International Journal of Maritime Policy

Safe extraction from oil and gas reservoirs in the seas and its transfer to the consumption market is among the most important concerns of energy-rich countries to secure their financial interests along with preserving the environment to increase the duration of extraction. The employer's requirement for the contractor to compile a report on the environmental effects of the work is one of the most significant initial steps in concluding the contract to estimate the risk, evaluate and manage the work. Apart from the legal obligations of the oil and gas contractor to comply with principles such as prevention and precautionary measures to prevent environmental damage, the contractor should take essential measures to prevent environmental damage through meeting the highest environmental standards in the field of exploration, drilling, extraction, maintenance and transportation, provision and usage of new methodologies, preservation of protected areas, non-interruption of others' access to water resources and preservation of mineral resources, dismantling facilities after the completion of the contract, and obligation to comply with the principles of the host country. Although contractors usually try to include a stability condition in their contracts in order to avoid more environmental obligations in the future, it seems that the principle of government ownership of natural resources can ignore this right at any time. The condition keeps environmental rules and principles as a priority. The present article has been compiled in a descriptive analytical way and in a library way.

As a major maritime power strategically situated along critical waterways, analyzing the intersections between Iran's blue economy goals, evolving maritime policies and sophisticated global diplomatic engagements is pivotal. This study utilizes qualitative techniques and international relations theories to conduct an in-depth investigation into Iran's strategic calculus across these realms. The purpose is to unravel the complex balancing of pragmatic interests, constraints, and selective cooperation opportunities shaping Iran's maritime maneuvering. Extensive document analysis and illustrative case studies are systematically employed to comprehensively analyze Iran's sector-specific strategies, stances on maritime laws and regimes, key international collaborations. The findings reveal that while developmental aspirations in priority blue economy sectors dominate Iran's interests, it faces multifaceted constraints from sanctions, disputes and domestic limitations which require nuanced navigation. Opportunities to expand regional influence through strategic alignments exist but necessitate enhanced dispute resolution, diplomatic creativity and sustainable regional collaboration to fully materialize mutual gains. Overall, the study provides seminal insights into Iran's maritime positioning, highlighting the overarching importance of adaptability, vision, and cooperation despite geopolitical tensions in advancing shared governance of vital waterways and collective maritime interests.

The melting of the polar ice caps in the north and Antarctica and the increase in the water volume of the oceans and seas cause changes in the sea coasts, which lead to the reduction of the land area of the coastal countries and the submergence of some islands. This change in closed and semi-closed seas, where the coasts of opposite countries are located at a short distance from each other, will have legal and political consequences, which will be the source of conflicts and tensions between coastal areas. One of the beaches on the northern edge of the Persian Gulf, which is considered the normal baseline, is the distance between Bandar Jask and Bandar Abbas. An area whose baseline will be challenged by rising seas and will have legal issues in the future.This article seeks to answer the question of how the rising water level in the Persian Gulf will affect the border issues between Iran and its maritime neighbors. The purpose of this research is to study the location of border tensions caused by climatic fluctuations in the Persian Gulf and the method of library and documentary research, and based on the statistics extracted from the sources, a new map was presented in the GIS environment with the techniques of this software. The results of the research indicate that the rise of the water level resulting from the melting of the polar ice caps in the future will cause a part of the land of the Islamic Republic of Iran to be submerged in front of Oman, and as a result, it will provide the basis for possible conflicts between Iran and that country.

