POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE
Year:2020 | Volume:16 | Issue:1 (31)|Papers Count:14

Law was one of the most important and influential concepts of Iran in the nineteenth century and the constitutional era. Iranian tendency to law at that time was aimed at reforming and strengthening political rule and reducing the irregularities of the Qajar dictatorship. The purpose of this study is to analyze and review such a historical background while insisting on the necessity of expanding the indigenous and internal discourse on the issue of governance, and to become aware of the first proposals of Iranian on correct governance. The present study raises the fundamental question, "How was the effect of the law on the patterns of governance proposed by Iranian intellectuals? " Document analysis is used to investigate this issue. In addition to analyzing the works of nineteenth-century intellectuals, the process of their tendency to law and their proposals have been studied using the theory of crisis. With such an approach, it can be said that the Iranian intellectuals tried to propose a new political rule due to the unfavorable situation of the Qajar era and the confrontation with the modern world. To this end, two models of governance were devised by Iranian intellectuals, including the regular monarchy the constitutional monarchy. The findings of the study indicate that Iranian intellectuals considered the law as an end to the country's irregularities, but the position, origin, and authority of the law differed in their proposed patterns.

Analysis of political science research in Iran, shows that most researcher use descriptive approach in their articles, then contextual analysis with quantitative-statistical methods. There are different reasons for this, including: Lack of necessary information and data,difficulty of applying these methods,in political issues,weakness of these methods in the curriculum,and et. al. All of these, have led us to conclude that: political research should be analyzed in term of their research method. The author hypothesis is that: despite the increase in “, field studies”,and welcoming this kind of research by academic journals,we don’, t see enough motivations in “, field studies”,in political science. In this paper, the author, by analyzing selected journals, test this hypothesis and finally, offers suggestions for improving the status of political studies in Iran.

Parties are key players in political competition and elections. Parties can influence the orientation and vision of individuals and groups and thus be effective in governing the country. For this reason, the authors of this article analyze the paradigmatic foundations of post-revolutionary Iran parties. Their purpose is to analyze the current political situation as well as analyze future trends. Researchers have selected two parties for the case-study: Jomhoori Eslami (Islamic Republic) party and Kargozaran party. In this regard, the authors have used case-study. The research method is qualitative content analysis and they use MAXQDA 12 software. The results show that the Kargozaran have been based more on the interpretive paradigm foundations, while the Islamic Republic party has been more critical. We also see a lack of a program based on a particular paradigm in both parties.

Some students may think that method section/chapter of a research, is not very important because in this chapter some anthological, epistemological and methodological accounts repeatedly will be discussed. However, among academics the methodology section/chapter is one of the most important section of a research. One of the main reasons to put ‘, research method’,section or chapter in dissertations or articles is to achieve ‘, replicability’, , ‘, transparency’,and ‘, validity’,in empirical studies. This chapter/section needs to outline several issues such as research design, sampling approach, access, the nature of applied method such as interview or observation, coding frame, and analyzing method. If the research method is not fully and appropriately clarified, the findings of research can be easily questioned or dismissed. This paper, with the general aim of exploring some aspects of ‘, research methods in dissertations’,especially in political science and international relations, in a case study, examines the ‘, methodology section or chapter’,in faculty of World Studies’,dissertations in the University of Tehran. This paper also is designed to examine the extent in which students tend to use empirical studies. In doing so, this paper by using quantitative content analysis, selected 137 master and PhD dissertations (out of 453) from different groups, languages and years to examine their tendencies towards empirical researches. Based on four key and common elements of research method section: the data collection procedures, study design, selection of participants, and the planned data analysis or analytic strategy it assesses how students clarify their research methods and how they applied these methods in practice. The findings of this research shows that 26 per cent of dissertations were carried out using empirical research methods which in comparison with previous figures, around 6 per cent and around 12 per cent, is a good achievement.

