Iran avoided formal colonization due to geopolitical balancing between Russia and Britain
Historical literature supports the view that Iran maintained its formal independence as a buffer state largely through the geopolitical balancing act and intense rivalry between the British and Russian empires during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The retrieved papers consistently describe Qajar and Pahlavi Iran as the focal point of the 'Great Game' rivalry between Russia and Britain, where each empire sought to limit the other's dominance, thereby allowing Iran to avoid formal colonial subjugation while acting as a strategic buffer zone.
M. A. Polat, Serdar Çukur. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF SHAH REZA PAHLAVI'S RAPPROCHEMENT WITH GERMANY? THE PARADIGM RESULTING FROM THE REACTION OF GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA. 2025. https://doi.org/10.58884/akademik-hassasiyetler.1635605
Paper [4] details how Reza Shah utilized a balancing act between Britain and Russia by aligning with Germany, showing the historical continuity of geopolitical maneuvering.
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F. Karimova. “The Great Game” and Iran (Second Half of the 19th and Early 20th Century). 2026. https://doi.org/10.33864/2790-0037.2026.v7.i2.200-215
Paper [5] outlines how Iran became the central arena of the Great Game rivalry between the British and Russian Empires, which heavily influenced its sovereignty and political structure.
N. Gozalova. Qajar Iran at the centre of British–Russian confrontation in the 1820s. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1353/tmr.2023.0003
Paper [6] explains that British policy in Qajar Iran was specifically designed to maintain Iran as a shaky buffer state between Russian expansion and British India.
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