Authors
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Introduction
After the Cold War and following Saddam Hussain’s attack to Kuwait, the United States relying on its political, economical, and military abilities, proposed the idea of New World Order with its leadership. Also after September 11, 2001, the U.S. using the time gained with this assumption that it has the historical mission to deal with global threats, adopted unilateral and power axis policies and measures in the world. Given the importance of oil and gas in the global energy balance, and the fact that the U.S. owns 2 percents of global oil reserves but consumes about 25 percent of the world’s oil, provides the necessary motivation of the U.S. for securement of oil and gas resources and their transmission routes to supply its energy needs through playing effective role in security of energy supplies and transmission routes as well as controlling its competitors. Importance of oil and gas resources, including the Middle East and Caspian Sea oil reserves about 70 percent of oil and 40 percent of world gas reserves, have caused the U.S. to create contexts for political, economical and cultural interests in line with the region in order to establish its global hegemony. In this context, the Greater Middle East Project is considered.
Methodology
This paper has been prepared using descriptive - analytical method (content analysis), looking for an answer to the question: “According to the Greater Middle East Project in connection with the U.S. global hegemony, how the lack of Iran’s coordination with the project, due to its Geopolitical weight and its position in the Middle East can affect this project?” In this respect, position and capabilities of the Greater Middle East region for facilitating the U.S global hegemony and then the effects of the Greater Middle East project on Iran have been investigated and finally Iran’s capabilities to challenge the project and the costs should be tolerant by Iran because the lack of its coordination with the project is mentioned.
Results and Discussion
Following the period called "the cold war" and the occupation of Kuwait by Saddam Hussain, the leader of Iraqi army, especially after September 11, 2001 and the dominant of neoconservatives, the U.S. attacked Afghanistan and Iraq and adopted an aggressive as well as intervenient foreign policy. Neoconservatives believe that the global peace and the stability could be just achieved through hegemony, not through the balance of power. Nowadays, by raising the Geo-economic thoughts instead of ideological ones of the cold war era and the importance of transmission routes and sources of oil and gas due to their considerably important roles in global energy balance, the great powers are encouraged to control the energy sources and routes of transmission to strengthening their regional and global role and leadership. Therefore the United States to guarantee the oil and gas flow from Middle East to consumer countries and also controlling its regional and global competitors planned and operated the Greater Middle East Project.
Conclusion
Since there are many objectives in the Greater Middle East Project, such as security guarantees for Israel, the struggle with Political Islam as the war against terrorism, controlling the United States global and regional competitors, spreading American culture in the form of liberal democracy and ensuring the flow of energy from the region, it is obvious that each of these objectives has some threats for Iran and therefore Iran criticizes the project. The geopolitical weight and the position of Iran in the Middle East in terms of geostrategic, geo-economic, scope of influence and its strong religious, ethnic, linguistic, historical, cultural and political links with the Greater Middle East communities that also confess by the U.S., allows Iran to continue its opposition without any cooperation with the Grater Middle East Project and challenging its success. On the other hand, Iran’s noncooperation with the Project and opposing it, have caused various actions against Iran by the U.S. to weaken its position and influence in the Middle East. The results show that Iran’s opposition and noncooperation with the mentioned project can lead to many challenges against the success and the implementation of the Project and also the creation and stabilization of U.S. global hegemony. Of course, these oppositions and noncooperations may cause different political costs and effects, as well as economical and environmental ones.
Keywords
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