Political Quarterly
Year:2006 | Volume:- | Issue:71|Papers Count:17

Our objective in this article is to explain democratic transitions by employing some concepts from the theory of mobilization, especially the notion of "transitional Situations".From such a theoretical perspective three D) ajor questions arise:1) what constitutes a transitional situation as distinct from a non-transitional one?2) How is a transitional situation brought about?3) More importantly, what factors lead the transitional situation to a democratic outcome rather than to a non-democratic one?Thus a transitional situation may end up in the reconsolidation of the existing authoritarian regime, in the establishment of another undemocratic one or in the rise of a democracy.To answer the last question, three factors will be taken into account: 1) the social conditions of mobilization in the transitional situation; i.e. what type of social conditions- in terms of the civil society and mass society debate- will push the transitional situation towards a democratic alternative? 2) the agents of political mobilization in the transitional situation; i.e. what type of opposition forces are active and how do democratic opposition groups weigh against nondemocratic ones? 3) the political conditions of mobilization in the transitional situation in terms of the structure of the regime, the unity or internal conflicts of the ruling elites and the likelihood of its demise or persistence through time. To empirically support the argument we will examined some evidence in relation to transitions from communism in East Europe and Central Asia. The variety of regimes emerging after the transitions in the 27 countries once forming the Republics of Soviet Union and its satellite states has provoked much sociological thought as to the causes of the different outcomes. We have tried to present an explanation of the different paths and outcomes of the transitions in terms of the three major variables mentioned above.

This article analyses the effects of post-zionism in Israeli, society and state. By using the discoursive analysis in social theory, the author argues that discourses such as post-zionism are the results of socio-political and economic conditions (processes), but their evolution is basically the result of the mental and value activities of their proponent, rather than the socio-political processes.Thus, while discourses are mental and isolated phenomenon, the socio-political processes are dynamic. Discourses as such are not able to change the socio-political realities and their predictive power tend to fail. This theoretical framework is applied to the case of post-Zionist discourse and Israeli socio-political realities.

Concepts are considered as the tools of political analysis, and without recognition of the concepts, particularly the concept of state, there is no possibility for us to have knowledge of the world of politics. Parallel to the external developments, concepts are also growing fatter and more dynamic in modern age. This development may be explained through two approaches: approach of interpretive sciences and approach of political thought. In the first approach, methods such as hermeneutics, modern phenomenology, linguistics, discourses and signifier-signified position, semiology, chronology and foundation breaking are employed. In this approach development in concepts is taken for granted.In the secondapproach, there is a kind of similarity between the ways of development in the concepts of the politics and the concept of state.This article discusses the matter of multilinear relation between concepts and evidences in political thought.

In this article, thanks to phenomenological approach, an attempt is made to account the correlation between globalization and neo-regionalism. In the process, the finding of this scholar convinced him to reject antithetical correlation between the two. Instead, he argues neo-regionalism is and ecopolitical current to adjust globalization. In the final analysis, it is argued both currents are reinforcing one another in transforming the underlying structure of global system.

For the past quarter of a century Iran has advocated the setting up of a security regime in the Persian Gulf by littoral states that excludes foreign powers. This paper examines the reasons behind Iran's opposition to foreign participation in Persian Gulf security arrangements; the steps Iran has taken to gain the support of other littoral states for its scheme, and the prospects for Iran's success in achieving its desired security arrangements. I argue that regime ideology and a desire to dominate the Persian Gulf are the main factors explaining Iranian opposition to a role for foreigners in the security arrangements in the Persian Gulf. Further, this paper contends that given the opposition of other Persian Gulf states to Iranian views the chances of Iran's success are practically naught. The only thing that the pursuit of these views has resulted in is the exclusion of Iran from the US-sponsored security arrangements in the Persian Gulf.  

This research intents to: explain the theory and practice of fascism in Italy an Germany, and so it tries to recognise the ideology of classical fascism. Studding the historical grounds of emerging of fascism, it explains the raising ideology of fascism in nature, resource and contents of thought, and by looking to foundations of classical fascism's ideology, it studies natural history of human existence, nation and race, geopolitics, political economy, and then it explains fascism's militarism, stateism, it's opposition to democracy, liberalism, individualism and socialism. It also explains corporativist state, and after final evolution, it goes to conclude the searching in fascism.

Since wisdom and religionism have been two fundamental attributes of Islamic Revolution, this revolution can be evaluated as the turning-point for thought transformation in Iran, as so many radical changes (quantitative or qualitative) have been taking pa1ce in academic and scientific centers of the post-revolution society of Iran.Although the trend of changes in thought in the country has proceeded lately in favor of Islamists and religionists who have been enjoying historical and identical background, and following the victory of Islamic Revolution facing a broad domain of practice and experience.Since the Islamic Revolution has been arisen in both internal and external dimensions in against the current state (conditions), its retention as appropriate capabilities to be institutionalized government named "Islamic Republic of Iran" requires to acquire aims and objective:; in both precited dimensions. This requires creation of knowledge within the society as a matter. Creation of knowledge is the only way to realize the ultimate goal of the Islamic Revolution which is keeping pace with new human science outcomes, nourished by the religious insight and also driving the Islamic Republic of Iran to establish a new course of the Islamic civilization aiming at the new horizon of progress.This essay, providing an applied analysis about the requirements of knowledge creation in Iran, aims to study the position of science and knowledge in the country over 25 years after the victory of the revolution and introduces ten major factors regarding the creation of knowledge therein.

