Abstract Changes in the global distribution of power, together with China’s emergence as the United States’ principal economic, technological, and military competitor, have compelled Washington to reassess its security priorities, resource allocation, and geopolitical commitments across different regions of the world. In this context, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021 generated considerable debate regarding the declining strategic importance of the Middle East, the retrenchment of the United States, and the possible weakening of its regional security commitments. The central problem addressed in this study is whether the reduction of the United States’ direct military and ground presence signifies its withdrawal from the Middle East and an overall diminution of its commitments, or whether it reflects a transformation in the instruments, mechanisms, and methods through which American power is exercised. This study aims to provide a neorealist explanation of how and why the United States has redistributed its geopolitical commitments in the Middle East following its withdrawal from Afghanistan. It examines this process in the context of intensifying structural competition with China and evaluates the role of regional threats in modifying, constraining, or temporarily reversing it. The theoretical framework is primarily grounded in structural realism, while balance-of-threat theory is employed as a complementary framework to explain the influence of regional threats on U.S. behavior. In terms of purpose, the study is both basic and applied; in terms of approach, it is qualitative; and methodologically, it adopts a descriptive–analytical design. Data were collected through library-based and documentary research, including the examination of U.S. national security and defense documents, official reports, statements by political and military officials, think-tank publications, and scholarly sources. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis, causal explanation, and process tracing. The temporal scope of the study covers the period from 2021 to 2026, while its geographical focus is the Middle East, particularly the Persian Gulf. The findings indicate that strategic competition with China and the growing need to concentrate resources and attention on the Indo-Pacific have encouraged the United States to reduce large-scale ground interventions, reallocate strategic resources, and transfer a greater share of the regional security burden to its allies. Nevertheless, this transformation does not constitute a complete U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East. By maintaining strategic bases, air and naval capabilities, intelligence and cyber capacities, alliance networks, and rapid-response capabilities, Washington has transformed its regional presence into a more limited, network-based, technology-driven, and flexible model. The case study of the 2026 Iran–U.S. conflict further demonstrates that the intensification of regional threats and the insufficient capabilities of U.S. allies may halt or temporarily reverse the reduction of America’s direct regional presence. The study therefore concludes that the emerging U.S. strategy should be understood neither as straightforward retrenchment nor as withdrawal, but rather as a conditional redistribution of geopolitical commitments and a recalibration of hegemony. Within this framework, the reduction of the costs associated with direct military presence is accompanied by the continuation of strategic influence and the preservation of the capability to return to direct intervention when vital interests or the regional balance of power are seriously threatened.

Iraq’s Foreign Policy in the Context of U.S.–China Geopolitical Competition in West Asia (2013–2025) Abstract Geopolitical and geoeconomic competition between the United States and China has become one of the most significant features of the evolving international order, with far-reaching consequences for the foreign-policy behavior of regional states, particularly those located in strategically important regions such as West Asia. Owing to its sensitive geopolitical position, vast energy resources, distinctive role in regional security equations, and simultaneous security and development needs, Iraq is among the countries most profoundly affected by the rivalry between these two major powers. The present study aims to examine how Iraqi foreign policy was formulated within the context of U.S.–China geopolitical and geoeconomic competition during the period from 2013 to 2025. The central research problem is to determine how Iraq has sought to balance the security imperatives arising from its relations with the United States against the economic opportunities generated by cooperation with China, and which strategy it has adopted to manage this competition. Drawing on the theoretical framework of structural realism and the concept of hedging, this study analyzes Iraq’s foreign-policy behavior under conditions of great-power competition. The main hypothesis is that the intensification of geopolitical and geoeconomic rivalry between the United States and China has pushed Iraq toward the adoption of a hedging strategy. Accordingly, by maintaining security cooperation with the United States while expanding its economic and infrastructural relations with China, Baghdad has attempted to reduce its vulnerability and increase its foreign-policy room for maneuver. The study employs a qualitative, descriptive-analytical method. The required data were collected through the examination of library sources, documents, official reports, and the analysis of relevant political and economic developments. The findings indicate that Iraqi foreign policy during the period under review was shaped neither by complete alignment with a foreign power nor by hard balancing. Instead, Iraq pursued a hybrid pattern based on the management of dependencies and strategic hedging. The United States remained Iraq’s most important security partner in areas such as military training, intelligence cooperation, and counterterrorism, whereas China assumed an increasingly prominent role in energy, trade, investment, and infrastructure development. Iraq therefore sought to manage its relations with the two powers across different sectors and to benefit from their rivalry in order to advance its security and economic interests. Nevertheless, the findings also demonstrate that Iraq’s hedging strategy has faced significant constraints. Weak state institutional capacity, domestic political divisions, the economy’s heavy dependence on oil, the fragmentation of decision-making centers, and the influence of regional actors have prevented this strategy from producing sustainable strategic autonomy. Accordingly, Iraqi hedging should be understood primarily as an instrument for managing vulnerability and expanding external room for maneuver rather than as evidence of full foreign-policy independence. The study concludes that, within the competitive order shaped by the United States and China, Iraq has pursued a strategy of limited balancing and hedging. However, the long-term success of this strategy will depend on strengthening domestic capacities, reforming governance structures, reducing economic dependency, and enhancing Baghdad’s ability to transform Iraq’s geopolitical position into a strategic advantage. Keywords: Iraqi Foreign Policy; U.S.–China Competition; Hedging; Structural Realism; Geoeconomics; West Asia   

