Political Quarterly
Year:2017 | Volume:47 | Issue:3 |Papers Count:16

After the establishment of democracy in Iraq and the arrival of the Shi'ite to power, the regional Arab States were concerned for Iran’s power and spheres of its influence. With the increasing demands of the people and the revolution in Arabic countries, their concerns escalated, particularly in Bahrain, a country with the Shi’ite majority. They send troops to Bahrain to react. After growing demands and protests in Syria, they were supporting the rebels and were to strike Iran. Involvement and support of the Arabic countries, along with the backing of Turkey and the Zionist regime led to America’s increase of the power of armed combatants and the formation of the Islamic State. This article with Descriptive – analytical method aims to study and investigate the cause of the formation of ISIS with the hypothesis that the main reason for the formation of the ISIS is the unbalanced region of the Middle East after the collapse of the Iraqi regime and regional and extra-regional powers attempt to shape a new balance against Iran.

In a general reading of the political theory, which includes different views on politics and the political, simultaneously exists two sides of knowledge including explanatory and normative. The problem is that, what is the relationship between explanatory and normative elements, how is this relationship established and is it possible for them to be separated? Explanatory and normative dimensions in political theories are inextricably linked, as this interdependence, makes the boundaries between political theory and political ideology ambiguous and leads to conflict over the universality, objectivity and rationality in political theory. Met theoretical analysis in its reflective method, focuses on these issues in political theory. One of the major issues in contemporary political theory is that how we can get to a reconciliation between the traditional goal of politics as a normative goal concerning the necessary establishment of utopia, and also modern and postmodern goal of politics as an explanatory and analytic goal that seeks to represent objective reality or subjective and linguistic constructs. From Traditional Met theoretical approach to politics in the name of political philosophy to modern and post-modern Met theoretical approaches to politics oriented in experimental political theory and also hermeneutic, phenomenological, structuralist, poststructuralist and pragmatists political theory, the tangle of the explanatory and normative dimensions, has an important role in the debates over the theoretical and practical validity of political theory. This article seeks to provide a Met theoretical analysis of issues related to the tangle of the explanatory and normative dimension in political theory and its ontological and epistemological results.

Narratology or real recognition in the field of virtual component is used both as a method and instrument, and as a cognitive approach in the social sciences to describe, explain and explanation of timely, meaningful and contextual phenomenon. This cognitive perspective as a paradigm and epistemic field is formed of various theories and approaches, each of them emphasized its theoretical part of the elements and variables. Because the human-moral approach of the Imposed War has hidden aspects and its many layers such as mind, meaning, value, time, collective action, narrator, identity, experience, memory, structure, agent, it is imperative, to achieve integrated and comprehensive models and theoretical frameworks, a precise genealogy of existing theories be done. There are different theories among this recall of the theoretical foundations of narratology as the theory of narrative realism, historical narrative, narrative constructivism theory, describing and explaining the theory of image and language-game theory, Erlebnis theory, Mimesis theory and Ante narrative approach. In this regard, this article seeks to understand the elements, concepts, and sensitive variables of these theories and link it with the main subject.

This article is seeks to analyze some reasons behind the governments and international organizations’ setback in order to halter the increase of terrorism. Although there have been consensus of opinions regarding the threats arising from terrorism, why is it then that the international cooperation has been inefficient for campaigning against this phenomenon. This text is according to the international relations’ theories in response to the mentioned question and it has taken all opportunities and limitations of each theoretical approach of realism, liberalism and constructivism into consideration by explanatory and analytical methods. The prevalence of realism and the arising thoughts of it, have gained more attention due to the reason that the accepted realistic traditions of government have had conflicts with some of the consequences of existing mechanisms of international relations for campaigning with terrorism. From the findings of this article, it can be elicited that the different perceptions of governments from the phenomenon of terrorism, and the discrepancy of opinions in defining terrorist operations have led to the conflict in recognition of meaning which is a big obstacle in international cooperation. Thus, the existing distance in governments’ priorities which are according to the national interests of each nation, has deeply influenced the process of international cooperation. In addition, the effort of big powers for exploiting the opportunities of international cooperation in respect to advancement of their own interests and targets is the main reason of failure in cooperation and campaigns of international organizations against terrorism.

