JOURNAL OF DEFENSE POLICY
Year:2016 | Volume:23 | Issue:1 (93)|Papers Count:7

Essentially, the international system is divided into different groups, specially linear and non-linear systems. In modern times, the complex international system as a modern order framework has different dynamics. Power dynamics is one of the most important of these dynamics which- in a few settings, may lead into war. The evolvement of international system, and consequently, its power dynamics changes the models of war. So, the analysis of the relations between this dynamics and models of war inform the main interests in this article. On this basis, the fundamental question is "What are the models that power dynamics of complex and chaotic systems of war form in international relations? " To answer this question, the main hypothesis is that power dynamics as the most important dynamics in the complex and chaotic system is focused on stability and system stabilization. A state of strategic stability between units is formed due to the function of power dynamics where the units are unable in the process of imposing their will upon others. As a result, it is concluded that war between these units seems impossible. So, war infiltrates into other regions and system areas as a result of the characteristics of the system and the severe losses incurred upon the units in employing the models of direct war. Proxy, indirect and internal warfare is formed in order to balance, limit and even destroy the rivals. Here, the war distribution model in geopolitical regions has greater density. This research uses theoretical modeling on the basis of deductive reasoning, and then after that, it uses time-series method in order to consolidate the findings of the research.

Considering the expanding information technology and human societies' increasing dependence on this technology, new threats have evolved as well. One of these threats are called advanced persistent threats which- if not paid heed to- will have irreparable consequences for continuing activity on the part of human societies. Advanced persistent threats is one of the most important obsessions in today's human communities. They target particular organizations in order to steal information or incur losses on assets and properties. The present article is of applied type, being carried out via descriptive, analytical and survey methodology. This research method is used for providing a qualitative and objective description of the content of concepts based on a systematic method in order to explain passive defense strategies against advanced persistent threats in the cyber environment. Therefore, the main question in this research is: "What are the passive defense strategies against advanced persistent threats in the cyber environment? " And the sub-question being "What are the cyber threat indices?" In the present research, a documentary and library study as well as interview method has been used to compose the theoretical framework and literature. Finally, it concluded that any organization that has valuable information against the techniques used in advanced persistent threats, is vulnerable. On the other hand, the more an organization's information has greater value, the more likely the organization will be exposed to threats.

Nowadays, phrases like "the project of infiltration" is abundantly heard in statements repeatedly uttered by the Supreme Leader. He has frequently referred to the enemy's infiltration project, stating: "the United States' negotiations with Iran means infiltration; this is the way they define negotiations, and they want to pave the way for imposing (their will). The infiltration project is an all-out and well-organized attack, a programmed, organized and very artistic action designed to confuse right and wrong and also to translate the strong points into weak ones. In the process of designing infiltration, enemy shows himself as a friend, disguises truth as wrong, and wrong as truth, and strike their blow from the point where people are unable to analyze. The main objective of this article is to identify individuals' mentality in relation to the enemy's project to infiltrate inside the country. The philosophical framework in this article is based on interpretive-positivist paradigms, falling in the category of applied research in terms of orientation. Identifying mentality draws this research closer to interpretive paradigms, and approaches positivist paradigms due to its using exploratory factor analysis, which uses solidarity strategy. In this way, the method of doing this research is of synthetic-type. It uses a qualitative method in stages of collecting the comments, using a quantitative approach in the stage of discovering the mentalities. The statistical population comprises senior commanders in one of the military centers that includes 10 experienced commanders who are familiar with the research topic. The findings indicate that these individuals have three mental patterns with regard to the issue of enemy infiltration. namely cultural infiltration, economic infiltration, and security-political infiltration.

