Özet:

States, before embarking on an intelligence activity, benefit from the instruments introduced by the concept of strategic intelligence in order to guide them. Strategic intelligence tries to evaluate the concept of intelligence in a broad framework rather than from a narrow perspective. Strategic intelligence is the result of a planned activity and is produced after in-depth analysis. Long-term planning is one of the dominant features of strategic intelligence. In this study, the activities of Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Western Balkans are evaluated within the framework of the long-term approach of strategic intelligence. These two countries have determined the religious factor as the primary condition for penetrating the Western Balkans. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran mainly use the ideological motive element in order to carry out their political activities in the countries of the region. Saudi Arabia adopts Salafism and Iran tries to be active in the region through Shiism. Through the foundations and associations they have established in the region, they want to increase their influence on the Muslim community in the Western Balkans. Saudi Arabia and Iran, by making use of their soft power elements, adopt to draw attention to the public as an intelligence method. Iran wants to spread the Shiite ideology thanks to the clergy it sent to the region. In this study, it has been revealed that Iran aims to establish a political weight in the region, especially by using soft power and hard power elements (within the scope of intelligence activities). The power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the region is discussed from different aspects.

Anahtar Kelimeler: