‍Central Asia and The Caucasus Journal

Abstract The facts and figures as well as expert reviews of international politics prove that China is in the trend of a power rise as well as hegemony afterwards. The main issue is about the opportunities and obstacles that China will face in this trend, especially from the prism of geopolitics. The question is about the impact of geopolitics on China´s prospect hegemony. Since geopolitics is both an opportunity- maker and restrictive factor for hegemony, it would be both a trouble making and a break ahead for China. This literature not only provides a better understanding of main hindrances that China faces ahead in its power rise, but also serves as a source of explanation for understanding its regional foreign policy instruments. Trying to compose a theoretical framework for the relation between hegemony and geopolitics, the authors have studied possible symptoms of China´s prospect hegemony. China´s Belt - Road Initiative is assessed as an instrument for breaking through its geographical obstacles.

Abstract The present article mainly attempts to deliver a comparison between China and US policies in combating terrorism in Central Asia. Therefore it addresses the following question: Which policies have been used by US and China for preventing the expansion of terrorism in Central Asia? The hypothesis is that these two actors have chosen a cooperative and interactive policy for combating terrorism. Central Asia’s security and stability has a greater importance for China. That is why China has some security considerations that have led this country to multilateralism while the United Sates is less inclined to it. The other differentiation is that US approach towards combating terrorism is military – based, while China emphasizes on political and economic methods.

Abstract Strategic decision-making in foreign policy arena needs a strict cognition of external realities, self-potentialities, scrutinizing possible options, and an exact calculation of the costs and the achievements of each action. Therefore, cognition and analysis of the environment is a necessity for foreign policy and is in the center of executive attention. This necessity is rooted in the activeness of the environment and ignoring it would lead to some irreparable damages that would endanger national security and interests. Having a clear perspective towards future events/developments is another advantage of environment analysis, which helps avoid facing unpredictable events. Central Asia region in the neighboring of Iran is a priority area for its foreign policy. Iran and the region of Central Asia are interconnected to the extent that developments in each impact the other. Therefore a systematic and scientific study on the evolutions of Central Asia is essential for the foreign policy of Iran. Using scientific methods of environment analysis in the field of strategic management, the authors attempt to find an appropriate model for environment analysis in Central Asia.