, promises and threats" and "demonstrations of capability". .