The Shia Crescent and Sectarianism: Iran’s Grand Strategy in the Middle East and its Regional
Year: 2025
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: The phrase " Shia Crescent" has become one of the most controversial terms in Middle Eastern geopolitics since it first entered regional discourse in the mid-2000s.Originally coined by King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2004, the term was intended as a warning against the perceived expansion of Iranian influence across a crescent-shaped arc of predominantly Shia or Shia-aligned populations stretching from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon (Matthews, 2004).Since then, the Shia Crescent has been widely invoked by analysts, policymakers, and regional actors-some using it to highlight Iran's assertive regional strategy, others to critique what they see as the sectarianisation of Middle Eastern politics (Göksel, 2013;Haji-Yousefi, 2009;Mazur, 2009;Proctor, 2008).However, the concept is often used uncritically, conflating ideological, religious, and geopolitical elements, and obscuring the complex realities of Iran's post-revolutionary foreign policy.This chapter investigates the idea of the Shia Crescent as a strategic framework and evaluates whether it reflects a coherent Iranian grand strategy in the post-1979 period.It asks three interrelated questions: What is the nature of Iran's grand strategy in the region?To what extent is sectarian identity instrumentalised in this strategy?And how have Israel and Sunni powers across the Middle East responded to Iran's actions?Through a critical analysis of Iran's regional conduct, ideological motivations, and institutional mechanisms, this chapter argues that the Shia Crescent is not simply a sectarian project.Rather, it is a hybrid geopolitical strategy that blends ideological commitments, strategic pragmatism, and identity politics, all of which serve to bolster Iran's position in a fragmented and competitive regional order.The Islamic Republic's approach to the Middle East has evolved over the decades since 1979, yet certain core themes have remained consistent: resistance
Author: Oğuzhan Göksel
Institution: Marmara University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7117239671