Discussion on the relation between theory and fact in political science as well as other sciences has been reduced to their priority and posteriority and thus the pathology of this relation has been ignored. But, this paper by using the allegory of "Procrustes’ bed", firstly, emphasizes the pathology of this relationship. In this pathology, Procrustes’ bed refers to a situation in which researchers only select or underscore the facts that they are compatible with their theory, but they ignore incompatible facts or modify them in such a way as to be consistent with their theory. Secondly with criticizing this approach, mention also needs to be made of Popper’s falsification model, a radical approach and finally an argument for Lacatosian model. Thirdly, through the use of the Lakatosian method and analysis of the developments of three theories, namely, class theory of Marx, democratic peace theory of Kant and modernization theory, this article endeavors to offer a criteria of when to falsify a theory or modify it. The paper argues that when we confront conflicting facts that challenge to be protective, we can modify the theory and when we face with the same situation that is the hard core of a theory is challenged, we must falsify that theory. Finally, the paper at hand, by resorting to cyclical method shows how the death of a theory leads to the birth of another.

Afghanistan’s new state building after the America’s military attack is the fifth process of state making in the political history of Afghanistan. The aim of the present paper is the study of the characteristics of the new process of Afghanistan’s state making that have influenced the external force and the new events of the international system. For answering the main question of the essay (the nature of the features of the new state making of Afghanistan), this hypothesis was introduced: The continuity of the unfinished processes of the nation-state making in the contemporary history of Afghanistan, with the new distinctive foreign policy of the America’s causes the implementation the state building from the above (direct state making from the outer environment in order to eliminate the failed state and create a pattern state). In this article the theoretical framework of the “dual structure of the new state building” has been used. Vertical and horizontal state making is the character of the modern building state that is based on the creative destruction. In the doctrine of the creative destruction, defective structure must be destructed and changed to build a new construction. Afghanistan is converted to a workshop in order to test this project.

By the end of the Cold War many believed that the NATO’s life was over and with disappearance of the Soviet Union, NATO has no reason to continue its existence. In contrast, other analysts pointed to the reshaping of the international system, followed by the emergence of new threats as the main reasons supporting NATO’s survival after the Cold War. Keeping this intro in mind, the main argument of this research is that the necessity for keeping the balance of power in the form of balance of new threats, is the most important argument that will justify NATO’s survival after the Cold War.

By using the Communitarianism model, especially with the concept of tradition and rationality and its own good, we have tried to examine the contact and challenge of the left and the clergy, during the Constitutional Movement, in this article. In this paper, it is shown that, the contact and challenge of these traditions, through the fundamental concepts of both of them, made a new rationality that looks at the socio-political sphere, it has a undemocratic and centralist character, that, eventually, this rationality is made in developments and the context of events, leading to the emergence of dictatorship of Reza-Khan.

Underdevelopment is a phenomenon that has attracted the minds of many Iranian contemporary intellectuals. This study analyzes the causes of this phenomenon in thought of Mirza Malkam Khan and Jalal Al-e Ahmad and ways to deal away with it. The essence of Mirza Malkam Khan’s idea was struggle with underdevelopment in light of progress and also “Jalal Al-e Ahmad” considered nativism and a return to Islamic culture as a solution. The problem statements and the solution suggestions of those two thinkers can be explained within a theoretical framework “Thomas Springs”. The main research question is, why their responses to a same critical issue, underdevelopment, are different. Hypothesis for the question is that due to political-social conditions and different subjective assumptions of Malkam and Al-e Ahmad, in crisis observation and discovery, each of them has envisaged a different ideal society and reached contradictory responses. At the end, the synchronic notion of both thinkers on the phenomenon of underdevelopment has been emphasized and their ideas for change have been compared.

