The Journal of Iran and Regional Studies (JIRS) aims to establish itself as a premier interdisciplinary forum for advancing rigorous scholarly inquiry and policy-relevant knowledge on Iran and its broader regional environment. By integrating theoretical frameworks with robust empirical investigation, the journal seeks to generate actionable insights into the socio-political, economic, and security challenges confronting Iran and its neighboring states, spanning West Asia, the Persian Gulf littoral, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia. JIRS is dedicated to bridging academic research with pragmatic, evidence-based solutions, thereby contributing meaningfully to regional stability, sustainable development, and informed governance. The journal is committed to cultivating critical intellectual exchange, encouraging comparative and cross-regional methodologies, and informing the decisions of academics, diplomats, policymakers, and practitioners through the dissemination of high-caliber, peer-reviewed original research. Furthermore, JIRS actively promotes inclusivity and intellectual diversity by welcoming contributions from Iranian and international scholars across the social, behavioral, and natural sciences.

Scope

The scope of JIRS encompasses the complex and dynamically shifting interactions within Iran's proximate geographic space, broadly conceived to include West Asia, the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and adjacent parts of South Asia. While the journal retains a foundational interest in the post-Soviet legacy of the northern tier, its primary focus is on Iran's bilateral, multilateral, and transregional engagements, as well as the broader connective threads, historical, cultural, economic, political, and strategic, that bind this extended neighborhood together. The journal welcomes analytical, theoretical, and comparative research articles that examine these relationships and their wider international implications across multiple dimensions.

Key thematic areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Regional security architectures, conflict management, and conflict resolution;

• Crisis prevention and crisis management strategies;

• The roles of international, regional, and transnational institutions;

• Foreign and defense policies of regional states;

• Iran's bilateral and multilateral engagements with neighboring countries and regional blocs;

• Great power competition and geopolitical influences in the region;

• Disarmament, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction;

• Terrorism, radicalization, and counter-terrorism policies;

• Governance, institutional reform, and sustainable development;

• Public sector management and public policy analysis;

• Economic development, trade, investment patterns, and regional connectivity;

• Migration, demographic shifts, and immigration policies;

• Environmental sustainability, resource management, and climate change impacts;

• Tourism, hospitality, and cultural heritage preservation;

• Cultural practices, identity politics, and social change; and

• Welfare policies and social protection systems.

JIRS encourages interdisciplinary contributions that offer novel empirical insights, robust theoretical contributions, or actionable policy recommendations addressing the opportunities, vulnerabilities, and interdependencies inherent to Iran and its broader regional context.