FOREIGN RELATIONS
Year:2011 | Volume:3 | Issue:11|Papers Count:10

Arms control and designing of global and regional security regimes are the most important issues in the field of strategic studies. This article proposes that strategic stability and systemic equilibrium are causally related to the formation of security regimes. In international politics and Middle East studies, several questions about barriers to the formation of such regimes have been posed. In this respect and given his assumptions, the author argues that systemic equilibrium and strategic stability are necessary conditions for the establishment of an arms control regime in the Middle East. Then, the author emphasizes that the main obstacles to the formation and sustainability of an arm control regime in the region are structural disequilibrium, imbalance of power, intervention of intrusive powers, global cycles of power and their linkage to this region as well as the strategic instability caused by these variables.

The possibility of a U.S. missile defense system deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic and its potential to enhance deterrence in general, and vis-à-vis Iran in particular, has generated important debates within the Iranian security and military establishment and elites. It is argued that even if U.S. officials announce that the measure is defensive in nature, the Iranian security and defense establishment as well as elites would perceive it as an offensive measure that can threaten Iran's national security environment.  It can easily lead to a perception of insecurity in Iran that would pave the way for the embracing of a "Counter Offensive Strategy". This strategy, it is argued, has the potential to enhance Iran's deterrence capability and reduce the effectiveness of U.S. deterrence. Considering the already unreceptive context of Iran-U.S. relations and the predispositions of officials in Tehran and Washington for misperceiving the intentions of one another, this strategy creates an atmosphere that would be conducive for adopting counter measures which are not necessarily helpful for managing bilateral ties and may involve other regional actors as well.

Most existing theories in the field of international relations are based on a particular anthropology. Therefore, to understand international relations from an Islamic point of view, the author argues one should first understand the anthropology inscribed in Islamic sources. Usually, in many theories of international relations, no argument or empirical evidence are provided for anthropological foundations and these attitudes are constituted based on theorists' perceptions and general understanding. But in the Islamic attitude, it seems that there is clear evidence of anthropology on the basis of which we can reach a certain understanding of the foundation of society and politics. This article tries to find the Islamic anthropological attitude as well as the nature of society and communication between societies, relying on Qur’anic verses which are the most important sources to gain knowledge about Islam. This article shows that according to what is stipulated in the Qur’an, human beings are not evil and aggressive, but have a common origin and carry the spirit of God. According to the Qur’an, human societies are not created to fight each other and their differences contribute to positive integration among them. For this reason, based on anthropology and Qur’anic concepts, the author argues that one cannot consider the arena of international relations as an environment replete with conflict.

How can the relationship between health, foreign policy and health be analyzed? In response to this question, this article agrees that during the last two decades, health-related issues have entered the minds of international security and foreign policy analysts. In this sphere, three distinctive phenomena are noticeable: 1) the extension of the concept of international security to health along a set of other issues such as environment, 2) health has caused domestic instability in some developing countries with foreign and security ramifications at regional and global levels, and 3) states have expanded bilateral and multilateral health cooperation due to increased international interdependence, which is the reason behind the increasing impact of health on international security.

Throughout the modern history of Afghanistan, which dates back to the establishment of the Durrani Empire in 1747, most Afghan leaders have tried to form a strong central government. These efforts could be divided into three different models: shallow integration policy, deep integration policy and deep civil integration policy. Each of them has been crystallized by a particular leader or leaders. Ahmad Shah is the symbol of shallow integration policy. Dust Mohammad Khan and the Iron Amir are the symbol of deep integration policy, while Amanullah Khan is the man who introduced deep civil integration policy. All of them adopted their own particular approaches to implement the envisioned policy. Yet, all efforts to create a strong central government controlling social relations and establishing order, to different extents, have failed. The author argues that the Afghan crisis, along with its endemic nature, should be addressed in the historical context of these policies.

This article presents a new approach in the theory of international relations based on experiences of Iranian scholars in terms of terminology and content. It is called functionalism and has been influenced by a pragmatist approach to theory with emphasis on the meaning of theory and meta theory in the field of international relations. The authors believe that we can find some traces of new theoretical concepts in the field of international relations in the works of Iranian scholars. Functionalism and its components represent the methodological view of the Iranian approach to international relations.

Iran has played a great role in the political and economic modernization of Afghanistan. In the 1960s and 1970s, Iran gave foreign aid, and in the first decade of the 21 century, it gave grants and directly exported technical and engineering services to Afghanistan. In 2002, Tokyo Conference participants defined a plan for the development of Afghanistan. At the conference, various countries committed themselves to give more than £15 billion to Afghanistan in loans and grants. Iran also allocated £250 million in the framework of projects as grants for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The article examines theories of economic development and the role of foreign aid in the reconstruction of developing countries, including Afghanistan. The main aim of the author is to document and analyze Iran’s role in this process. The author’s primary hypothesis is that the impact of foreign aid, including Iranian assistance with reconstruction, has increased the volume of trade and investment between Tehran and Kabul. The article has two sections: the first one features a discussion about theoretical issues while the second section studies economic reasons, processes and consequences of Iran's participation in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

A brief look at Turkey's actions in recent years, especially since 2002 (after the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party), clearly shows changes in the country’s foreign policy. Ankara is moving towards an improved status in the Islamic World and international scene by expanding its relations with Islamic countries situated in the Middle East. This policy has been termed as “Neo-Ottomanism”. Turkey, after pursuing a West–oriented policy for several decades, has adopted a more moderate policy towards its neighbors and Middle East, aiming at expanding its relations with the Islamic world and the West in accordance with its national interests. Turkey is trying to become one of the top ten powers in the world by 2023. Hence, its recent efforts to establish balanced relations with great powers, obtain leadership in the Islamic world, and settle disputes with its neighbors could be analyzed along these lines. This article seeks to analyze the shift in Ankara's policy based on a constitutionalist approach as well as explore its impact on the Middle East and Iran in particular. The authors believe that given the victory of the Justice and Development party in the June 2011 elections, Neo-Ottomanism will continue to guide Turkey’s actions in the international arena.