Political Quarterly
Year:2017 | Volume:47 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:17

The Indian Ocean has received new attention over the recent years because of its economic and strategic importance. The region is seen as a theatre for great power rivalries mainly among the United States, China, and India. In this regard, this paper assesses how the Indian Ocean region is coping with the challenges of global powers such as the U.S, India and China and its very different effects on states and ports around the ocean's rim. Therefore, it seems that the Indian Ocean is becoming a more critical area in the 21st century, when measured by the international energy and commerce that crosses its waters. It is important to emphasize that the Indian Ocean's strategic economic value is linked primarily to global trade; less than one-quarter of its trade is among the littoral states, and the economic value of coastal subsistence activities is a modest portion of national income. In view of this importance, the present article reviews the importance of the Marine Zone, dimensions and dynamics of each of the countries under study, with a focus on the United States of America.

Shari'atnameh writing as a prescription in Political Jurisprudence has been of particular importance in Islamic political thought. This paper tries to focus on thought of Fadhlollah ibn Ruzbahan Khonji, the last Shari'atnameh writer in Middle Ages in consolidation of power era of Shiite government, Shah Ismail I, Safavid king and the decline of the caliphate. The paper tries to answer this question: In view of Ruzbahan Khonji, what are the problems found within society? And what solution does he present to such problems.Despite existence of various factors, with respect to Spragens theory crisis in understanding of political theory, the current paper assumes that Ruzbahan Khonji believes that Major crisis of society in the 9th and 10th centuries is contributed to the development of different sects. Furthermore, the kings who came to power in this era were irreligious and they neglected the implementation of Sharia laws in Muslim territories. In his opinion, the reason for this crisis is Lack of religious leader (Khalife or Imam) giving rise to ignorance of law of God. Thus, the return of the glorious Islamic Caliphate era or return of Imam Mahdi, is the the ideal of community, a solution to the crisis, and a guidance to rulers and their familiarization with the rules of conduct about the legal and Sharia laws. This study is based on documents and data collection and Information System Analysis.

Great powers politics have had great effects on terrorism in the Middle East. Regarding this fact, this article aims to examine the effects of U.S Middle Eastern policy on regional terrorism. The main question of this research is that what are the effects of U.S Middle Eastern Policy on terrorism in the Middle East? To answer this question, the main hypothesis of this article is that the militarization of the region by U.S Middle Eastern Policy has empowered terrorist groups.

The most important issue raised in political jurisprudence is electoral or essay- based determination of the supreme leader. It is essebtial to examine the works of scholars who believe in the theory of velayat-e faqih in order to clarify the nature of the people's vote in terms of selection, essay or recognition of the ruler. The current paper aims to determine the nature of "Creation" and granting leadership by the people of the province as a condition for the legitimacy of the Supreme Leader as well as a complement of the divine legitimacy. Using descriptive and analytical approach, we addressed various issues and concluded that "Creation" or "choice", according to the nature and role of "allegiance" in this theory implies, in fact, that the "Creation" of the fully qualified jurist and his selection for the office of the province has the nature of "diagnosis"; and is directly done by the people or through a council of experts.

Information technology as a new and very efficient tool in human communications has multiple functions which affects public affair management. Along with growth and spread of such technologies in the contemporary world, this function simultaneously has spread and is becoming an important paradigm in management and regional administration all over the world. On the other hand, good governance as an old discussion about government's efficiency has been reconsidered over the recent years and has played an important role in state's legitimacy. Due to the extension of volume and quality of society, and given the fact that various parts of society expect services, it has been even more difficult to implement this type of governance. It seems that indexes of good governance could be run only through application of new information and communication technologies. Meanwhile, this article pays attention to close relation between the new information and communication technologies and good governance over the recent years, aiming to examine the evolution of this concept under the influence of the mentioned technologies. So the main hypothesis of the cuurent article is evolution of good governance under the circumstances of establishing new instruments and methods influenced by information and communication technology.