Despite the fact that the US has been always present in the Pacific and has an effective role in Security development in the region since the end of the WWII,in late 2011 it formally announced the Pivot at Asia”,and declared that the Asia has turned to its number 1 priority in foreign policy and national security. This attitude toward Asia has been kept in Trump administration too. The question is that what made policy makers to consider Asia-Pacific region as the first priority in national security among other regions? In order to answer this question, authors have monitored the process of US relative power changes in the international system. They have outlined the power cycle of the US and other major powers of the international system including China,in order to evaluate their power changes. The approach of research is descriptive-analytical, and authors have analyzed the subject, using “, Power Cycle Theory”,(PCT). The results show that: accelerating decline of US relative power simultaneous with the accelerating rise of China’, s relative power,is the main reason that has turned Asia-Pacific into the first priority of the US foreign policy. And that’, s why “, Pivot to Asia”,has become the main national policy for U. S.

"Good Life" is one of the important issues that have been analyzed by diffrerent schools. This issue has also been discussed in islamic political philosophy and can be considered one of the main topics of the neo-Sadrian school. "Hayat-e Tayyebeh" theory (Good Life) has evolved in the same philosophical tradition and has received the attention of many writers and analysts. In responding to the anti-religious approach to the definition of Happiness and Life, neo-Sadrian, by using the principles of Hekmat e Motaaleh (transcendent wisdom) have attempted to answer the following question: What are the components of "Hayat-e Tayyebeh" theory? . The authors have answered this question by focusing on Morteza Motahari's views. To this end, they have used a descriptive-analytical approach with emphasis on neo-Sadrian model of Tayyeb life. As results, the most important component of Tayyeb life are: fulfillment of the human being, the rule of values such as justice, freedom, service to the people, and the formation of a blessed state.

Power is the key to understanding many of the ideas of international relations, such as realism. Over the past few decades, significant developments have occurred in the Middle East, And the structure and balance of power have changed at the regional level. Several actors in the region and the international system have become sensitive to this center of power and conflict. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most important actors to closely monitor developments in the region and the international system. And seeks to further promote its geopolitical position in the future of the international order. In order to explain this position and strategic capabilities for the Islamic Republic of Iran, a descriptive-analytical method and a framework for a realistic transition of power theory have been used. According to the theory of Power transition, the transfer of power at regional and global level is based on the agreement of superior powers with emerging power, or with the opposition of the dominant powers to the emerging challenge. Therefore, the main question of this research is: What are the main influential indicators of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the future role of the international system? . In this paper, author discusses the issue in a descriptive-analytical approach and using “, Power Transition Theory”,(PTT). The results showe: the I. R. Iran as a challenging Power, using its Internal resources and external capacities, seek to achive a central position in the regional power hierarchy.

As President Hasan Rouhani took office in August, 2013, the new foreign policy decision makers got into power and the “, moderation discourse”,prevailed as the main approach of Rouhani's administration towards the world. One of the major issues of foreign policy of this term was making some changes in nuclear policy, the most important sign of which was the attainment of a nuclear deal between I. R. Iran and the world super powers under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14, 2015. This paper addresses the main effective perceptual changes which have affected I. R. Iran's nuclear policy changes. Such perceptual changes include different perceptions of the national role and the creation of a new selfimage regarding I. R. Iran's desirable status, different perceptions of structural constraints including nuclear sanctions and ultimately a different representation of “, other”,especially the United States. These perceptual changes of new decision makers affected the management of the nuclear policy from“,deterrent confrontation”,to “, constructive interaction ”, . This paper is a descriptive-analytical research,and the author uses “, Interpretive Individualism Theory”,(IIT) to analyze the data.

International Relations as an academic discipline, originating from the west, and has been influenced by western traditions of thought This has led IR. to its Eurocentric nature reproduced through specific closures and strict standards of theorizing. Since the last part of the twentieth century, however, this has been challenged. The emergence of reflectivist theories with their broad definition of theory, the expansion of international agenda due to significance of new international issues, and the agency of non-western international actors have somehow broken the meta-theoretical and theoretical boundaries of IR. The result has been pluralism and the coexistence of approaches and theories. With the collapse of confidence in the way western modernity has understood the world, there is now a growing openness in international relations to what different perspectives may have to offer to the world. The main argument of this article is that this pluralism paves the way for non-western IR scholars especially in Regional Studies to produce their own theories and narrative of international relations and to be free from Eurocentrism. This article has a descriptive-analytical method. For this purpose, author at first, has designed an analytical model-based on critical review of westernization and dewesternization of IR-and then examines the status quo and its effects on regional studies.

