The effect of religion on foreign policy: Iran's Syrian policy

After the 2000s, the effect of religion on foreign policy became a subject of debate in international relations. Especially classical realism theory takes religion into account. Therefore, in many studies conducted in this field have examined how religion influences foreign policy. It has been demonstrated that religion can influence foreign policy in terms of legitimacy, worldview, non-governmental religious actors and regional religious issues. The Syrian War, which started in 2011 and Iran, one of the most important actors of this war, is an important example. Iran has formed a Shiite crescent in the Middle East. Syria is also one of the most important elements of this Shiite crescent. Therefore, Iran has been giving political, military and economic support to Syria after the civil war started through the sectarian connection. It is an issue that needs to be evaluated in this context that Iran brings together Shiite militias from various regions of the world on a common ideological ground and maintains a sectarian centered policy in order to prevent the disintegration of the "Shiite Crescent".