In theoretical field, one of the most important science policy issues in Iranian society is the political implications of chaos. One can say for sure that even in the most turbulent political sciences, the concept of "state" exists. In practical area, one of the most practical obstacles to the development of civil society in Iran's modern history is the stability of the "difference" between "nation" and "state". The word "state" in ancient literature and today's written and spoken language has a variety of applications. However, due to ambiguity inherent in contemporary legal and political language in this area, it is necessary to address this shortcoming and to clarify the concept of "state" as far as possible. This in turn suggests the need to recognize that the concept of "state" was a political thought in middle and old age. Therefore, in this paper we attempt to illustrate the concept of "state" in the political thought of the Middle and old ages. In this paper, the applied method is discourse. Among all the theories of discourse, discourse theory of Lakla and Mouffe takes a special place. The present study attempts to use the components presented in Lakla and Mouffe's theory of discourse, to review the concept of "state" in the political thought of the Middle and old (pre-Safavie) ages.

The issue of "self" and who "we" are against the "Other" West is one of the major topics of interest for contemporary Iranian intellectuals. With reference to the works of intellectuals who have written about this subject, it becomes clear that they have discussed the "Iranian Self" with different views rooted in special intellectual "tradition". The current article aims to examine the concept of "self" in terms of nationalist intellectual "tradition" particularly manifested in ideas of two contemporary Iranian thinkers: Ahmed Kasrawi and Fakhruddin Shadman. Thus, the main question raised here is: how did the above thinkers conceive the concept of "self" and upon which social and theoretical grounds did they found the concept of "self". Our hypothesis is that in the nationalist intellectual tradition, intellectuals" definition of the concept of "self" is formed based on reading intellectual teachings and "our" spiritual heritage, and also based on such similarities as Persian language; moreover, their stories of "Iranian self" life is based on Iranian historical narratives. The present paper is organized as follows. First, we address an examination of the views of Ahmed Kasrawi; second, we address an examination of the views of Fakhruddin Shadman. Finally, conclusion is presented.

Nowadays, science and technology is one of the most important elements that affect the international- scientific cooperation. Science and technology in general and diplomacy of science and technology in particular are among categories which have the ability and capacity of National Interest provision under any circumstance and play an important role as a remarkable component of the soft power in the economic, cultural, political and security fields in countries. The importance of science in foreign policy can be observed in the speech of Henry Kessinger, Advisor of National Security to Nicson, "There is nothing more international than science". In addition to the examination of the comparative performance and diplomacy position of science and technology in Iran and USA, the purpose of this research is also to review the situations and advantages of the above mentioned diplomacy for Iran foreign policy. This research aims to answer the question: "Is the function of science and technology diplomacy the same in Iran & USA?" The approach of this research is analytical-descriptive. The theoretical framework of this research is soft- power. Diplomacy of Science and Technology plays a major role in development and formation of international and regional coalitions. This type of diplomacy with benefiting from science and technology can manage the conflicts among countries and nations at the least cost.

Following the cold war and the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001, the term "fragile states" has gained increasing prominence in security debates and the international community turned his attention to the hows of engagement in such countries. These security concerns originate from several factors: emphasis on establishing peace and security and this growing recognition that development and security are interrelated and the stability of state plays an influential role in its development. The term "fragile state" refers to the weak states which are vulnerable to internal and external threats and have a poor government incapable of managing domestic affairs and foreign policy and even it self can be regarded as a threat to the security of state. The current study aims to investigate the effects of Iraq's fragile state on the security threats to the women of this country using indexes of "state fragility" and "human security". Many thinkers believe that the crisis and civil war in Iraq after 2003 are caused by failure in nation- state building process and weakness of Iraqi government in the maintenance of societal order and unity. The fragility of state in Iraq, during these years has crucially affected the human security specially security of women. This thesis seeks to clarify the role of fragile state of Iraq in exacerbating the crisis giving rise to serious threats to the security of women".