The aim of policy research is to provide scientific and operational advice to policymakers. Policy researches seek to assess the factors that influence policies and analyses the impacts of policies on society. Many different methods are utilized in this field. The complexities of the public policy environment and dimensions of policy issues require policy analysts to use appropriate methodological approaches. Among these methods, Meta synthesis by use of scientific and systematic methods combines the finding of researches in a particular issue and shows them to policy makers. This method has a key role in explanation of various aspects of complicated policy problems, facilitates policy learning and notifies policy makers. Recognizing the need to develop the methodology of Meta synthesis, this article aims to explain the Meta synthesis, procedures and benefits, and provides examples of the application of this method in public policy.

Regional organizations are used by countries as a means to achieve strategic interests and act for based on common interests and goals. SCO was formed in 2001 with the participation of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This article attempts to analyze why Islamic Republic of Iran should consider itself as an ideal candidate for SCO membership, despite the member countries indicating that they have no plans to accept new member in the near future. Nevertheless, Iran should continue to pursue its case for membership, as it will benefit both Iran and the SCO members. In order to understand and analyze this, the article discusses the origin and growth of SCO and its emergence as a regional international organization. It identifies the potential benefits that Iran can gain by becoming the full member of SCO. It also analyses Islamic Republic of Iran’s present concerns and challenges it would have to confront after obtaining full membership.

Ancient Silk Road had been a linkage point for great empires and in spite of being formed on economic basis, it was transformed to a route for cultural and civilizational interactions. As a result, countries of West Asia and Central Asia (as a sub-region) became the heirs to a great and viable culture. In this paper, historical background of Silk Road and its economic and cultural implications will be discussed and then we try to show that by reviving the Silk Road, integration in West Asia would become a serious possibility, depriving extremists of a positive context for recruiting and growth and strengthening bases for the growth of cultural Iran and the tolerant nature inherent in it. Therefore a number of important theories in the study of regionalism is discussed and used as the theoretical foundation.

Iran has been constructed as “the enemy other” of the United States and this has had serious implications at various levels. The way in which Iran has been constructed through various metaphors in American media is the focus of this article. It is argued that applying specific metaphors about Iran and/or US-Iran relations together with their particular articulations, have led to representing Iran as the enemy of the United States and this has affected American public attitude towards Iran. On the basis of discourse theory and metaphor theory and by applying metaphorical analysis, the article shows how major American newspapers, namely, the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal have made a specific narrative of Iran and its relations with the US possible. The analysis shows how the meaning structure is similar in all three newspaper despite their rather different political attitudes.

The neoliberal approach in the international political economy is highly significant, desirable and efficient for resolving the political conflict and regional crises. A considerable number of conflicts between the West and Iran since 1990s surfaced and expanded mainly due to the Iranian nuclear activities. This paper attempts to explain the economic backgrounds of US strategic action in dealing with Iran, its nuclear diplomatic process and the P5+1 countries based on the neoliberal economic policy-making. The closing of the negotiations on July 14, 2015 and the release of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was a reflection of the neoliberal approach to economic sanction policy-making and the Iranian countermeasures to control the situation and overcome the sanctions. The main reason behind the success of the talks and the nuclear program lies in utilization of neoliberal mechanisms in the international political economy. Such an approach managed to set the ground for achievement of joint cooperation so as to reduce the threats facing nations. Power and security in the neo-liberal approach to economic policy are realized through facilitated collaboration of actors for gaining profit. Throughout this process, the analysis forms within political and economic spheres builds on an organic relationship between the components of international politics and the international economy. According to this approach, any stepwise resolution to the nuclear issues is an outcome of global economic political requirements. On the other hand, the nuclear negotiations can be interpreted as platforms such as strategic confidence-building. The current nuclear diplomacy adopted by Iran and the P5+1 suggests that the political economic elements and the strategic requirements of the Islamic Republic of Iran are directly correlated with settlement of the Iranian nuclear activities. The fundamental question of this research is: On what approach and implications the Vienna agreement under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has been occurred. In this respect, the hypothesis in this paper stresses the fact that such a trend originates from the Iranian economic imperatives and the strategic security of P5+1 countries. For that purpose, the neoliberal political economy approach was employed.