Research in Theoretical Politics
Year:2009 | Volume:NEW | Issue:6|Papers Count:8

The discourse of ‘Islamic Revival’ is the first influential reaction to Modernity. Opposing the secular modernists, they tried to develop and establish their own discourse, supporting rationalism, justice, freedom, equality, gradual changes and reforms, councils, parliamentary government system, adapting to Islamic Law (Shari‘a), and so on.In fact, the discourse of ‘Islamic Revival’ that developed in the period of Qajar from the inside of the domestic changes in Islamic countriesas attempted to offer a religious understanding of the ways of confronting the issues challenging Islamic societies (including Iran), and stressed the necessity of taking actions about and reactions to the modern identity. The Consequences and effects of modernity on political, economic, social, and cultural sectors of the Iranian society made the theorists of the discourse redefine traditions, models and institutions related to the traditional life, and clarify their relations to the concepts such as rationalism, freedom, equality, progress and law, in confrontation with the concepts emerging from the condition of the new civilization.

Iranians and the Greek came to have contacts with each other very soon in line with expanding their territories. In spite of the dominance of politico-military aspects, the political and the philosophical-religious mutual effects should not be neglected. As far as their early contacts concerns, it was the Greeks who were influenced more by Iranians' teachings, and their political and philosophical-religious manners. In the first part of this article the Greeks' main speculations, focusing on Athenians and Iranians' political and philosophical-religious teachings is analyzed.

In this article, first, the main characteristics of new critical theory (NCT) is described as a response to postmodernism and a return to the early Frankfurt School. NCT challenges pessimism and Skepticism of postmodernism and post - critical thinking and revives radical tradition. of critical theory of course NCT is also concerns about recent developments and wants to accomodate it, without assimilations with it simultaneously, NCT adheres principals and take refuge in reformism. So, NCT tries to compromise continuity and discontinuity, Finally NCT seeks for a radical solution for ills of late capitalism and for this matter goes beyond Habermasian and postmodern reconstructive approach.

Political Thought is usually applied to the commentaries on political Ideas and concepts. There should, however, be a distinction between political ideas and the commentaries and explanation of such ideas. In fact such commentaries should be called “Political Theories”, for they explain political thoughts and concepts and elaborate on issues regarding normative thought. In this article, after discussing some major political theories, a paradigmatic theory is introduced.

The question of the present paper regards Hanna Arnedt’s ideas about human action. Is “action”, in Arnedt’s thought, merely an answer to the problems of the contemporary man, or what? The hypothesis is that Arnedt has an existentialist approach to “action”, and offers it as a solution of disastrous crises upon the contemporary man. To test the hypothesis, we begin with the study of the concept of “action” in Arnedt’s thought, then we will see what existentialism is, and what its main principles are, and finally we will show the relationship between existentialist thoughts and Arnedt’s approach, contrasting her approach to “action” with the main principles of existentialism already made clear.

The subject matter of the present article is the interaction of national sovereignty with the transnational one in the context of globalization. This study shows that, national sovereignty is not threatened by globalization in itself. Rather, it, maintening its identity, acquires a global identity, so they can coexist with each other. Globalization does not take place merely from above, but there is a new form known as "globalization from below" which lessens the pressures of "globalization from above". Interactive view of the Islamic Republic of Iran can have such influence, and can lessen the pressures of globalization, and positively contribute to transnational sovereignty. Examples of such a view are "dialogue of civilizations", and "public diplomacy".

This paper aims to show that, during the past four decades, the literature on Rentier State, contrary to popular opinion, has not been consistent, whether in content or in methodology. Based on their methodological framework, the studies have been classified into two distinct types. The first generation of studies emerged in 1970s, but their failure at explaining the situation of oil-rich countries and clarifying the consequences of fall in oil incomes sever criticisms. The criticisms in connection with the first wave of the studies provided a ground to revise the methodology, and the way of conceptualizing foreign rents and their assessments. This resulted, particularly since 1990s, in the second wave of studies a wave that could be considered as revisionism. This approach brought new variables into the studies. It paid more attention to the historical background of oil-rich countries and the historical periods when oil incomes raised (with respect to the various stages of formation of the government and the regime in power). It focused on the interrelationship between oil rent and social and political condition of these countries, avoiding structural look to the oil rents. Some of the supporters of the new approach proposed new criteria for evaluation of oil incomes. This approach offered the possibility of more complex analyses, especially in the areas of political stability and democratic transition in the oil-rich countries, analyses that better explain different experiences of the oil-dependant states.