Political Quarterly
Year:2016 | Volume:45 | Issue:4|Papers Count:18

Political participation is an important factor for political survival of the society and government. This concept is a symbol showing people’s presence at actions of government, and it is a substantial index for people’s satisfaction in democratic countries. Election can be the most important symbol of political participation. This is why people’s presence in election is carefully investigated by governments, because it’s rising or dropping trend shows some important points regarding people’s viewpoints towards the government. Several parameters can affect people’s participation. In this article, we study the effects of social networks on participation by survey methodology and questionnaire tool. The results approved the main hypothesis of this work and it was observed that there is a reciprocal relationship between the use of social networks and participation.

This study explains the formation of Islamist discourse in Turkey and its impact on its foreign policy (with an emphasis on Justice and Development Party -AKP). The findings which are based on discourse analysis of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, indicate that the Islam-minded modern Turkey actors (in AKP) could weaken one of the main aspects of Kemalist ideology in a democratic and peaceful way: Unconditional compliance with the policies of the West, especially supporting Israel. Islamist discourse in Turkey is characterized by such factors as coexistence between Islamism, modernism and democracy in this country. AKP’s rule and Neo-Ottomanism arising out of it as a foreign policy doctrine, has given rise to relative tension in relations between Turkey and Israel. The otherness of this discourse is not necessarily anti-Western and anti-Israeli, but it can coexist with the West and its world policy which is categorically directed to supporting Israel, as the trade volume of Turkey and Israel not only has not decreased, but has also expreinced a slight increase in AKP era.

Dialogue contextualization in the 1st Pahlavi cultural policies, refers to the intellectual issues, and relevant discussions during that period introduced by influential cultural-political figures to the first Pahlavi era and the mindset of the society. Dialogue contextualization in this era, had a function beyond usual because the Pahlavi family strongly needed it to influence people’s minds and attitudes to facilitate their desired actions. Furthermore, it was used to guarantee their legitimacy. 1st Pahlavi succeeded to introduce itself to intellectuals of the era as an unavoidable necessity and the best possible choice for government in addition to engaging some of the intellectuals in a wide range of activities thereby preparing the ground for cultural transformations. The current article aims to prove that this discourse in its relation with the mentioned intellectual flow has the nature of “effect to cause”. In other words, 1st Pahlavi was provided the ground for a special kind of intellectual flow during that period. This article by clarifying the reasons for this association, introduces attitude and fundamental contradiction of this discourse as the cause of inefficiency and failure of those policies, the contradiction which described indispensable meaning and realization of civilization and progress as Secularism, and the unavoidable introduction of improvement and development as Dictatorship.

This article aims to explain how Islamic fundamentalism in Central Asia could challenge Afghan national security following the withdrawal of international forces. In this paper, the authors focusing on two jihadi Islamists groups in Central Asia, called the IMU (Islamic movement of Uzbekistan) and Islamic Jihad Union (Islamic Jihadism of Uzbekistan) believe that high adaptability in the wake of forced migration in Waziristan, Pakistan, since 2001, soft structural changes that occurred over the years in these groups, and relationship with Jihadist groups in Waziristan, Pakistan contribute to the growing power of these groups. Such that the absence of a stable political institution by international forces in Afghanistan, and consequently the weakness and lack of clear strategy in the wake of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan, two- faction split between ethnic groups in northern Afghanistan, and lack of a charismatic leader on the one hand, as well as cohesion and solidarity among the Central Asian militant jihadi groups, on the other, has turned them into potentially dangerous groups. It can be a wake-up call for the region, in addition, it carries the signs of intentions of these groups to make Afghanistan insecure and to return to Central Asia. Our hypothesis in this paper is that the Central Asian Islamic fundamentalist groups, i.e. the Islamic Movement and Islamic Jihad Union, are serious threats to stability and security in Afghanistan and potentially dangerous for countries of the region in the wake of the withdrawal of international forces since 2014. This paper measures the probability of the hypothesis, that is, whether these groups are dangerous or not.

