Hedging Patterns in Economic Diplomacy: A Comparative Analysis of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 NDU of Iran

2 Master's student in Political Science, Faculty of Islamic Studies and Political Science, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, I.R. Iran.

3 Master's student in Political Science, Faculty of Islamic Studies and Political Science, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, I.R. Iran.

10.22034/fasiw.2026.246859
Abstract
In recent years, hedging theory has played a prominent role in analyzing the behavior of units in international politics. While in past studies, these behaviors were followed by countries in a haphazard manner, there have been no coherent theories to examine different patterns in the field. Now, with the changing environment of economic cooperation and structural changes in the international system, each country is pursuing its hedging path differently from the others. In this context, the research problem ahead is to analyze the hedging pattern in Iran and Saudi Arabia as two neighboring powers in the West Asian region and relatively similar political powers. Accordingly, the main question of the present study is: Based on what patterns of hedging do the two countries behave in economic diplomacy and what consequences does each of these patterns bring? The research findings indicate that Iran has moved towards a reactive hedging model in a situation where external pressures on the one hand and lack of decision-making coherence on the other have led the country to a level of reactivity to dominant global patterns. In contrast, the Saudi government, based on its development strategy, has adopted a coherent hedging model. At the same time, both models have been relatively implemented in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and their full realization depends on maintaining the status quo in the coming years. The research method of this article is based on the data analysis method and is based on a descriptive-analytical model.

Keywords



Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 08 July 2026