  The Ukraine crisis in 2022, by creating a strategic rupture in energy relations, transformed the architecture of European energy security and made the issue of diversifying sources and routes of oil and gas imports a central priority of European Union policymaking. In this context, Iraq, as one of the largest holders of hydrocarbon reserves, is in a position to redefine its role in the emerging European geopolitical order; however, the realization of this capacity faces multilayered structural and competitive constraints. The central issue of the present research is what consequences and requirements the geopolitical developments resulting from the Ukraine crisis have created for Iraq's energy diplomacy and the country's role in the competition for oil and gas tra  ort routes to the European market. This research was conducted with a qualitative approach and descriptive-analytical method and uses a combination of the frameworks of "energy geopolitics", "rival actor theory", "energy security" and "geopolitical realism" to explain the problem. The data were extracted in a library-documentary manner and through systematic collection of official reports of international institutions, reliable energy statistics, Iraqi and European policy documents and specialized analyses and processed based on content analysis and geopolitical analysis of the actors. The findings show that the Ukrainian crisis has created a paradoxical situation for Iraq: on the one hand, unprecedented opportunities have been provided to enhance Iraq's role as a strategic energy partner for Europe, and on the other hand, geopolitical competition between actors such as Turkey and Iran over transit corridors has intensified. At the same time, weak energy governance, Baghdad-Erbil disputes, insecurity of routes, and slow development of transit infrastructure have limited the possibility of transforming Iraq into a sustainable and reliable energy corridor. The research conclusion emphasizes that redefining Iraq's energy diplomacy in the new European order is not a political choice, but a strategic necessity to strengthen the country's national security and economic development. The innovation of the research lies in providing an integrated analysis of the triple nexus of the "Ukrainian crisis", "competition over energy transit routes", and "the transformation of Iraq's energy diplomacy" and explaining its consequences for the future of Iraq's role in European energy corridors.

  Technological developments have always played a decisive role in changing the nature of war and the evolution of military doctrines, but the emergence and maturity of artificial intelligence in recent decades has elevated this trend from the level of gradual changes to a paradigmatic level. Artificial intelligence, as a doctrine-making technology, has penetrated command and control systems, military decision-making, electronic and cyber warfare, space and satellite systems, and autonomous smart weapons, fundamentally transforming the logic of human-centered wars and classic models of deterrence. Hence, theoretical and strategic rethinking of military doctrines and the paradigm of future wars has become an analytical necessity

AbstractThisdissertation analyzes the historical context surrounding the formation ofIslamic secularism in the thought of Ali Abdel Raziq, examining his seminalwork, Al-Islam wa Usul al-Hukm (Islam and the Foundations of Governance, 1925),through the framework of Quentin Skinner's intentionalist hermeneutics. Thisstudy investigates the influence of the fourfold contextual factors of 1920sEgypt on the development of secularism in Ali Abdel Raziq's thought. The principalhypothesis posits that a comprehensive examination of the intertwined set ofconditions and problems of Abdel Raziq's era, as an objective and pre-existingreality, is an essential prerequisite to the analysis of his secularist views.  Employinga qualitative-historical-interpretive methodology and Quentin Skinner'sintentionalist hermeneutics, this research analyzes four primary dimensions ofthe crisis in 1920s Egypt: the crisis of political legitimacy following theabolition of the Ottoman Caliphate, the complex domestic political situation,socio-economic transformations, and the cultural revolution.  Thefindings confirm the main hypothesis and three sub-hypotheses. It wasdetermined that Abdel Raziq, by utilizing authentic Islamic sources—the Qur'an,Hadith, and the history of early Islam—and an interpretive methodology,effectively refuted the traditional "consensus" (ijm??) on thenecessity of religious government. His dual educational background at Al-Azharand Oxford, combined with his judicial experience, was instrumental in shapinghis innovative approach.  Thisresearch offers a new understanding of the emergence of secularism within thediscourse of modern Islamic thought, demonstrating the decisive role ofhistorical context in the formation of innovative ideas. Abdel Raziq's adoptionof secularism is shown to be an indigenous response to the profound crises of1920s Egypt..  

   Adolescents, considering that they are the future builders of society and on the other hand, because they are at a sensitive age biologically, require more attention than ever. Considering the increase in non-suicidal self-injury behaviors among adolescents, which sometimes lead to serious physical injuries; studying and researching the causes of these behaviors, predictive factors, correlated factors, and treatment of these behaviors is of great importance. In this regard, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and spontaneous thoughts with non-suicidal self-injury behaviors in adolescents in Kermanshah city through the mediation of emotion regulation. This study is quantitative and, given its purpose, is 0.035 and p < 0.05) and non-suicidal self-injurious behavior (r = 0.048 and p < 0.05). In the variable of parenting style, the schemas (abandonment, failure, vulnerability, undeveloped self (trapped), emotional inhibition, strict criteria, deficiency/shame, negativity, dependency, distrust, and punishment) are directly related to difficulty in emotion regulation (r > 0 and p < 0.05). In the parenting style variable; schemas (emotional deprivation, obedience, sacrifice, entitlement, acceptance seeking and self-control) have an inverse relationship with difficulty in regulating emotions (r < 0 and p < 0.05). Also, schemas (schemas of abandonment, failure, vulnerability, undeveloped self (trapped), obedience, emotional inhibition, strict criteria, negativity, dependence, distrust and punishment) have a direct relationship with the variable of non-suicidal self-injurious behavior (r > 0 and p < 0.05). And schemas (emotional deprivation, deficiency/shame, sacrifice, entitlement, acceptance seeking and self-control) have a direct relationship with the variable of non-suicidal self-injurious behavior (r < 0 and p < 0.05). However, the schemas of the parenting style variable do not have a correlation with the variable of negative self-destructive thoughts. Based on the findings of the present study, attention to emotion regulation skills and negative automatic thoughts, as well as considering parenting styles, can play an important role in reducing non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors in adolescents. The conceptual model of the study had a good fit.