TY  - JOUR
A1  - Papageorgiou, M
A1  - Eslami, M
A1  - Duarte, PAB
PB  - SAGE Publications
Y1  - 2023/04//
IS  - 1
KW  - China
KW  -  Russia
KW  -  Iran
KW  -  soft balancing
KW  -  strategic triangle
KW  -  cooperation
TI  - A ?Soft? Balancing Ménage à Trois? China, Iran and Russia Strategic Triangle vis-à-vis US Hegemony
SP  - 65
UR  - http://doi.org/10.1177/23477970231152008
AV  - public
EP  - 94
JF  - Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs
N1  - © The Author(s) 2023. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
SN  - 2347-7970
ID  - discovery10168890
VL  - 10
N2  - The recent rapprochement among China, Iran and Russia reveals the emergence of a new, unexpected, regional strategic triangle with the potential to balance the United States? dominant position. By focusing on the evolution of this strategic triangle in the post-Cold War period, this article investigates the driving forces that bring the three states together, namely the US power and unilateralism as materialised in NATO?s eastward expansion, the sanctions on Russia after the annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine, the sanctions against Iran, the US trade war with China and the hostile US posture during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Drawing on soft balancing theory, this article provides an empirical assessment of China?Iran? Russia strategies in countering the US power. Thus, this article aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by investigating this triangular relationship and its balancing potential under the analytic construct of a strategic triangle. Finally, the analysis demonstrates that the three states have employed soft balancing mechanisms, primarily economic strengthening and entangling diplomacy in international institutions. At the same time, territorial denial was sought on various occasions due to the regional importance of this triangular relationship. In conclusion, the article also offers insights into potential hard-balancing behaviour in the long run.
ER  -