“Transition to democracy” is one of the significant results of social movements. Inefficient domination using hardware method by the control system led the West to encourage liberal democracy using software method in order to change non-democratic governments, referred to as “Transition Period” or velvet revolution- The approach of Transition theory holds that change is also necessary in Iran (after Revolution). Huntington describes the emergence of reformers as a precondition for Transition Period; accordingly, the formation of reform front in Iran opened the door for fundamental changes. However, the ground was not fully prepared for this transition and change due to nature of Islamic system and its structural difference with other systems. Therefore, the current paper aims to examine the reason of transition failure in Iran using explanatory and qualitative method.

Nowadays, one of the main goals of each organization, person or profession is having a good image and implications associated with it, intelligence and basically a good brand. Generally, political advertising and image management or management of political image has been one of the fundamental principles for democracy and modern society. Planning of public image needs a careful control of information. The concept of branding in marketing means labeling of a product and its recognition. The same meaning extends to political science and political and electoral marketing. This paper aims to examine the changing patterns of political communication through conceptualization of political branding and marketing. Also this paper explains the concept of branding and political branding and the change in meaning of politics. Basically, political branding is the changing pattern of political participation.

The current study aims to examine the relationship of Socrates with classic tragedy and assess these two cases. The rise of poetic tragedy in the form of dramas of “Aeschylus” was accompanied with periods of enhancement of Socrates. Socrates got familiar with the dramas of Aeschylus in his youth in Athen. Being inspired by the religious content of tragedy based on fate, justice and righteousness as well as the elements of sorrow and pain embedded in it which give rise to compassion and fear, Socrates changed his trial to drama; furthermore, his drama and its sorrowful end is an undeniable reality distinguishing it from other dramas which are characterized by presence of imagination.

One of the best examples of Islamic government is Religious Democracy, with a focus on key factors of Islam and public. Religious Democracy has several configurability capacities in the envelope of ideas perceived by Shia-Sunni. In post-Islamic revolution Iran, one of its forms has been realized and undoubtedly can inspire the Muslim Society in line with preparing the ground for the establishment of “Islamic Unified Nation”. If we consider the main elements of the realization of religious democracy in categories such as governance, people, the link between religion and politics, wisdom, leadership, law and justice, then we can identify the core elements of the Islamic government by recognition of Sunni scholars’ thoughts, and evaluate whether the political thought of Sunni thinkers is capable of formation of Islamic Government based on religious democracy model to become an exemplar. The question we are going to answer through this article is that: “is it possible to extract different models of religious democracy by focusing on the political thoughts of the Sunnis?” To answer this question, the assumption is that: “there is initial capacity to develop a model of religious democracy in the political thoughts of contemporary Sunni Mutazili scholars." This research is a qualitative research performed by descriptive-analytical method. This article analysis is in-text and based on the samples of Sunni contemporaries. The data collection method is the study of library resources.

By using a model of Development, called Developmental State, which appeared during the history of development in East Asia region, the current essay tries to present a review on possibility of Iran’s transition to economic development. It is supposed that the ground is prepared for Iran’s transition to development through effective state intervention in economy. Unlimited access of Iran to a very rich material and human resources including oil and natural gas, and also human capital, are among the main factors that can support the state to reach its developmental goals. Meanwhile, the possibility to transition to the development in Iran through state intervention in economy is faced with a critical risks and challenges which originate from special features of Iran’s economy which are inefficiency of state-owned economy and the way of oil revenues’ expenditure in economy by the state.

