Iran’s Look East Policy Under Ebrahim Raisi: Tracing the Rise of a Middle Power

This article adopts a systemic-impact understanding of middle power as an analytical framework to provide a nuanced understanding of Look East Policy under the Raisi administration. It analyses three aspects of Raisi administration’s policy in the regional context of (Eur)Asia: (1) embrace of ‘Asian multilateralism’ (2) ideational strategy drawing on Iran’s identity as a civilizational State and a civilizational conception of Asia (3) projection of Iran as a ‘bridge’ connecting transcontinental connectivity initiatives by China, Russia and India. It concludes that Iran is driven by twin objectives of establishing itself as an independent regional power, while helping shape a post-Western, multilateral economic and security order in (Eur)Asia.