The main objective of this study is to identify Israel's security threats (especially the military threat posed by its nuclear weapons program), to assess the impact of these threats on regional security environment of the Middle East, and to recommend the formulation of strategies for coping with these threats. The main research questions are as follows: 1. What is the strategic vision and the principles of Israel's national security policies? 2. What are the characteristics of Israel's main security threats for the Middle East and in particular for the Islamic Republic of Iran? 3. What defense policies should the regional states formulate in order to eliminate these threats? The main conclusion is that Israel's security policies pose threats to the Middle East, but Netanyahu's government will not achieve its strategic goals due to reasons such as accumulative economic vulnerabilities caused by militarization, dependence on extra-regional powers, internal socioeconomic and political conflicts, augmented political role and activities of armed terrorist groups in the region, and ultimately the demise of unpopular and authoritarian governments in the Middle East. At a time when the Middle Eastern balance of power is changing in favor of governments, leaders and people who support freedom, democracy and socio-economic justice, inefficient policies of the advocates of militarism, aggression and warmongering will not succeed.

One of the bases for development of an Iranian theory of international relations is the intellectual and practical traditions found in the course of Iran's history. The ways in which Iranians have perceived and understood world politics, however, have not been monolithic and have changed in the course of time due to particular historical circumstances inside Iran at the regional and international levels. Yet, this article argues that one may see the persistence of some „realist‟ elements in many of these various perceptions. Exploring into these understandings may pave the way for the generation of "Iranian Realism" as an endogenous Iranian theory of international relations based on Iranian culture and historical experiences. It may also shed light on Iran's foreign policy behavior in different periods. The article shows that four main types of Iranian 'realism' can be recognized on the basis of Iranian politicians' attitude and their practice in foreign affairs. They include regional, submissive, pragmatic, and critical/confrontationist realisms.

Discourse of emancipation as an important part of discussion on social change has a special place in contemporary political thought. Connection of 'emancipation' with philosophy of history over the last two centuries mostly related to Hegelian tradition, has made it dependent on fundamental elements of this tradition. 'Dialectic' with different philosophical aspects is the main axis of such connection. This article studies the relation of dialectic with emancipation and difficulties which emerged from such relation, and tries to illustrate the necessity of criticism and transition beyond dialectic in order to attain more efficient theories to make emancipation possible.

The glorious and civilizing past of Islam and its current retardation is a problem that has preoccupied minds of many Islamic thinkers. Every one of these thinkers usually has addressesd this problem in accordance with his/her intellectual and philosophical thoughts. Muhammad Abid Jaberi in course of finding solution to get rid of Arab-Islamic limited mindset, has analyzed Arab-Islamic "tradition" and its "past", and with a historical and structural view, within critical rationalism framework, has recognized three systems of thought: explication, illumination and demonstrative episteme. Historicity and structural methodology has led him to deconstruct Arab-Islamic thinking area, while giving it structure. This article, after reviewing Jaberi thought, concludes that the existing historicity and structuralism in his thought has given his thought an ideal form, making it ideological; an ideology that results from modern scientific, historicity and structuralism of Jaberi's view.

The inability of liberal ideas in correct understanding and lack of attention to the characteristics of the political antagonism has led most theorists to describe the current situation as a Post- Political Era. Why have populist extreme right parties (the area of the deep crisis of political identity) or al-Qaeda been able to achieve success? Chantal Mouffe responding to such crises, mention the necessity of the era of "post-democratic" which should be fully inclusive and comprehensive. In fact, this understanding of politics, which is mainly due to the centrality of the Aristotelian problematic aspects of normative political philosophy, political and moral distinction between morality and politics and the common good does not exist. The current paper aims to examine concepts, analytical formulation and central visions of Mouffe's view on modernity and liberal discourse, ontological distinction between the political and politics, the status of the subject and the role of citizens in radical democracy.