Political and International Approaches
Year:2024 | Volume:16 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Introduction and Objectives: This article conceptualizes and analyzes the revisionism of two major global powers—China and the United States—within the liberal international order. Contrary to conventional approaches that portray China as the sole revisionist actor and the United States as the defender of the status quo, this research demonstrates that the United States has also become a revisionist power.Methods: Utilizing qualitative research methods, including case studies and document analysis, this article examines the revisionist behavior of these two countries across various domains, such as international security, the global economy, the environment, and human rights. China seeks gradual, multi-layered changes in the international order by emphasizing cooperation within existing institutions and the creation of new ones. In contrast, the United States aims for more radical changes by leveraging its institutional power and agency. This research concludes that understanding the dual revisionism of these two powers is essential for better comprehending the future trajectory of international politics and the potential for conflict or cooperation between them.Findings: The study's findings indicate that China, as an "embedded revisionist," strives to create gradual changes in the liberal international order through engagement with existing institutions and the establishment of new ones. China deepens its participation in international regimes, enhances access, and increases agency power, gradually and selectively altering aspects of these regimes while continuing to pursue this strategy. Conversely, the United States, as a "bridging revisionist," seeks to reconstruct the liberal international order through mobilizing alternative networks and broad institutional changes. The transformation of international security regimes by creating alternative networks, challenging financial, monetary, and trade regimes by developing a new sanction system and paralyzing the World Trade Organization, and efforts to redefine the human rights regime as a key normative dimension of the liberal international order are examples of the United States' strategic actions as a bridging revisionist.Conclusion: The analysis of the revisionist behavior of China and the United States within the liberal international order reveals that both powers operate as revisionists with differing approaches. China, as an embedded revisionist, seeks gradual changes through predominantly selective interactions with existing institutions, while the United States, as a bridging revisionist, seeks more radical changes by redesigning aspects of the international order, leveraging its high levels of access and agency power. However, both powers are so deeply intertwined in this rules-based order that revolutionary revisionism does not align with their interests. The dual revisionism underscores the emerging complexities in the transformation of the liberal international order. In other words, to better understand the transformation of the liberal international order, it is necessary to move beyond the conventional dichotomy of revisionist powers versus status quo powers. The mainstream literature on revisionism in international relations has excessively focused on China's discourse and behavior as the key revisionist power, leading to an oversimplification and reductionism of the complex realities of transformation within the liberal international order. Analyzing the discourse and behavior of the United States as a bridging revisionist, along with its complex interactions with China as an embedded revisionist, can contribute to a more coherent understanding of the forces reshaping the liberal international order.

Introduction: With the success of Masoud Pezeshkian as the 9th President of Islamic Republic of Iran and the importance of recognizing the possible foreign policy changes in the upcoming four-year period (1403-1407), the main question of this paper is what will be the most important paths of the foreign policy change in this Period? In answer to this question, based on the “synthetic model of foreign policy change”, the hypothesis of this research is that there are three general paths for Iran's foreign policy change in the 14th administration (new alternative inputs from domestic or international sources, finding pre-existing inputs into the foreign policy decision-making apparatus and finally changes in narrative by foreign policy decision-makers. So, the main aim of this research is a theoretical aim, focusing on the paths of in Iran's foreign policy change during the 14th administration.Methods: This research is explanatory research in which the data analysis will be through the adaptation of the proposed conceptual model with the case study. The conceptual framework of this research is focusing on the concept of " foreign policy change" and the theoretical models and literature about it. Research data have also been collected through virtual sources (English articles) and documents.Results and Discussion: The research findings and the main argument of the proposed model of this research is that the foreign policy change can take place through any of the three paths. There are influencing variables under each of these paths. These variables, which include material and semantic variables and are located at domestic and international levels, determine the paths of change. For example, windows of opportunity, external shocks and events and new environmental pressures (incentives and punishments) are three important international and material factors in the form of independent variables and as new inputs. If these variables are understood by the mental framework of new foreign policy decision makers (mediating variable), they can cause changes in Iran's foreign policy (dependent variable). On the other hand, the different understanding of the new decision-makers in the 14th administration as the intellectual and cognitive influencing factors (independent variable and as new inputs) is important in creating different outputs of foreign policy (dependent variable). The second path examines the already existing alternative inputs to the decision-making apparatus of the 14th administration. If these inputs are not interpreted differently by new decision makers (intermediary variable), they can cause continuity or minor changes in foreign policy. The third path is through the manipulation of certain elements within the main narrative that the Iranian defines for themselves, by foreign policy decision makers, which makes the policy change legitimate and possible for the audience.Conclusion: The first conclusion of the research is that for the accurate analysis of the possible paths of change in foreign policy of 14th administration, it is necessary to consider the elements of three paths simultaneously. On the other hand, any of these paths of change can lead to changes in the goals/tools or both in the direction of Iran's foreign policy. The extent of change can include radical change or minor changes in one or more specific areas.

