The role of inter-regionalism in the neighborhood policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran; A case study of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

One of the current approaches in the field of foreign policy in various regions of the world is regionalism and interregional cooperation with the aim of securing common interests, providing and guaranteeing collective security, especially synergy to speed up development and economic progress and use common capacities. Regionalism takes place in a positive peace-based structure and often starts from non-political processes, to eventually lead to interactive political processes. Also, inter-regionalism in the international arena has been one of the influencing variables on the trends of convergence and regionalism in various fields. On the other hand, the neighborhood policy also follows an interactive approach, along with trust building. In this regard, the current article assumes that interregional arrangements, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, can be a suitable tool for promoting an efficient neighborhood policy due to the interactive goals pursued by the member states. It answers the question of what is the place of interregionalism in the development of the neighborhood policy and how does the Organization of Islamic Cooperation help to expand the neighborhood policy in the tense region where Iran is also present? The findings of the article indicate that focusing on non-political cooperation is the best way to deepen convergence trends. In this regard, in case of avoiding hegemony, priority should be given to the development of economic, commercial and sports relations in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, avoiding to deal with divergent factors such as religion and race, and also paying attention to the fact that regional convergence is not possible only by insisting on cultural, religious and historical commonalities and similarities; Rather, one should be aware of the identity differences of the nations and countries of the region and their conflicting interests. This organization can be on the path of trust building and convergence, and by accepting these differences, advance the process of regional convergence in order to achieve an efficient neighborhood policy.