Background and Theoretical Foundations: The environment problems have pervasive and lasting consequences for this generation and the next generation. The effects of environmental change on human life will soon appear. One of the most important environmental crises that Iran and the four littoral Caspian Sea countries bordering are facing is the environmental crisis of this sea. The Caspian Sea, the world's largest salt lake, has a sensitive ecosystem. Although salt lakes are very important for the environment, the most important example that has been recorded of the successful management of salt lakes is the case of the Great Lakes between the United States and Canada. Their solution can be used to protect the environment of these lakes in the Caspian Sea and its border countries.Method: In this research, by using the descriptive-analytical method, it has been tried to study the ecosystem of the Caspian Sea and find the best solution for it as a salt lake.Findings: As a matter of fact, although the Caspian Sea has a very rich resource but it has a very sensitive ecosystem and riparian states put it under pressure by over-exploitation of its resource. It caused several problems, such as degradation of water level, pollution of water, and the demise of caviar fish.Conclusion: It is extremely important to accurately attribute the causes of such change to understand how best to manage this body of water. In my opinion, Iran must pay more attention to its water in the north unless we face fine dust and drying of wetlands as we have seen in the south that put in danger human security in different dimensions.  It is undeniable that principles and obligations of international law such as paying polluters, common and differentiated responsibility, and non-harmful use of land… can’t solve the problems all alone. It is true about politics, but together, we can hope for sustainable management of the Caspian Sea. So the only way is the combination of international law and political will and using other states' experiences. So the proposal of this paper is building an institution with real decision-making. The design of the new institution is a step forward. For example, an institution can evaluate any problems with the Caspian Sea or rise by any coastline states and provide a solution, establishing a formal arrangement with real decision-making authority and not leaving most decisions up to individual states without effective collective control. However, in practice, states hardly show interest in institutions with mandatory power. So, instead, the Caspian Sea shoreline’s states can establish a non-mandatory committee that we hope to execute its decision with political will as we have seen in the Great Lakes. Because above all of this, politics will stand. So political and international law together could solve this problem.  

Iran as a maritime country, despite having a strategic position in the Middle East, and about 4,900 km of coastline along the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the transit communication axis between the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf, plays a decisive role in regional and international trade, therefore, it must have comprehensive and complete maritime laws so that it can comply with the international community and national and international issues. The importance of maritime rights should be evaluated according to various factors, including the strength of the national fleet, the level of movement and activity of the country's ports, and the country's geographical position in the region. The present study is descriptive and analytical in terms of nature and library method. In this study, the qualitative method of data analysis was used. In collecting sources and data, relevant books and laws were referred to, and the method of recording study slips was used. In the end, suggestions have been made to improve Iran's maritime law conditions. 

Military diplomacy, as the art of diplomatic interactions and military cooperation, has now become one of the main options of foreign policy in advancing India's macro strategies, especially in the regional arena. India is the fourth military power in the world and has one of the most powerful naval forces, which provides numerous capacities for exporting products, providing services, and military-technical support for this country. The use of military diplomacy is primarily due to the legacy of this country's old doctrines of non-violence, which seems to have been strengthened by the post-colonial atmosphere experienced in the 20th century and the support of third-world countries. The next reason is China's active diplomacy as a serious and strategic competitor in South Asian countries, which has also led to the growth of the neighborhood policy in India. On the other hand, the countries surrounding India - except Pakistan - are often small powers that can be influenced by this country's influence due to some cultural commonalities and the need for India to provide security, defense, technical things, etc. The main question of the research is, according to India's peaceful approach in the international arena, "What effect has the use of military diplomacy by India had on the regional policies of this country?" The main hypothesis of the research, which is based on the study of library and electronic documents such as articles, books, defense reports, statistical databases, and descriptive-analytical methods, indicates that The use of military diplomacy has led to the increase of soft power, reduction of tension and crisis, profitability, credibility and increase of its regional presence.

The present study aims to design and explain a university autonomy-oriented organization model using a mixed approach. In the qualitative section of the research, the statistical population consisted of scientific and organizational experts from Payam Noor University. So, 16 experts were selected for interviews using targeted snowball sampling. Moreover, in the quantitative section of the study, 245 people were selected out of 675 professors and staff, who formed the statistical population based on the sample size determined by Krejcie and Morgan table using random sampling. This study made use of semi-structured interviews and a researcher-made questionnaire as instruments of data collection in qualitative and quantitative sections, respectively. The qualitative data were analyzed through the thematic analysis technique using Maxqda10 software, while the quantitative data were analyzed using PLS3. Content and face validity were assessed, as well as the intercoder reliability. The results identified a total of 4 dimensions and 8 components for a university autonomy-oriented organization. The identified dimensions include organizational autonomy, personnel autonomy, financial autonomy, and academic autonomy. Also, the components consisting of supportive policy, clear policy perspective, organizational values, success trend analysis, financing, financial management, organizational communications, and sustainable thinking were approved by the software.