Studying Iran's foreign policy is one of the most interesting topics among the people and the academic community. This behavior is not specific to Iranians and can, also, be seen among other foreign researchers concerning Iran's foreign policy. Luciano Zaccara is one of the authors who has surpassed her counterparts in addressing this issue and has edited a book on the “foreign policy of Iran under President Hassan Rouhani’s First Term”. The lack of translation of the book into Persian encouraged the author to introduce the work and critique it in terms of content and form. What makes the book prominent is the participation of some well-known authors in writing the chapters, addressing some areas that have received less attention in Iranian research, such as relations with Africa and the pathology of Hassan Rouhani's foreign policy. Lack of theoretical framework for the discussions, incoherence between the contents of the chapters, and ignoring the scientific neutrality by some authors of the book are among the weaknesses of the work.

This article aims to study the foundations of change in Egypt’s foreign policy. From the Second World War onwards, the Egypt’s foreign policy has undergone at least four eras. Each era has its own distinctive context, principles and objectives that can be studied separately. Predominance of distinct identity elements in different eras has led to perceptible differences in the Egypt’s foreign policy. Jamal Abdel Nasser’s Pan-Arabism, Sadat’s patriotism, Mubarak’s dual identity and subsequently the Islamic identity of Morsi’s administration has given different identities frameworks and worldviews to the Egypt’s foreign policy decision makers. This argument is significant in terms of its explanatory value as well as in providing a framework for future examination of Egyptian foreign policy and other Arab countries. The present article, is an attempt to address the following primary question: what are the reasons for significant differences between the four main periods of Egypt’s foreign policy in objectives, tools and approaches to the outer world? In response to this question, the article argues that identity developments account for transformation of foreign policy and each identity development at the level of ruling elites give rise to change in Egypt’s foreign policy.

The increasing importance of Iran along with its unique regional position has motivated many Western thinkers and researchers to recommend Western and especially American politicians to grasp more precise knowledge about this country. This article argues that the U.S. needs to have a sound understanding of Iran's foreign policy which is based on great enthusiasm for independence and resistance to domination of foreign powers. On the other hand, Iranian people's historical memory remembers how Western countries, especially the U.S., despised them during the years before the advent of the Islamic Revolution. Therefore, the author argues that Iran does not accept any pressure or threat during negotiations and is ready to negotiate in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The U.S. should also recognize the legitimacy of Iran's revolution and have an objective assessment of Iran's power in the Middle East. The U.S. administration should revise its reliance upon the policies seeking containment and sanctions, because these policies do not affect Iran's government, rather they punish Iranian people, which the U.S. claims supporting.

Identifying and explaining "foreign policy behavior" is a way to understand the practical issues in international relations. Therefore, this study aims to provide a new expression of why and how to change the behavior of the Iranian foreign policy toward Israel in historical intervals of 1948-1951 and 1951-1953, by searching first-hand sources, within the framework of the theory of "foreign policy role” . "Mohammadsaed Maraghei" administration recognized Israel on a de facto basis in 1949, but Mohammad Mossadegh closed the Iranian consulate in Jerusalem in 1951. The main research question is why this change in behavior happened? Based on the main hypothesis of the role theory, foreign policy behavior of the government arises from "concepts of policy makers' national role" and variations of those concepts led to behavior changes in foreign policy. The hypothesis of this study is also affected by the above-mentioned assumptions, the change of Iran's behavior in the face of Israel was caused by the change of concepts of Iranian policy makers' national role. For research hypotheses, the sequence of historical events which formed the concepts of Iranian policy makers' national role toward Israel, has been examined by using the "tracking process".

Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, different theories have been used by scholar to explain the nature, process and behavior of Iran’s foreign policy. In the author’s view, conventional theories in international relations and foreign policy analysis cannot explain the foreign policy behavior of the Islamic Republic. In his analysis, the failure stems on the one hand, from the context–bound nature of conventional foreign policy theories, and on the other, from the peculiar Islamic identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, an adequate explanation of the foreign policy of an Islamic state requires a different theoretical approach anchored on the nature and identity of that state. This article tries to explore into an “Islamic theory for foreign policy” capable of adequately explaining the foreign policy behavior of an Islamic state, and for the case at hand, that of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

One of the main concerns in policy making in general and foreign policy making in particular is the problem of inappropriate decisions, i. e., a decision that is unlikely to lead to set objectives and may even result in negative consequences. There is no guarantee for the success of decisions due to feedback aspects and the multiplicity of other actors whose actions and reactions are not totally predictable. Yet it is possible to reduce the possibility of irrational/inappropriate decisions through recognizing the factors that can lead to bad decisions. This article suggests a rational model of decision making in foreign policy and then, on the basis of IR theories and theories of foreign policy shows the factors that can interfere in rational policy making. It is argued that cognitive factors are more influential because most other elements can be reduced to cognitive ones.

The identity policy of the sects in Lebanon has been organized in line with their recognition and respect. The identity of Lebanon is pluralistic, heterogeneous, and contradictory. The polarized identity in Lebanon and the attempt for retaining and increasing the sectarian interest have facilitated the interference of these transnational players. Therefore, Lebanon's state has a pluralistic foreign policy. Each of these sects represents the interests of a foreign state. Lebanon has become fragile due to the overflow of regional issues, the deadlock in the domestic policy, the transnational militias, and extreme sectarianism. Thus, the state cannot act independently in policy making, decision making, and national independence, and the behavior and definition of national interest is a function of such concept for these sects and foreign states. The methodology of these study is analytic-explanatory based on the positivistic approaches. The method of data collection is library research using the published papers and websites. The research question is: 'What is the effect of sectarianism in Lebanon on Lebanon's foreign policy? ' And the hypothesis of this study is: 'Sectarianism, dominance of sect identity over national identity, and forming a fragile state in Lebanon have influenced the definition of national interest and the foreign policy orientation, and have caused the state to activate in the international policy arena along with these sects. Therefore, instead of national interest, the sectarian interest is considered.

This paper deals with the importance of regionalism in Iran's foreign policy. Some of the existing outlooks view the characteristics of Iran's power structure and politics in such a way that make any security - political, economic and cultural coalition and cooperation difficult in the region. But the author holds that political, security and geopolitical changes in the Middle East region after the September 11th events have reinforced the place of regionalism in Iran's foreign policy. Indeed, Iran's strategic value and role in boosting regional factors are related to such factors as strong nation-state, geopolitical identity and dynamic Shii ideology. In this relation, the author defines two concepts of traditional regionalism and new regionalism in Iran's foreign policy orientations, each of them seeking to secure Iran's national interests and security with a different outlook. The author concludes that the Islamic Republic of Iran has to resolve political-security dilemmas with trans-regional powers including the United States by redefining elements of its national power at the regional level, establishing economic opportunities and sustainable development

