HORIZONS OF SECURITY
Year:2014 | Volume:7 | Issue:22|Papers Count:6

Domesticating human sciences has always been one of the concerns since the Islamic Revolution of Iran, regarding to its hidden values, which can strengthen the process of identity-making in the political system. The key point here is the Islamic meta-theories which pave the way for other theories, approaches, and even various tactics, especially in the defense and foreign policy issues. Every theory possesses its own meta-theory which forms them and highlights their fundamental principles. Three variables are also significant in metatheories, including ontology, epistemology, and anthropology. They, in fact, determine how to perceive the world and how to look at man and the philosophy of its being. In order to understand, explain, and prescribe the security standpoint of the IR of Iran, it is required to study the ontology of the IR of Iran profoundly. This paper studies the ontology of the security school of the IR of Iran. It proposes that this security school places a premium on the non-materialistic, identity-related, and software factors rather than on the physical, materialistic, and hardware factors. In this security school, spiritual and identity-making factors are hugely important to the point that they form a border between self and the other.

Thinking about security problems resulted in the emergence of various security schools. Each of these schools, regarding their bases and attitudes, has dealt with conceptualization, explanation of the aspects, and analyzing the theoretical frameworks of security. The result has been a collection of ideas, methods, and case studies, known as security studies. This paper intends to analyze, evaluate, and criticize the current security schools. The research findings show that the security schools are based on the modern ontological, epistemological, and anthropological theories. Regarding the objective issues, they belong to western, European, and American societies. The current criticisms are mostly intra-paradigmatic rather than ontological and anthropological criticisms rooted in a different cognitive attitude. Intra-paradigmatic criticisms have not been able to offer a solution to the existing insecurities in the world. It is necessary to propose theories derived of a different security paradigm. The negligence and incompetence of western security schools in all aspects of security let the emergence of new theories and schools.

Regarding the function of methodology in sciences, in its general conception, especially humanities, fundamental studies to find a methodology is one of the ways to achieve Islamic Humanities in all fields, especially security school and studies. A proper methodology derived of Islamic teachings possesses the capability and capacity to perceive and discover unchangeable divine rules and conventions. It relies on the assured attribution and clear religious reasons rather than the individualistic concepts which are based on relativism. This paper claims that the desirable methodology to discover the truth of science is the very dynamic jurisprudence relying on the four sources of finding Islamic rules. This methodology exists in security school and studies. Using other proposed ideas, this proposal is offered and explained by grand Islamic scholars and students of transcendent wisdom in explanation of Islam’s jurisprudence methodology in humanities in order to achieve a methodology in security studies which is based on the security school of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Various security schools, pertaining to their theoretical and meta-theoretical bases as well as their geographical context, have theorized security differently and prescribed about the enhancement of security in countries and the world. Accordingly, this paper, while emphasizing on a domestic view on security in Iran, intends to study the conceptual possibility or refusal of “IR of Iran’s Security School”, adopting discussions in philosophy of science. Studying its conceptual possibility and refusal is a reply to the possibility of “domestic science as subject” and “religious science”. The result will be two. First, an “Iranian Security School” which is derived from the refusal of religious science and approval of domestic science as subject; and second, “Islamic-Iranian School” which is achieved by proving the possibility of religious science and domestic science. The paper maintains that the second model can align with the “IR of Iran’s Security School”; however, for achieving this, some requirements, mentioned here, must be fulfilled.

After the Acceptance of resolution 598, on September 17, 1988, Imam Khomeini addressed the commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and introduced the idea of comprehensive defense. He stated that the IRGC and veterans of the Sacred Defense Period (Iran-Iraq War) should be assigned to explain, develop, and execute this strategy. Offered to provide security for the Islamic government, it is flexible and evolutionary, and can be developed in terms of the contemporary situations. Its flexibility is more noticeable after the Imam Khomeini passed away as the new aspect of soft defense and security has been added up by the Supreme Leader due to the enemies’ soft attack against the country. However, it seems that recognizing all aspects of the strategy and determining and explaining all its aspects, factors, and indexes requires great efforts; however, the IRGC and other military or security organizations have taken great steps to better implement the strategy. Therefore, the main subject in this paper is the comprehensive defense and its conceptual model from the standpoints of Imam Khomeini and the Supreme Leader. The paper uses a descriptive-analytical method to identify the concept better. It also intends to learn more about the defense view of Imam Khomeini and the Supreme Leader as the government’s defense strategy to provide security. Finally, it succeeds in determining the strategy’s aspects, factors, general indexes and presenting its conceptual model.

This paper studies the nature and concept of security in the Islamic republic of Iran, analyzing the ideas of the founder of the IR of Iran, Imam Khomeini, and the Constitution. The objective and means of providing security by the IR of Iran is highly distinctive. The nature and concept of security in the IR of Iran are totally different from the interpretations of security in other political systems. This originates from the hypothesis that any political system can be unique in terms of its ontology and understanding of the nature and concept of security. Therefore, the paper studies the above-mentioned literature and answers the main question of the paper. It concludes that security in the IR of Iran has a justice-based nature, contrary to current and classic readings of security in other political systems which rely on power; consequently, security in the IR of Iran is a cultural-religious, global, sustainable, inclusive, and comprehensive concept consistent with the bases and ontology of the political system in the country.