In 40 years of the Islamic Republic of Iran revolution, it has always been faced with the policy of pressure, threats and sanctions of the United States. Until the beginning of the 2011, these sanctions have been limited to financial and commercial, but since the early 2012, Iranian sport also suffered these pressures and effects of sanctions. The present study was conducted in terms of qualitative purposeful aiming in the form of a tworound Delphi technique in the wake of US economic terrorism against the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2018-2019. The snowball sampling continued to theoretical saturation stage, which ultimately 16 experts were identified as the final sample and 13 concepts extracted. The research findings indicated that the decrease in imports of products as most positive concept (4. 01), the salary of foreign coaches and players (4. 73) as most positive impact and government hasty decisions (4. 84) as the most indirect negative impact of sanctions on Iran sport.

The launch of Arab developments in 2011 sheds new light on discussions of the conditions and requirements for the survival of political systems in the region of West Asia and North Africa. These developments undermined the idea that the sustained authoritarianism in the Arab world is a general principle. Political scholars have always tried to explain the resilience of authoritarian regimes in the region through a variety of approaches, including the institutional approach, the power of repressive forces, cultural factors and rent availability, but the 2011 developments showed that some Middle Eastern political systems may not be sustainable, which is why some political systems in the Arab world-compared to other political systems in the region-failed to survive in 2011. To answer this question, the present paper, by examining Egypt's economic liberalization policies-as a case study-has concluded that implementation of the above policies in Egypt has led to a split within the ruling elite coalition, especially among the emerging class (new guard) and the army (old guard), which challenged the ruling regime's ability to be survived in 2011. Using documentary and library methods, this article collects data and analyzes the collapse of the Egyptian ruling system in 2011 to analyze the data employing “, ruling coalition”,theoretical framework.

Using effective tools and methods to create a positive image of country is an important issue in public diplomacy. Given that Africa is one of the strategic areas for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran must identify and use of its existing capabilities, to improve its image in this region. This is an important issue for I. R. Iran,because Iran’, s rivals in the region are working harldly to present a “, securitized image”,of Iran,which means that Iranian public diplomacy should be move active. Now this question arises: what is the effective strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the success in public diplomacy at Africa? In the present study, a descriptive-analytical approach, using library documents and resources, have been used. According this approach authors use Copenhagen School theory for analyzing environment situation. Then, using in-depth interviews with 20 experts in the field of Africa and public diplomacy, as well as using the SOWT Matrix, for designing Strategies. The results, therefore, imply that a rethinking strategy could strengthen Iran's public diplomacy on the continent by weakening the security outlook on Iran's activities in Africa.

The relative realization of the objectives of the Islamic Revolution requires the identification of the present situation and planning to achieve the desired status. The Statement of the “, second step of the Revolution”,is in fact, a plan for moving from the present to the desired state. Considering the importance of this issue, this paper, using the SOWT, attempts to answer this question: "What are the strategies of the Iranian society on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution? " Based on the “, statement of the second step of the Islamic Revolution”, , four strategies can be devised: (A). The "Aggressive" Strategy of the Islamic Revolution, with regard to internal strengths and external opportunities. (B). The "Conservative" policy of the Islamic Revolution on the Internal Strengths and External Threats. (C). The "competitive" strategy of the Islamic Revolution regarding external opportunities and internal weaknesses. (D). The "Defensive " strategy of the Islamic Revolution considering internal weaknesses and external threats. Given the success of the Islamic Revolution in the "strengths" and "promising" opportunities, compared to weaknesses and threats, the efforts of statesmen must mobilize resources, facilities and capacities in order to plan their operations in line with the " Aggressive " strategy in the regional environment. and the international system.