IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/asseca/v10y2023i1p65-94.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A ‘Soft’ Balancing Ménage à Trois? China, Iran and Russia Strategic Triangle vis-à -vis US Hegemony

Author

Listed:
  • Maria (Mary) Papageorgiou
  • Mohammad Eslami
  • Paulo Afonso B. Duarte

Abstract

The recent rapprochement among China, Iran and Russia reveals the emergence of a new, unexpected, regional strategic triangle with the potential to balance the United States’ dominant position. By focusing on the evolution of this strategic triangle in the post-Cold War period, this article investigates the driving forces that bring the three states together, namely the US power and unilateralism as materialised in NATO’s eastward expansion, the sanctions on Russia after the annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine, the sanctions against Iran, the US trade war with China and the hostile US posture during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Drawing on soft balancing theory, this article provides an empirical assessment of China–Iran– Russia strategies in countering the US power. Thus, this article aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by investigating this triangular relationship and its balancing potential under the analytic construct of a strategic triangle. Finally, the analysis demonstrates that the three states have employed soft balancing mechanisms, primarily economic strengthening and entangling diplomacy in international institutions. At the same time, territorial denial was sought on various occasions due to the regional importance of this triangular relationship. In conclusion, the article also offers insights into potential hard-balancing behaviour in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria (Mary) Papageorgiou & Mohammad Eslami & Paulo Afonso B. Duarte, 2023. "A ‘Soft’ Balancing Ménage à Trois? China, Iran and Russia Strategic Triangle vis-à -vis US Hegemony," Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, , vol. 10(1), pages 65-94, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:asseca:v:10:y:2023:i:1:p:65-94
    DOI: 10.1177/23477970231152008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23477970231152008
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23477970231152008?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Hughes, 2013. "Russia and the Secession of Kosovo: Power, Norms and the Failure of Multilateralism," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 65(5), pages 992-1016, July.
    2. Riham Bahi, 2021. "The geopolitics of COVID-19: US-China rivalry and the imminent Kindleberger trap," Review of Economics and Political Science, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(1), pages 76-94, May.
    3. Md Abdul Mannan, 2020. "China’s Balancing Behaviour Against the United States and the Special Importance of Myanmar," Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, , vol. 7(2), pages 177-201, August.
    4. repec:eme:reps00:reps-10-2020-0153 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Shleifer, Andrei & Treisman, Daniel, 2011. "Why Moscow Says No: A Question of Russian Interests, Not Psychology," Scholarly Articles 27867127, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba, 2014. "Coffins versus cradles: Russian population, foreign policy, and power transition theory," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 205-221, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:asseca:v:10:y:2023:i:1:p:65-94. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.