STRATEGIC STUDIES QUARTERLY
Year:2011 | Volume:14 | Issue:1 (51)|Papers Count:8

 This paper aims at surveying the ways and means of power exertion through power technologies in soft war. This kind of war, more than others, is based on a productive power and this covers especial powers in the process of which the human being is taken as object, subject and so is controlled and criticized and then within the inter- subjectively accepted patterns, the power is exerted. Therefore, in spite of the popular definitions, soft war also implies a special type of violence which is structural and symbolic one. In this kind of war, instead of his body, the mind of human being is aimed to be dominated and then the human aspect of his environment is occupied and colonialized. This process is realized through three simultaneous phases including stabilization of ones’ own values, destruction of other’s values and changing the second ones into first ones by using technologies of the productive power. To appreciate reference, discourse, culture and subject are some of the most important power technologies in soft war.

This paper studies the relationship between social capital and sustainable national security and its main question is as follows; what is the role of social capital in promotion of sustainable national security and what are its mechanisms? In answering these questions first the challenges of modern security is discussed and then the role of social capital is considered under the said process. Based on the findings of this paper, social order and national security are outcome of citizen’s and the interest groups satisfaction and this in turn is subject to existence of powerful social networks originated in durable and institutional process which can be represented in a influential social capital. The theoretical findings of this paper indicate that social capital can directly influence sustainable national security through several ways and means including increasing the national solidarity, facilitating socio-political and economic crises management, preventing socio-political passiveness, promotion of the capacity of the system, consolidation and promotion of national identity and deepening the trust.

Terrorist acts and challenges caused by them have led the international society to adopt several instruments to deal with them. On the other hand, within the Rome Statute in 1998 and establishment of the International Criminal Court, a special mechanism was approved to cope with the international crimes. The ICC enjoys merely the legal jurisdiction against the most important crimes according to the International Law; however, in 1994 the International Law Commission proposed that some other treaty crimes, including terrorism, to be covered under the scope of the ICC jurisdiction but its failure to conclude on this matter not to be enshrined under the ICC jurisdiction. Of course, one could argue that even though trail of terrorists is not envisaged in the ICC, but it is possible to bring those crimes under another part of the jurisdiction of the ICC which is already accepted and it is crime against humanity.

According to the constructivism, the states are not like economic actors who make decisions and behave due to the consequence logic, but they are social actors who have act based on relevance logic (their own identity). Therefore, to appreciate the foreign policy of the states, first one should bear in mind the Inter-subjective foundations of their identity; the foundations that can influent the shape of the identity and lead towards a special behaviour at the national and international levels. The purpose of this paper is to study the Inter-subjective foundation of identity in the Islamic Republic of Iran mainly in the domestic level. Accordingly, the author argues that these foundations are divided in two separate categories, however, with mutual influence. The first category contain the norms and doctrines which are originated totally from the religious-Islamic and especially Shiite sources and the second category are attitudes and understandings with the political culture of the Iranian people.

Through criticism of traditional approaches and by raising environmental concepts, the critical geopolitics has appeared as the critic of environmental destructive models of development. In this way, the concept of interest based on modernity and hard ware approach along with the attempt to meet the increasing needs of the population has led to destruction of the environment the result of which has appeared in the form of environmental crises. Therefore, the assessment of the durability of the environment has faced sever challenges. This paper’s data are showing that like other countries, in Iran the development oriented thoughts have not paid enough attention to durability of environment. The estimates are signifying that the Uremia Lake area has been decreased due to natural and human factors. And if this situation continues, the Lake will get dried and this will lead to disastrous consequences. Thus, the relevant plans should pay attention to the human factors and shift of the model of plantation as well as subsistence pattern.

The importance of the relevant issues and variables involved in the foreign relationship between the countries are different to each other and their influence is not equal. While some are not of much significance, some others effect national security and are of the vital interests of the countries. This papers aims at analyzing the effective elements of the strategic relationship between the I. R. of Iran and the UAE through constructivism. In this way, other than a theoretical analysis and illustration of the foundations of the UAE’s foreign policy, the main issues studied in this paper are as follows: Iran-Arab regional competition in new Iraq, Territorial disputes between the two countries, Iran’s nuclear activities, the revolutionary movements in the Arab world especially in Bahrain and finally the economic relationship between the two countries. The findings of this survey proves that in spite of some major disputes between the two countries, there exist a strategic kind of relationship between them that lessens possibility of unilateral actions with the other’s cost. None of the two countries can secure its own interest without paying due attention to other’s interest. Other than mutual dependence due to geographical proximity, are dependent to each other in the economic, social and cultural areas which has been created and strengthened during the last three decades.

This paper intends to answer the question that what the election of President Obama and the new multilateral policy have resulted in Afghanistan. The answer is that this policy has brought the transatlantic views more closely to each other and led them to more joint actions and cooperation. On the other hand, the effective multilateralism will get success only if the Europeans invest more on hard power and the US to be committed to pay more attention on soft power.