https://ajips.org/index.php/ajips/issue/feed 2025-08-23T18:12:28+00:00 Dr. Manzoor Ahmad Naazer ce@ajips.fairlips.org Open Journal Systems <p class="aboutus-text"><strong>ASIAN Journal of International Peace and Security (AJIPS)</strong> is an <strong>HEC recognized (Y category) </strong>quarterly [since 2021, previously biannual (2020 and annual 2017-2019)] double-blind peer-review research journal of the <strong>Foundation for Advancement of Independent Research and Learning for International Peace and Security (FAIRLIPS).</strong> The foundation aims to promote independent research and learning, both indispensable for securing international peace and security.</p> <p class="aboutus-text">The journal endeavors to advance the mission, principles, aims, and objectives of the foundation. It believes in the principles of strict adherence to objectivity, impartiality, and neutrality as well as access to truth and its transmission. Its main aim is to supplement the foundation’s objectives particularly: to create, promote and disseminate knowledge, and; to provide researchers from all over the world especially from the developing states such as Pakistan and other regional countries a forum to help publish their research on fast track basis.</p> https://ajips.org/index.php/ajips/article/view/2025-vol-09-issue-1-from-confrontation-to-reconciliation 2025-08-23T18:12:28+00:00 Sobia Shabir shabbir25@gmail.com Noor Fatima dr.noorfatima@iiu.edu.pk

<p>Amid shifting geopolitical currents in the Middle East, analyzing changes in inter-state relations is essential for assessing prospects for regional stability. This research explores the 2023 Saudi-Iran rapprochement through the lens of Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT), situating it within broader regional security dynamics. Long defined by sectarian, ideological and geopolitical rivalries, the Saudi-Iranian relationship has fueled proxy conflicts and deepened fragmentation across the the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The recent normalization of ties, brokered by China, marks a pivotal diplomatic development, prompting critical inquiry into its underlying drivers, sustainability and broader implications for conflict resolution and alliance reconfiguration. Given the authoritarian nature of most regimes in the region, the paper focuses on the state-dominated institution, such as security mechanisms, while also examining informal power structures, including religious establishments and elite networks. Utilizing qualitative case studies of Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, the research examines how this rapprochement is reshaping threat perceptions, patterns of proxy warfare and alliance behaviour. While preliminary signs indicate a cautious de-escalation and emerging regional pragmatism, persistent structural barriers such as mutual distrust, ideological divides and unresolved conflicts continue to challenge the durability of peace. The paper argues that this détente represents a tactical recalibration driven by strategic necessity, rather than a transformative shift in the MENA security architecture.</p>

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