Introduction: China has drawn itself as a new-developed country in the world, and now it is seeking to use this image to strengthen Chinese soft power, especially in developing regions. The China as a new-developed country is well aware of its economic advantage in the world and developing regions. Despite having a great historical and cultural history, this country has placed its software foreign policy on economic power. Beijing's software policy towards developing countries is aimed at attracting to the Chinese developmental model according to the Beijing Consensus. The "Belt and Road Initiative" megaproject is based on geo-economic imperatives and always seeks to ensure that the development and rise of China is peaceful and will benefit others as well. Achieving this assurance is based on economic interests for the developing regions in order to attracting them, rather than relying on cultural tools and resources. According to conventional western model of soft power, China is facing the challenges for globalizing its culture. The use of relative advantage economically is in Beijing's foreign policy agenda.Methods: The aim of the article is to analyze the position of the economy in China's soft foreign policy in developing regions, which requires understanding the theoretical conceptual-analytical framework of soft power and its results from China's point of view. The research method is descriptive-analytical and is explained based on the link between economy and soft power as the focus of China's soft foreign policy. Therefore, the article seeks to answer the question, what is the place of the economy in China's software foreign policy towards the developing regions? The hypothesis is that China's software policy in developing regions is mainly aimed at creating "spheres of influence" for economic and political goals through (indirect) economic and then cultural soft power.Results and Discussion: China wants to present a softer self-image on basis of Chinese culture, and they promote it by the economic tools. 2017 is considered an important turning point in this era. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China introduced President Xi Jinping's thoughts called "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era" in the party's constitution and started to place political goals alongside economic goals in Beijing's foreign policy. Studying the resolutions issued by the Congress shows that the China still emphasizes the use of economic tools to advance foreign policy goals. Conclusions: The findings of the research indicate that China is one of the main trade and investment partners, one of the biggest donors in regions such as Africa, Asia and Latin America; it has become a "development model" for developing world, and it is one of the most important grantors of educational scholarships in these regions. Resultly, China's soft power, according to "economy-oriented software" policy, mainly has an economic character. While China is widely seen as an economic partner around the developing world, this does not mean the spread of Chinese values, culture and ideas. China's attractiveness in these areas is basically economic, not necessarily cultural according to the western concept of soft power. In this sense, China's soft power has distinctive features that give it a Chinese character and distinguish it from other models common in Western countries.The result indicates that the attraction of China in e regions is less historical-cultural, rather industrial, scientific and technological power. As long as the economic power of China is progressive, the its soft power will also be strengthened. However, the evidence shows that despite China's prioritization of Southeast Asia and Central Asia in its software foreign policy, it has achieved the most interests (political and economic) in Africa and Latin America.

National currencies go through a tortuous path to rise to the international level, which, while requiring some economic preconditions inside and outside a country, leaves an undeniable impact on the international power of a government. . Currency diplomacy, as a tool that regulates the international financial power of a country, has now become one of the most important issues in international political economy. Although the scope of this discussion is wide, the main issue of this article is to explain the emergence of international financial powers. Indeed, what tools does foreign exchange diplomacy have to achieve this goal? The study of China's foreign exchange diplomacy shows that Beijing follows three levels of foreign exchange diplomacy including unilateral, bilateral and multilateral. At every level of its foreign exchange diplomacy, China has followed a range of measures, including offshore hub building, capital export, exchange rate management, etc., which has finally managed to change the position of the yuan from the national and peripheral levels to the regional level. Belt-way upgrade. Although many believe that the path taken by China is different from that of the dollar or sterling, the evidence shows that if China's economic growth and stability continue, the realization of the internationalized yuan will not be far from expected. The results of the research show that the interaction with China for countries like Iran should follow the path of multilateral to bilateral monetary agreements. The findings show that China uses various political and economic mechanisms to promote its international financial power. Two key factors have played a key role in the success of digitalization of the yuan, which includes the Belt and Road initiative and the creation of an extraterritorial hub that China Congo and other countries have created. Hank Gang's financial headquarters in Ibtikari has launched a multi-sided digital exchange bridge, which is called M-Bridge. Based on this plan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Emirates and the Bank for International Settlements, using this initiative, were able to transfer nearly 171 million Hong Kong dollars on the multilateral currency bridge in 2022. Also, the Chinese have significant opportunities for the promotion of digital yuan in the Belt and Road initiative. Since many southern countries lack the financial infrastructure to match the dollar, transfers will be complicated and expensive. Therefore, if China wants to use the digital yuan in the new Silk Road, which is a complement to the Belt and Road initiative, and in the form of which China exports its technologies to countries that are looking for a leap, countries receiving loans from this They use the opportunity to replace the digital yuan by reducing the reliance on the dollar. Two key factors have played a key role in the success of the digitalization of the yuan, which includes the Beltway initiative and the creation of extraterritorial hubs that China has created in Hong Kong and other countries. Hank Gang's financial headquarters in Ibtikari has launched a multi-sided digital exchange bridge, which is called M-Bridge. Based on this plan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Emirates and the Bank for International Settlements, using this initiative, were able to transfer nearly 171 million Hong Kong dollars on the multilateral currency bridge in 2022. Also, the Chinese have significant opportunities for the promotion of digital yuan in the Belt and Road initiative. Since many southern countries lack the financial infrastructure to match the dollar, transfers will be complicated and expensive.

