FOREIGN RELATIONS
Year:2012 | Volume:3 | Issue:4 (12)|Papers Count:8

Energy exchange is one of the areas where we can see signs of economic globalization; especially in regards to actors' compliance with each other’s decisions as well as forces and norms of global markets. There is a deep interdependency between the national interests, security and development of global actors in regards to energy; both now, and in the future. No powerful actor can adopt a unilateral approach to the oil and gas market. Thus, the integration of natural gas-producing countries within the framework of an international institution is very important and necessary. Co-decision making in a harmonious manner to ensure stability and market security in a way that is in the interest of all actors is inevitable.

The energy dependency of various countries around the world has increased international competition for energy access and made energy security a main issue area in political and diplomatic relations. The major actors in the energy arena try to improve their energy security through planning and fulfilling energy diplomacy in the context of their foreign policy. Accordingly, China - based on its rapid economic growth and increasing consumption of energy - considers energy security as one of the main priorities of its foreign policy. This article surveys the major concerns of China in regards to energy security and its status in the context of Chinese foreign policy. The main argument of the article is that China has improved its energy security through strengthening relations with energy producing countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America based on the adoption of active energy diplomacy. The article surveys aims and different aspects of China’s energy diplomacy as one of the main vectors of its foreign policy.

The expansion of security and ability to achieve sustainable development, as the main function of states, are very important. Security and development are correlated concepts. In the eastern frontiers of Iran, despite the existence of economic potential and a special geo-economic situation, there are ethnic as well as religious disputes, insecurity, and poverty. Security and sustainable development have been confronted by many threats. In this paper, we survey the geopolitical characteristics of Iran's eastern frontiers and the existing threats in this region. Then, we proceed to the role of sustainable development in the spreading of security. Finally, we explain the linkage between economic activities in Iran's eastern frontiers with the development of the southeastern transnational axis. This, as in our opinion, the connection between the north and south of Iran (the New Silk Road) as a corridor is significant for the fulfillment of sustainable development and establishing of security in the eastern regions of Iran.

The emergence of non-state actors, economic interdependence, super technology and development of intelligent communication networks represent a new era of world politics which is the result of the effects of globalization. In such a situation, force-based capabilities as the main element of power in accordance with realist thought - affected by globalization - has been seriously criticized and led to the development in the way power is conceived and applied. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of smart power with respect to the change in international politics and to develop a conceptual framework that shows the dimensions of this transformation. This elaborate development features a new concept of power in which the norms of soft power have been combined with the resources of hard power to create smart power, which has a more influential role in the exercising of power. The objectives of this power is to obtain optimum outcomes, legitimacy in the use of power and preventing the waste of resources.

Regional developments have surprised Washington due to their speed and intensity. The degree of rapidity and intensity of changes in regional countries depends on the nature of their respective internal structures and the level of foreign intervention. It is said that Libya is a country where the Obama doctrine would be evolved. The main question is how these developments shape Obama's foreign policy towards the region. The answer to this question is presented in the form of a hypothesis suggesting that the Obama administration’s policy regarding these developments is based on an idealist realist ideology imitating the Clinton doctrine towards Bosnia.

With the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and colonization of some of its remnants by Western powers, the Muslim world turned to political Islam during the 20th century as a reaction. However, during this period, the laicism of Turkey’s government prevented the spread of political Islam in the country. In the last decades of the 20th century, Turkey faced Islamic tendencies in both its domestic and foreign policies. The interesting point is the difference of this kind of Islamism in Turkey’s foreign policy compared to Islamism in other Muslim countries. The trend in Turkey can be described as a tendency to adopt equilibrium Islamism. Hence, this article sees to answer the question of: Which geopolitical factors led to the rise of equilibrium Islamism in Turkey’s foreign policy from 1995 until 2011? This article uses a descriptive-analytical method to provide an answer to the aforementioned question.

This article aims to study the most influential countries in the Middle East region, especially, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. The terrorist attacks of September 11 created opportunities and threats in the region which attracted the attention of experts and analysts. This article also addresses the methods and tactics used by these countries to adapt to rapid and often deep changes in region. The structure of the Middle East is fluid, therefore being influential in the region depends on adopting methods and tactics compatible with this changing structure.Therefore, the author first studies the orientations of the aforementioned governments in the dynamic history of the Middle East and then, he tries to take a look at the different stages of these developments covering the events that occurred after 9/11 and the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Finally, he examines the views and policies of the countries which have disputes with each other over the new regional structure and system. Therefore, it is necessary to point out that the studied period only lasts until the time of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

The recent protests in the Middle East and North Africa have led to different outcomes. While the governments of Tunisia and Egypt were overthrown very rapidly and the Libyan dictator after six months of civil war, the protests in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria have not yet succeeded in reaching their goals. In this paper, the author explains why the protests in the Arab World have led to different outcomes. The hypothesis is that the different outcomes of the protests can be explained by considering different factors; including the role of international actors, the reaction of military forces, the legitimacy of governments and the broadness of social forces which take part in protests.