The role of cyberspace development in the geopolitical relations between Iran and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf

Dissertation for Master's Degree

Field: Political Geography

Abstract

The development of communication in the form of virtual space communication, the possibility of information exchange, access and access of people and devices to each other through the Internet at the same time, has established a new paradigm in human life, which is considered as an advantage for modern mankind. Meanwhile, due to its transnational nature and the ability to communicate and exchange information and data on a global scale, virtual space is practically in conflict with the interests of governments and national governments. In such an atmosphere, both geopolitics and political geography and the concepts related to it have undergone a transformation, which is especially visible in the concept of governance. On the other hand, the Persian Gulf region has become a target for cyber attacks and we are witnessing a secret conflict in the cyber domain between the United States, Israel and the Arab countries of this region on one side and Iran and Russia on the other side. It should also be noted that nowadays the convergence and divergence between countries has increasingly found cybernetic aspects. This article uses a descriptive-analytical method to explain the development of cyberspace in Iran's geopolitical relations. and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region, and while examining the cyber power of the actors in this region, he is of the opinion that the countries of the region consider the increase in Iran's cyber power as a potential threat to them, as well as a potential security threat against the other countries of the Persian Gulf, and even though the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region have started to develop their cyber defense power, however, there is still a need to expand their defense power and to cooperate more efficiently to prevent the upcoming threats.

Key words : Sovereignty, Cyberspace, Geopolitics, Political Geography, National Interests, Persian Gulf, Convergence, Divergence

Chapter One:

General Research

-1- Introduction

Virtual space and the global network of the Internet due to its transnational functional nature as well as the ability to communicate and transfer information and data on a global scale and connect users and human beings from all over the world regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, Race, language, etc. are practically in conflict with the interests of governments and countries and local governments. In other words, the virtual space and the Internet challenge the power of governments and national governments as well as their sovereignty over the national space. This property of virtual space can lead to the birth and growth of anti-government forces, reducing the acceptability of governments among citizens, increasing the maneuvering power of anti-government forces, both on the scale of citizenship and the national space, and on the transnational and global scale, and in general, the possibility of threatening, weakening, collapsing and displacing governments and national governments and their desired values, and replacing rival forces, as well as reducing their sovereign authority.

Therefore, governments and national governments have struggled to overcome this challenge reduce or eliminate threats against themselves. Sometimes they interpret threats against themselves as threats against the national security of others and use it against their rival forces. Therefore, governments and their own forces compete and challenge each other and challenge each other in virtual space and on their opportunities and capabilities, either with a national origin and scale, or with a transnational and global origin and scale. Several geopolitical factors affect the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These factors, including the national dimension of the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are facing regional and extra-regional threats caused by the competition of our country to secure its national interests as much as possible, and the popular protests that took place at the same time as the tenth presidential election were controlled by the government. However, predicting the evolution of the threat to the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran is inevitable. The role of the Islamic Republic and the exercise of its sovereignty, in addition to paying attention to the factors of hard power, also requires attention to the factors of soft power.

Therefore, in this thesis, while explaining the framework of the research in the first chapter, the theoretical foundations are explained and the concept of governance and cyber space in general is discussed in the second chapter. And in the third chapter, research materials and methods will be discussed, and we will analyze the progress of cyberspace on the geopolitical landscape of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the fourth chapter. The evaluation of the hypotheses and the conclusion also form the content of the fifth chapter.

1-2- Statement of the problem

The Middle East region is a place of certain political disputes. These disputes, on the one hand, go back to the issue of Palestine and Israel, and on the other hand, to the special and new role of Islamic Iran in terms of geopolitics. Although the conflicts between Iran and other countries in this region existed before the revolution, the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution has given a special feature to these controversial relations. In other words, with the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution and Iran's support for Palestine and the conflict with the Zionist regime, these conflicts have entered a special field. On the other hand, after the Islamic revolution of Iran, the efforts of some countries in the region to reduce the conflict and conflict with the Zionist regime and get closer to that regime, made Iran emerge as one of the main poles in the fight against the influence of this regime in the region. The Iran-Iraq war and the dispute over the three islands and the use of gas and oil fields as well as the control of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran have also been among the factors that have made Iran's geopolitical relations with other countries critical. One of the latest events that have brought these old disputes into a new phase has been Iran's pursuit and insistence on nuclear energy in the last two decades.

Besides these competitions and disputes among the powerful Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region, in the last few decades we have witnessed other economic and social developments in the Middle East region, which can be a response to the aforementioned disputes and a vehicle for exiting these competitions. The development of gas fields in the south of Iran, the development of commercial relations in the sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, and the developments known as the Arab Spring are among the things that, if appropriate policies are applied, can provide an opportunity for Iran and other powerful countries in this region to stabilize and even increase their influence in this region. According to the conventional principles of intra-regional and international relations, it is natural for each of these countries to somehow seek their own interests in their international relations. Pursuing these interests requires reducing the pressure of conflicts and increasing the level of cooperation within the region.

One of the fields that have arisen to take advantage of the opportunities that have arisen in this region of the world is the use of cyber space. In the new world, the electronic revolution has provided many new opportunities and challenges for governments to pursue their interests in modern ways. The greatest success of the electronic revolution is quick and easy access to information resources in all parts of the world. In fact, although this revolution has electronic infrastructure, what has increased its importance in today's world is its informational role. Therefore, it can be said that this revolution is more than an electronic revolution, it is an information revolution that provides infrastructure for the development of society. The increasing development of this technology and the increase in dependence on its services is mostly due to the modern world's need for large amounts of information and data, the access to which can make the path of development smoother, and in fact, the vital infrastructures of countries, from different aspects, are strongly dependent on this technology. Of course, in the literature of cyber studies, rather than considering this information revolution as an opportunity for the development of relations between countries, it is mentioned more as a threat to the security of countries and the role Its development to increase security has been neglected. While today's modern phenomena can be used both for peaceful purposes and to increase the security of society. Therefore, one can ask how to improve the ability of this means of communication to reduce conflicts and increase the level of security cooperation of the Persian Gulf countries? The purpose of this research is to show the role of cyberspace in the expansion of Iran's geopolitical relations with other countries in the Persian Gulf and to reduce tensions and the prosperity of these countries. In this thesis, the geopolitical relations of Iran and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf are studied as a dependent variable and the development of cyberspace as an independent variable. Does it have an effect?

1-4- Research hypotheses

1- The development of cyberspace can change Iran's geopolitical relations with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf by changing the security environment.

2- The development of cyberspace can increase joint cooperation between Iran and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.