Azerbaijan · Modern · Political power
The Qajar Concessions and the beginning of Modern Neo-Colonialism
How the permanent concession of the Caucasus region to the Russian Empire grant Russian lasting political influence in Qajar Iran through neo-colonialism?
Context
Place and history
Qajar Iran had lost control over the Caucasus region due to military asymmetry and due to wider political fragmentation after conflict with the Russian Empire (where Tsar Alexander wanted to aggressively expand the Empire southward) in treaties such as the Treaty of Gulistan (ending the Russian-Persian war from 1804-1813) and the Treaty of Turkemenchay (ending the second Russian Persian war from 1826-1828).
Analysis
What this reveals about power
Through the use of a political front such as treaties, Russia was able to gain control and exert power within Qajar Iran's military and economic decisions. To begin, Russian stripped the right of this Persian empire to own warships in the Caspian Sea, allowing for the Russian naval fleet to gain monopolistic power within it. Additionally to that, Russian merchants were granted immunity for Persian laws and stipulations, allowing them political and economic benefits which were not bestowed upon those living under Qajar Iran. This allowed for Russia to get wider authority within the state, weakening their empire due to legal and economic constraints.
Student perspective
Why this matters now
This conflict and concession presented that established empires such as the Russian empire, did not require the standard colonization tactics to gain political control within a smaller, newer kingdom, rather it simply required tools of politics (such as treaties) to exploit their economies and establish control as a political power. This shift from aggressive territorial conquest to the utilisation of economic and political leverage completely shifted the operation of major global powers to the tactic of neo-colonialism, which can be applied to the politics in the 21st Century.
Sources
- https://www.academia.edu/97590865/Unequal_Treaties_and_the_Question_of_Sovereignty_in_Qajar_and_early_Pahlavi_Iran#:~:text=The%20early%20Pahlavi%20state%20aimed%20to%20abolish,Qajar%20legitimacy%20and%20leading%20towards%20constitutional%20reforms.
- https://thelionandthesun.org/543/iran-and-russia-a-struggle-for-power-in-the-constitutional-era/
- https://rjhssonline.com/HTMLPaper.aspx?Journal=Research%20Journal%20of%20Humanities%20and%20Social%20Sciences;PID=2012-3-2-11
- https://bcchj.uobabylon.edu.iq/index.php/bcchj/en/article/view/4225