Regional Unity of Persianate States (Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan): The Preventing Factors

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Science, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

2 Department of Political Science, Imam Khomeini International University

10.22124/wp.2026.29937.3488

Abstract

After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, new independent states emerged in Central Asia. Meanwhile, the shared language, identity, and historical background of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan could have potentially led to the creation of a regional union among Persian-speaking states. The central question of this study is: what factors have hindered the formation of a comprehensive regional union among Persian-speaking states? It appears that several factors have served as the primary obstacles to establishing a cohesive regional union among these three states. The findings of this study reveal that despite their linguistic, cultural, racial, and religious similarities, nationalism focused on individual territories, the suppression of Persian identity by certain political regimes, political instability, economic competition, and conflicting interests of major powers have all contributed to impeding the formation of a regional union among Persian-speaking states. To further elucidate this issue, the barriers to uniting Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan are examined through the lens of constructivist theory and an analytical-descriptive approach.

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