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Journals / International Journal of Politics and Security / 2026 / Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2

Iran’s Proxy Networks as Instruments of Regional Power: Ideology, Strategy, and Consequences in the Middle East

Mohammad Reza Pashayi0000-0001-7022-8017
Pages
325–349
Publication Date
2026-10-29
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings reveal that proxy deployment represents an asymmetric advantage authorizing power projection while diminishing direct military contact.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has strategically co-opted a network of non-state armed actors across the Middle East.
📊
Key Findings & Data:This article maintains that Iran’s proxy networks are not opportunistic but establish a comprehensible grand strategy constituted by ideological affinity, emphasized threat perception, and asymmetric deterrence calculus.
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Conclusion & Impact:The findings reveal that proxy deployment represents an asymmetric advantage authorizing power projection while diminishing direct military contact.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Vekil savaş · Ortadoğu güvenliği · Direniş Ekseni

Abstract

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has strategically co-opted a network of non-state armed actors across the Middle East. While existing scholarship itemizes these linkages, multifariously termed “proxy forces” or “the axis of resistance”, the constitutive logic underlying such alliances is undertheorized. This article maintains that Iran’s proxy networks are not opportunistic but establish a comprehensible grand strategy constituted by ideological affinity, emphasized threat perception, and asymmetric deterrence calculus. Based on multi-case study methodology including Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, and proceeding from foreign policy analysis and proxy warfare theory, the study scrutinizes the political, ideological, and financial mechanisms reinforcing these ties within Iran’s post-revolutionary security doctrine and its rivalry with the United States and Israel. The findings reveal that proxy deployment represents an asymmetric advantage authorizing power projection while diminishing direct military contact.

Özet

1979 İslam Devrimi'nden bu yana İran, Ortadoğu genelinde devlet dışı silahlı aktörlerden oluşan bir ağı stratejik biçimde bünyesine katmaktadır. Mevcut literatür bu bağlantıları çok yönlü bir şekilde "vekil güçler" ya da "direniş ekseni" olarak nitelendirerek belgelemekle birlikte, söz konusu ittifakların altında yatan kurucu mantık yeterince kuramlaştırılmamıştır. Bu makale, İran'ın vekil ağlarının fırsatçı bir nitelik taşımadığını; aksine ideolojik uyum, belirginleştirilen tehdit algısı ve asimetrik caydırıcılık hesabından müteşekkil, anlaşılır bir büyük stratejinin tezahürü olduğunu ileri sürmektedir. Lübnan, Irak, Suriye ve Yemen'i kapsayan çok vakıalı bir metodolojiye dayanan ve dış politika analizi ile vekil savaş kuramından hareket eden bu çalışma, söz konusu bağları İran'ın devrim sonrası güvenlik doktrini ile Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve İsrail ile sürdürdüğü rekabet çerçevesinde pekiştiren siyasi, ideolojik ve finansal mekanizmaları irdelemektedir. Bulgular, vekil güç konuşlandırmasının doğrudan askeri teması en aza indirirken güç yansıtmaya olanak tanıyan asimetrik bir avantajı temsil ettiğini ortaya koymaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Pashayi, M. R. (2026). Iran’s Proxy Networks as Instruments of Regional Power: Ideology, Strategy, and Consequences in the Middle East. International Journal of Politics and Security, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2, 325–349. https://doi.org/10.53451/ijps.1968357

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