The current trend of political, security developments in the West Asia region (the Middle East) indicate an increase in the role and influence exerted by non-state actors. Non-state actors are transnational parties, movements, and organizations that have come to exist on the basis of a specific (religious or political) ideology, and have political, social, cultural, economic, and most probably military and security structures. A few of these actors have been able to show off as quasi-national or quasi- state forces, such that other state actors or regional and international powers has no alternative but to recognize the role and influence exerted by such actors in formulating political relations and adopting their own tactics and strategies. The Lebanese Hezbollah is a non-state actor that has- since the very foundation of this organization- been able to retain its progressing trend, and to evolve into one of the most influential non-state actors in the region. Therefore, using analytical-descriptive method, this article has studied the process of IRI's role and influence in contributing to the security of the region as well as the underdevelopment of Hezbollah from its foundation to the end of the year 2014. The findings of this research support this reality that, having been conducted and orientated by IRI policies in the region, Hezbollah has managed to become a national and regional influential power with a higher influence coefficient from a local actor with a lower influence coefficient. Also, considering the fact that Hezbollah is a part of the anti-Zionist resistance axis, it could be deemed as "part of an international power".

The arrival of the Islamic Revolution of Iran has destabilized the order governing the region in different dimensions and challenged the regional and trans regional powers that benefit from the existing order. In defining the regional and trans regional powers that feel threatened by this development, one can name the West led by the United States, the Zionist Regime and the conservative rulers aligning with the West. These countries align with each other in the form of a single front, each with a different identity but with a common objective: namely countering and alienating the revolutionary Iran as the main threat. It is this front that propose the idea of Shiite geopolitics as a part of the above-said objective. This front has the idea that Iran plans to intervene in the domestic affairs of the countries of the region and to establish Shiite political regimes by supporting Shiite groups and movements. So, the question raised in this article is that "the concept of Shiite geopolitics was shaped as a result of what process?" This article has been conducted with analytical-descriptive method, and the findings of this research support the hypothesis that the concept of Shiite geopolitics is the result of the perceptional and inter subjective conflict between the Islamic Revolution and the regional and trans regional opposition in the form of a front during the past recent decades.

The United States has a long-standing alliance with Turkey, in a way that the increasing convergence between them, especially in relation with Iran has manifested itself in events such as the deployment of missile defense shield in Turkey, the Caspian Sea developments, Transcaucasia, Iran's nuclear case, the Syrian developments, and the Iraqi crisis. In the meantime, the United States is pursuing long-term objectives by its strategic partnership with Turkey, appraising its alliance with Turkey as a part of this process. Despite a few differences with the United States in regional developments, Turkey has been one of the key partners of the United States since joining NATO, and has been playing a similar role as regards with the newest form of strategic competition between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This has been identified in different dimensions, and affected the immediate security areas of Iran, followed by conditions that stand against the vital interests and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This has been accompanied by unprecedented Ankara-Tehran divisions that have taken place over the recent decades. Therefore, the present article plans to explore the nature of these relations, and to analyze its regional effects upon the Islamic Republic of Iran by focusing on Turkey's regional performance underpinned by the United States' support under the Justice and Development Party with an analytical-descriptive approach.

ISIS is one of the most important developments taking place in the region as well as Iraq in relation to which the term ISIS was widely used by absorbing power from the crisis in Syria. The appearance of this group heralds the beginning of a new stage of Salafism through following Ibn Taymiyyah's and Sayyid Qutb's ways of thinking in the region and the world. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis the leader of ISI, who tries to establish the Islamic state firstly in Iraq and Syria and then in other parts of the world by employing neu-Salafist thoughts. This group has, in the recent months, gained a power so high that it has been able to appear on the scene of Iraq, and to challenge the political and security trends in Iraq by adopting an armed approach. The present research has adopted a descriptive-analytical approach via collecting information with a library method and using internet texts. In so doing, it plans to answer this question: "What factors have contributed to the formation of ISIS in Iraq? ", with the main hypothesis being that " ISIS has a significant role in Iraq's developments in Iraq. This group is a Takfiri group within the region which began to be active with the aim of establishing Islamic Emirates. There have been domestic, regional and international factors that have contributed to the formation of ISIS. The findings of this research indicate that Neu-Salafist ideology, internal factors (weak military state and forces, interacting with political groups, geographical factors, ethnical divisions, social-economic factors), regional factors (the Syrian crisis, Arabia's and Qatar's contributions in order to topple Asad's government and Turkey's cooperation with the groups opposed to Assad) and the role played by the West (under the pretext of contributing to stability in the region and Iraq, fighting the terrorists, and efforts to establish a people-based government in Syria) can be cited as being the trans-regional factors that have contributed to the formation of ISIS.