Iran Syria relations in Arab Spring (2011-2018)

Iran was the biggest supporter of the Assad administration, which was in a difficult situation as a result of the Arab spring events spreading to Syria in March 2011. Although Iran has a 30-year history of alliance with Syria, its support has been far beyond this alliance, Iran has seen the survival of the Syrian regime as its own security issue. During this process, Iran provided military, diplomatic and economic support to the Syrian government; It has mobilized all its resources for the survival of the administration. Even in the time of Rouhani, who was known for his moderate policies, the lack of softening in Iran's Syria policy brought about the questioning of the foundations of bilateral relations. Although the main dynamic that determines Iran's Syria policy is strategic interests, the fact that the alliance relationship started after the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution has led to the need to research the dynamics that determine strategic interests. Because while pre-revolutionary Iran's interests were at odds with Syria, post-revolutionary conditions made it necessary for Iran to develop an alliance with Syria. This is related to the state and leader structure of the Islamic Republic established after the revolution. In this context, the aim of the study is to investigate how the Iran-Syria alliance relationship started and on what foundations it was built, and to examine the reflection of all these on the Arab Spring process. The study reads the subject from the perspective of neoclassical realism, which evaluates the foreign policies of states with their perceptions of leaders, and evaluates Iran's Syria policy with the characteristics and leadership structure of this state.