Introduction: With the onset of reforms and opening up in 1978, the People's Republic of China entered a new era. This period transcended mere economic miracle, exerting broad transnational influence and culminating in the emergence of a global power. the People's Republic of China has taken an active, extensive, and multifaceted role in the international governance of human rights by maintaining the fundamental principles of the Communist Party with Chinese characteristics. The main question is how the People's Republic of China's approach to human rights has shaped its response to international human rights violations in Myanmar. We hypothesize that the People's Republic of China's dual approach to international human rights discourse in the framework of the communist-Leninist ideology creates a delicate balance between the triad of politics (sovereignty as a right and non-intervention), culture (the principle of cultural relativism) And the economy (fostering development and social stability) has shaped the country's direct and indirect response to human rights violations in Myanmar. Methods: To investigate the causes and dimensions of the People's Republic of China's approach to the human rights crisis of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar during 2016 and 2017, We employed a matching test for intra-case analysis within our case study research method. This allowed us to examine why a government in the international system takes an approach in the face of the human rights crisis in another government, which not only accepts and appeases it but also continues and expands relations in various dimensions. Results and discussion: Our findings indicate that the human rights approach of the People's Republic of China to the crisis of the Rohingya Muslim minority has been influenced by the complex and mutual interactions of various political, cultural, and economic factors while balancing the maintenance of domestic ideological values and norms with the pursuit of international benefits. While China's macroeconomic investments of the People's Republic of China in Myanmar, particularly in energy, have brought important benefits to this country, they also created a conflict of interest regarding international human rights obligations and their legitimacy in the international system. Conclusion: The People's Republic of China's response to the human rights abuses against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar during 2016 and 2017 was twofold. On the one hand, the statesmen of the People's Republic of China at the international level, especially in front of the United Nations Security Council, have tried to provide comprehensive support to the Myanmar government and the army of this country, relying on the importance of national sovereignty and the principle of non-interference, and even international sanctions against this prevent the country. On the other hand, in the framework of regional cooperation, in the role of a responsible great power, it has wanted a peaceful solution to this crisis through a peaceful approach based on dialogue diplomacy. the People's Republic of China's double reaction can be seen as the result of the delicate balance that China has established between maintaining national interests and adhering to international obligations as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.Keywords: International Crimes, China's Human Rights Approach, Communist Ideology, Myanmar Crisis, Rohingya.

abstractIntroduction: Politics feeds from various sources, among which the philosophy of history has always been considered one of the most important sources. The present study aims to address the question of how the philosophy of ancient Iranian history determines politics in the Iranian urban thought. In fact, understanding what and how the philosophy of ancient Iran's history influences the political thought of Iranshahri is the main problem of the present research.Methods: In order to answer the main question, the present research aims to examine the texts in which the theoretical foundations of ancient Iran are reflected. Such texts are either from the sources of the primary texts of ancient Iran or from the sources of secondary analyzes made from them. In this case, the main problem is to understand or evaluate the understandings made from such texts. For this reason, the text-based interpretation method is used, which is in the range of hermeneutic methods.Results and discutions: Iranshahri's philosophy of history can be divided and analyzed into four parts: the beginning of existence, the driving engine of history, the course of history, and the end of history. The findings of the present research show that the conflict in the past started from the conflict of Hormuzd and Ahriman and it is manifested in different levels of history, which is also formed in the earthly politics in the same framework. Time is considered as a trick of Zervan to defend the kingdom of the world from Ahriman, the driving factor of Iranshahri history, which the course of history and the passage of time increases the power of Hormuzd and his forces and destroys the reign of Ahriman. Politics in Gitti is based on the first conflict and is controlled by time, which is influenced by the initial agreement of Zarvan. Every action has a deadline that cannot be violated. Therefore, time acquires a completely political character. Time goes beyond the passive container of events and becomes a determinative activity that creates the stages of history.Conclusion: In Iranshahri's thought, the philosophy of history is the basis governing all other intellectual principles, and the order of all spheres of political and social life is affected by it. Basically, with the historical determinism that exists in the nature of this thought, political and social life is determined by relying on it. In this field, "time" is a compelling factor and the main carrier of events throughout history, and man is the only actor whose role-playing has been used in the framework of an eternal play. This is the time that has a political character and plays the main role in advancing the battle between Ahuraians and demons. It is the duality of being Ahurai/demon that casts a shadow over everything, left no tolerance in between and made human life only a path for struggle. The constant battle between good and evil is such that it becomes the main driving factor of history. The political affairs of Iranshahri have also been caught in the framework of these dualities and forced to create an irreconcilable situation for the world of Iranshahri, and according to this, in Iranshahri's thought, man lives in a "political situation"; A situation that has always put humans on one side of these two and they are always facing otherness. The philosophy of history has also determined the turning points and fundamental moments of change in the world. Here, politics is not the result of the complete will of rulers and actors, but the result of the will of time, which is realized.