Carl Schmitt (1985-1888), is one of the most controversial legal and political thinkers and one of the leading theorists of the twentieth century. Schmitt’s views can be criticized from some aspects: ignoring friends and enemies, reducing human and dominance of an individualistic perspective, de-politicization and de-humanization (loss of identity of the subject due to political suspension, emergence of indifference and meaninglessness and dominance of the spirit of consumerism), the risk of losing political experience, and no attention to ethical nature of political issue. Influenced by a realistic approach, Schmidt believes that government and politics are inseparably linked. Government is like a superpower which has an autonomous nature and makes all political decisions. Basically the border between politics and non-politics is determined by government's decision in making a distinction between friend/ enemy. The distinction between friend/ enemy can be considered as the political core of Schmidt’s intellectual discourse. Distinction between friend/ enemy as a quasi-transcendental theme specifies political theme, based on which existence of a real enemy and coexistence with other political entities will be assumed. The enemy here is not derived from personal hatred or enmity, but is a general sense (our enemies) and refers to a community of people fighting against another group, merely a public enemy and an enemy in the most obvious sense in relation to other people. This paper aims to present the criticisms directed to politics from a liberal perspective, an understanding of the concept of political issue and its limitations in political analysis and understanding fundamental aspects.

Today, South Korea has become a successful pattern for less- developed countries. This article attempts to explain its successful experience in economic development in the framework of pattern of non-democratic developmental state. In this pattern developed by Adrian Leftwich, the main focus is on political-sociological context affecting economic development. The main characteristics of developmental states examined here are developmental elites, state autonomy, effective bureaucracy and weak civil society.

The present study aims to examine how to create alternative methodology in social sciences by using qualitative approach of grounded theory and implementing focus group workshops and performing semi-structured interviews with expert professors in social science methodology. The method of the present research is qualitative approach of grounded theory; focus group workshops were held and semi-structured interviews with expert professors in methodology were carried out in several groups during 1392-93. Necessity of using qualitative method in this research is recognition of background factors. Data analysis of research and the theoretical model suggest that causal and structural conditions of cultural and methodological diversity, confusion in the choice of methodology and the lack of any existing methodology in the social sciences, lead to different strategies for combining qualitative and quantitative methods, and establishing interaction between existing methodologies affected by confounding conditions such as interaction between subject and method, and taking into account everything in its context, lead to establishment of alternative and native methodologies. In this article, model of alternative and native methodology in the social sciences will be presented.

The post-2011 uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been the awakening of the Arab population who have lived under the rule of dictators for more than four decades, as the post-colonial period. The world has; furthermore, witnessed nothing less than the awakening of the dignity, civil and democratic rights, social and economic justice, national self-determination, Sharia legitimacy of authority and, ultimately pluralism in the framework of a political system during the "post post-colonial" period. This was not the first time people in the MENA had taken to the streets demanding fundamental changes. The first Arab Awakening, as a new pan-Arab consciousness, reflected an outbreak of nationalist sentiment against European masters. The desire to create one pan-Arab state, derived from the Arab national ethnicity, from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire’s Arabic-speaking provinces was dashed at the altar of British and French ambition. These states, mostly successors of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, maintained a supra-state identity, despite inter-Arab leadership competition during the 1950s and 1960s. The second wave of Arab Awakening rose against Arab governments that were doing the bidding of colonial powers. The differentiating factor was between Arab nationalist republics, usually quasi-socialist and Pan-Arabist in orientation. Now, there are numerous signs that the next wave of revolutionary upsurge may soon be on the agenda in the Persian Gulf Sheikhdoms that could be entitled the Fourth Arab Awakening.

Armenians of Iran account for a part of the Armenian diaspora, scattered around the world and have a symbolic homeland named Armenia, on the one hand, and they have shared history with other Iranians over the centuries, on the other, and Iran is considered as their real home country. As an Iranian ethnic group, they have had a brilliant role in very eventful periods of our history especially since the last decades of 19th century. And today also, appropriate context must be provided for realizing their capacities to solve domestic and international problems with which Iran is dealing. In the current paper, we have tried to find out: "Considering the presence of Armenian diaspora in Iran, what are the opportunities and threats facing the Islamic Republic of Iran?" Our hypothesis is that: "The presence of a part of Armenian diaspora in Iran, considering the capacities and abilities of the larger Armenian community in different parts of the world, will provide Islamic Republic of Iran with opportunities in the spheres of domestic and foreign policy, which are more significant than probable threats in terms of number and importance." This subject has been investigated in the article using descriptive-analysis approach.