Introduction: The Ukrainecrisis turned into a warin February 2021 after the escalation of conflicts. What sets this event apart from its 2014 record is the breadth, depth, subject matter, and sides of the conflict. In the third decade of the twenty-first millennium, a security-military crisis broke out again and geopolitical differences between the powers led to a massive conflict in the territory of a weak neighbor. Moscow's stance is that the expansionism of its Western rivals through the eastward expansion of NATO is a military preparation of Russian geography and the direct threat against it. Theoretically, the war in Ukraine is reminiscent ofthe concept of “indirect balance of power” which is defined as the competition of great powers over a small or weak country and their conflict on its territory. The war in Ukraine has shown the breadth and depth of the offensive / defensive power on both sides, forcing others to support one side against the other. Iran, which previously pursued balance in its foreign policy based on the “Looking to the East” policy and promoted its strategic relations with Moscow, has taken a position based onits grand strategy. Since the war in Ukraine has gained international dimensions, any stance Iran takes on international structural disputes and subject to sanctions, will affect the country’s foreign policy.Research question: what effects do the Ukraine war have on Iran's balancing foreign policy and does it lead to a balanced foreign policy?Research hypothesis: The war in Ukraine has made Iran increase the geographical scope of its balancing measures and promote the “Looking to the East” policy at divided (bilateral) levels; combined (trilateral); institutionalized (multilateral) and “regional politics” in the framework of restoration diplomacy.Methodology and theoretical framework: The purpose of the article is to analyze the impact of the Ukrainian war on Iran's balancing foreign policy to show the process of continuity and change, outline the perspective of this policy and evaluate its results. Also, the goal is to critically analyze Iran’s balancing policy in the context of war. In this article, the trend Impact Analysis (TIA) method is used as a qualitative research method based on descriptive-analytical approach. TIA is a method for analyzing consecutive events in a given period to formulate trends by extracting data. Accordingly, events that shape or fluctuate a trend are selected as independent variables. Therefore, trends are the result of successive events as turning points. Understanding events allows analysts interested in tracking a particular trend to systematically examine the effects of current and future significantevents. TIA considers events as data and reflects trends by examining the relationship between them. Trends are identified with events and are defined as the result of successive events over time periods. The war in Ukraine has affected the balancing processof Iran's foreign policy in aseries of events that show the conflict between the interests of Russia and the West. Therefore, TIA is suitable for analyzing Iran's foreign policy and uses two theories; The theory of “balancing as a model of foreign policy” to explain Iran's foreign policy, which aims to prevent a great powerfrom attaining a dominant position or to counter such a position through alliances with rival powers, and the new theory of “balance of relation” which includes the concept of “balanced foreign policy” criticizes Iran's balancing foreign policy.Results and discussion: The main subject of the article is to explain the impact of the war in Ukraine on Iran's balancing foreign policy. While inspired by the concept of balanced foreign policy in the post-Cold War era, balancing foreign policy was theoretically formulated within realism concept as a behavioral model of the Cold War era. To explain Iran's behavior towards the war, the foreign balancing theorized by Waltz and Morgenthau was mentioned. Studies show that Iran's balancing foreign policy within the framework “Looking to the East” has been revived after the withdrawal of U.S. from the JCPOA and expanded with the warbetween Russia and Ukraine. From Iran’s point of view, the anti-hegemonic nature of the war and the prospect of continued conflict between the West is based on its foreign policy. Iran has expanded its relations with rising powers in the framework of the “Looking tothe east again” policy, through which Russia is military-security ally and China is an economic-trade partner. Furthermore, Iran seeks to form a strategic triangle including Tehran-Moscow-Beijing. Also, Iran’s diplomatic actions, including membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS and the creation of economic blocks for Asia, show that it considers the war as an institutionalized way toadjustits “Looking to the East” policy and expand its balancing foreign policy. Finally, Iran has expanded balancing and has undertaken diplomacyto rebuild the region.Conclusion: The goal of Iran's balancing foreign policy isto reduce structural pressures by expanding relations with the emerging powers, reducing the consensus of great powers and the ability of the United States to delegitimize Iran at the international level. The “Looking to the East” approach is based on the balance of power during the Cold War. Today, countries act based on a different logic of balancing and adaption to international power dynamics. The logic is based on the balance of relations, diversifyingpartners from the different poles of power, avoiding alliances with one power against another and focusing on balance in interaction with great powers, whether old / new or West / East. Therefore, although in the dominant discourse of Iran's foreign policy, the classical balancing act originating from the cold war era is strategically necessary, but it lacks strategic sufficiency; because it does not include the diversity of orientation in geographical and thematic areas and therefore does not lead to a balanced foreign policy. The countries strategy in the balanced foreign policy is aimed at achieving interests in various subject areas through communication with a wide range of great powers without conflict, while this strategy has no place in Iran's foreign policy.