In the complex arena of international relations, the phenomena of convergence and divergence, as two opposing forces, play a decisive role in shaping interactions between states and other actors. Convergence refers to the tendency of actors to cooperate, unite, and create common structures, while divergence represents the tendency to separate, divide, and adopt independent policies. Understanding the factors affecting these two phenomena and how they affect international relations is of great importance.

In this article, an attempt has been made to explain the concept of convergence and divergence in international relations by emphasizing five major perspectives in international relations theories and regional studies. These five perspectives are: realism, liberalism, structuralism, functionalism, and neo-functionalism. Each of these theories, with its own theoretical foundations and approaches, examines the phenomenon of convergence and divergence from different angles and analyzes the factors affecting them in different ways.

In this regard, the theoretical foundations of each of these five approaches will first be described, and then their views on convergence and divergence in international relations and the elements and variables that are considered as effective factors in convergence and divergence from the perspective of these theories will be examined. The aim of this article is to present a comprehensive and multidimensional picture of the phenomenon of convergence and divergence in international relations from the perspective of different theories, in order to gain a better understanding of the factors affecting this phenomenon and how they affect international relations.