The twin objectives of this research project are to examine the security costs of political and economic corruption in developing countries, and to present and an overview of the most effective anti-corruption strategies as implemented by various governments and intergovernmental organizations. Political and economic corruption can increasingly be seen in a large number of states with different political, socio-economic and ideological characteristics. One cannot argue that the more developed countries are less corrupt that the less developed states. In 2005, industrialized countries like Italy (with the score of 5.0) and Russia (with the score of 2.4) had higher degrees of corruption than developing countries such as Chile (with the .score of 7.3) and the United Arab Emirates (with the score of 6.2), based on the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The index ranges from 0 (the most corrupt) to 10 (the most clean). Given the fact that corruption, in various forms, have become widespread in the world, it is not surprising that ant-corruption campaigns have become popular to ease the growing concerns in the international community. With a careful examination of the causes and consequences of corruption, we can hope to formulate effective ant-corruption strategies to deal with one of the most serious factor of economic and political underdevelopment. International organizations such as the World Bank have identified political and financial corruption as one of the most disturbing issues for public administration and a major obstacle for sustainable development. Poorly designed and incompetently implemented economic liberalization and privatization policies will significantly increase corruption. On the other hand, a lack of economic reforms will bring about opportunities for the corrupt elites to engage in illicit and unlawful activities which are detrimental to the public interests. There is a need for a fair and efficient-government (i.e., "a good government" which is not only concerned with greater economic development but also with eliminating corruption with the help of civil society and the private sector.

Information Technology (IT), on the one hand, as "freedom technologies", expands people's capabilities to achieve datas and to communicate with other people, and on the other hand makes it possible for government to filter Internet sites and, upon the covering of confronting with non-ethical materials, block the path to considerable numbers of sites to confront with political moves add views, and to control them. "Social context" is a special matrix of social, including political, relations. The society in which existing relationships have characteristics of respect for democracy and human rights has different "social context" in comparison with the one in which characteristics of dictatorship and fascism governs. In the latter case IT would be. deployed to control social relations, and people, and in the former one legitima9' of government would be based on people's consent. Better understanding of aforementioned points needs to consider, in the present article, the concept of sovereignty, IT and its social impacts, IT's relationship with sovereignty, and the impact of globalization on this relationship.

World-System theory is not usually seen as a particularly "international relations" theory, but is often considered as a sociological theory with implications for international relations. It might be, however, seen as a kind of international critical theory .as well. In this case, it is clearly a non-mainstream IR theory that goes beyond the mere description and explanation of the "reality" of international life to include critical reflections about it and also to criticize the theoretical and meta-theoretical foundations of IR as a discipline. This article evaluates the world-system theory as a critical approach to international relations. It first examines the meta-theoretical foundations of the theory. The second part deals with its understanding of the interstate system including its constitution, its components and the prospects for its transformation. The article concludes that art ontological characteristic of the theory, i.e., its structuralist approach that underestimates the role of agents in international life seriously constraints its potential as a critical theorizing of international relations.

Recently, There is an increasing appeal for reflexive mythology in social science, Its theorists offer and hybrid of some aspects of empiricism and interpretative and critical theory. This synthesis goes beyond them, and make a new sensitive methodology that avoids all defaults of those methodologies. Also, reflexive methodology rejects such dualisms as agenly/structure, objective//subjective and conscious/unconscious.Author examines the theoretical consequences of this new approach and -makes some remarks on its theorists. Article's hypotheses is "reflexive methodology speaks about the capacity of individuals to reflect on their thoughts and ations, this reflection makes new theoretical foundation for justifying the volutntaristic actions." In this regard, he talks about the relationship between reflexivity and modernity.

The Lasswellian aspect of public policy which concentrates on the importance of global trends and-processes in policy-makers concerns and views, construct the sore of this article. In this regard, a new framework for policy cycle with a vast "Inside-outside" view is what the article talks for.

From a "Political Economy" perspective, some major changes in the Islamic Republic of Iran, different from the nature and content of the Islamic Revolution, have been occurred. These changes, during four periods, from modernism to fundamentalism and traditionalism in the sphere of culture and ideology, from industrial capitalism and bourgeois orientation in economy to commercial capitalism and non-bourgeois orientation, and in the political sphere from liberal democracy and political pluralism to populism and theocracy, have been formed. This essay trys to explain the process of formation of intellectual trends in association with economic tendencies and power blocks (the relations of ideas to interests and political positions), and evaluate the possibility or impossibility of the realization of development and democracy in Iran.