The present paper is aimed at investigating the intellectual – historical roots of institutional secularization of the Turkish government, and fundamental characteristics and contradictions of the Turkish secularism model (known as Laiklik) during its establishment period. Later on, these contradictions caused major challenges in the Turkish politics, keeping the religion – government gap still an active political issue. Despite the officiality of the Laiklik and the official secular rhetoric, the government’s authoritative interventions into religious affairs, nationalization of Islam, and failure to preserve the neutrality of the government in practice (regarding different religions and sects) are among the most important characteristics of the Turkish secularism during its establishment period. These three contradicting characteristics are among the most important distinctions between this particular model of secularism and the western models of secularism.Considering equal dignity for people with different religious and non-religious beliefs and ensuring conscience – religion freedom have been among the most basic objectives of the secularism. The principle of non-interference of the government in religious affairs and the principle of neutrality are basic instruments for realizing such an objective. In the Turkish model, however, from the early stages of establishment of the secularism (Ataturk Administration), the objectives were pretty ambiguous. During this stage, the secular politics was based on political authoritarianism, extreme ethnic nationalism, and authoritative modernization, of which the secularization was only a part. Accordingly, this model of secularism possessed particular features and contradictions that have remained unresolved till today

Introduction and objectives: Most of the nations and countries of the world do not have the same population composition and have ethnic diversity and plurality. Ethnic identity is one of the intermediate identities in the new era, which is beyond individual identity and below national identity. Therefore, this identity has common elements such as; Culture, history, place, language, race, religion, etc. are with national identity. The issue of ethnicity is one of the most complicated issues in various countries, and countries with social and ethnic diversity experience many challenges. Iran is also a multinational society that includes various cultural, linguistic and religious groups. What is extremely important in such societies is the creation and strengthening of national solidarity and at the same time preserving the diversity that can be seen in different fields in ethnic groups.Method: In order to investigate the two mentioned issues, the current research was conducted within the framework of quantitative method and with survey analysis. The statistical population is 299 Turkmen people and 127 Sistani people in different cities of Golestan province. Both ethnic groups are from 9 clans, which were filled in the questionnaires according to population balance. The data were analyzed in two descriptive and inferential levels, which in the descriptive level; frequency distribution and average and at the inferential level; Pearson's correlation coefficient and T-test were used. Also from theories; Modernization, relative deprivation, identity categorization were used as the theoretical framework.Findings: The results show that there are similarities and differences between Turkmens and Sistanis of Golestan province in terms of ethnic identity and national identity. In other words, although the ethnic tendencies among these two peoples are not very strong, they are more than average. But in a comparison, the statistics show that the tendency towards national identity and ethnic identity among the Turkmens of Golestan province was more than the average. On the other hand, in a comparison, there is a significant difference between the tendency towards ethnic identity and national identity, and the average tendency towards ethnic identity among these peoples is more than the tendency towards national identity. Regarding the Sistanis, these statistics show that the tendency towards national identity and ethnic identity among the Sistanis of Golestan province is higher than the average. Moreover, in a comparison, there is a significant difference between the tendency towards ethnic identity and national identity, and the average tendency towards national identity among these ethnic groups is more than the tendency towards ethnic identity. In general, the results show the relative weakness of understanding the dimensions of history among these peoples, which reveals the lack of education in the relevant fields for these peoples. At the same time, the structural limitations in the introduction and retelling of the identity and dominance of the macro culture have led the ethnic groups (especially the small population ethnic groups) to a reluctance and neglect to preserve and introduce their ethnic history, which is somehow caused by ethnic isolation.Conclusion: Therefore, in the light of cognitive, emotional and value elements, and in order to preserve ethnic diversity, ethnic re-reading should be done for these ethnic groups. On the other hand, deprivations and social gaps in the light of ethnic attitudes can provoke ethnic conflicts and tensions, which is also important with the fair establishment of social rights, not only a barrier to the feeling of discrimination and dissatisfaction and ethnic tensions arising from it. rather, it strengthened the ethnic harmony in Iran's macro-society.