Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs

Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs

Nigeria and the United States' Security Strategies in West Africa and Their Impact on Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Farhad Ghasemi 1
Hakim Zakaria 2
1 Professor of International Relations, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Iran
2 PhD in International Relations, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Iran
10.22034/irfa.2025.215205
Abstract
The United States actively engages in various regional orders, here with a particular focus on West Africa. Its approach involves organizing and leveraging relations with regional powers to influence and regulate the regional order. West Africa has gained significance in the international order, attracting the attention of the United States. Nigeria, as a key player in the region, plays a substantial role in Africa and West Africa, establishing a strategic alliance with the United States over several decades. This article explores Nigeria's role in the U.S. security strategy within the West African region. Notably, this topic has received limited attention in international relations literature, particularly within U.S.-Nigeria relations. Scholars have not reached a consensus on the impact and implications of Nigeria's role in U.S. security strategy, specifically in addressing regional insecurities. The central argument posited is that to safeguard its geo-strategic, geo-political, and geo-economic interests, as well as manage strategic rivalries in the region, the United States strategically engages with Nigeria. Nigeria serves as a crucial partner for the U.S. in containing the expansion of other powers in the region. The intersection of two key factors in Nigerian geopolitics—its SEA geopolitics in the Atlantic and its geoeconomic significance due to oil production and other strategic resources—establishes Nigeria as a crucial player in the American regional security strategy. In essence, the article contends that Nigeria's unique geopolitical and geoeconomic attributes contribute to its special position in the U.S. regional security strategy, allowing the United States to maintain influence and counterbalance the activities of other powers in West Africa.
Keywords
Nigeria
US
Security strategy
West Africa
Regional order

Article Title Persian

نیجریه و استراتژی های امنیتی ایالات متحده در غرب آفریقا و تأثیر آنها بر ایران

Authors Persian

فرهاد قاسمی 1
حکیم زکریا 2
1 استاد روابط بین الملل، گروه روابط بین الملل، دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی، دانشگاه تهران، ایران
2 دکتری روابط بین الملل، گروه روابط بین الملل، دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی، دانشگاه تهران، ایران
Abstract Persian

ایالات متحده به طور فعال در نظم های منطقه ای مختلف، در اینجا با تمرکز ویژه بر غرب آفریقا، مشارکت می کند. رویکرد آن شامل سازماندهی و اعمال اهرم روابط با قدرت های منطقه ای برای نفوذ و تنظیم نظم منطقه ای است. غرب آفریقا در نظم بین المللی اهمیت پیدا کرده است و توجه ایالات متحده را به خود جلب کرده است. نیجریه، به عنوان یک بازیگر کلیدی در منطقه، نقش مهمی در آفریقا و غرب آفریقا ایفا می‌کند و طی چندین دهه یک اتحاد استراتژیک با ایالات متحده ایجاد کرده است. این مقاله به بررسی نقش نیجریه در استراتژی امنیتی ایالات متحده در منطقه غرب آفریقا می پردازد. قابل ذکر است که این موضوع در ادبیات روابط بین الملل، به ویژه در روابط ایالات متحده و نیجریه مورد توجه محدودی قرار گرفته است. محققان در مورد تأثیر و پیامدهای نقش نیجریه در استراتژی امنیتی ایالات متحده، به ویژه در پرداختن به ناامنی های منطقه ای به اجماع نرسیده اند. بحث اصلی مطرح شده این است که ایالات متحده برای حفاظت از منافع ژئواستراتژیک، ژئوپلیتیک و ژئواکونومیک خود و همچنین مدیریت رقابت های استراتژیک در منطقه، به طور استراتژیک با نیجریه درگیر می شود. نیجریه به عنوان یک شریک حیاتی برای ایالات متحده در مهار گسترش قدرت های دیگر در منطقه عمل می کند. تلاقی دو عامل کلیدی در ژئوپلیتیک نیجریه - ژئوپلیتیک دریای دریایی آن در اقیانوس اطلس و اهمیت ژئواکونومیکی آن به دلیل تولید نفت و سایر منابع استراتژیک - نیجریه را به عنوان یک بازیگر مهم در استراتژی امنیت منطقه ای آمریکا تثبیت می کند. در اصل، مقاله ادعا می کند که ویژگی های ژئوپلیتیکی و ژئواکونومیک منحصر به فرد نیجریه به موقعیت ویژه آن در استراتژی امنیت منطقه ای ایالات متحده کمک می کند و به ایالات متحده اجازه می دهد تا نفوذ خود را حفظ کرده و فعالیت های قدرت های دیگر در غرب آفریقا را متعادل کند.

Keywords Persian

نیجریه
ایالات متحده
استراتژی امنیتی
غرب آفریقا
نظم منطقه‌ای
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  • Receive Date 13 April 2024
  • Revise Date 29 August 2024
  • Accept Date 15 September 2024