Strategic Studies Quarterly

Abstract Extended Abstract

Introduction:
The significant contribution of historical and experimental endeavors to the development of security studies, coupled with the overlooked concept of security in renowned philosophers’ thoughts, has resulted in a limited connection between contemporary security studies and these philosophers’ views. Even though they had not directly addressed the issue of security, their exploration of topics like revolutions, social conflicts, succession wars, and racial conflicts indirectly encompassed this concept. Thus, the lack of a distinct concept of security in these thinkers’ ideas doesn’t imply that they disregarded or undervalued this concept.
Viewed from this standpoint, the confinement of contemporary security studies to the recent decades, and the insufficient consideration given to the insights of philosophers from earlier times, can be seen as a significant deficiency in these studies. To rectify this, it becomes imperative to revisit the philosophies of these thinkers, scrutinizing them with a fresh perspective and an understanding shaped by today’s concept of security.
Hence, reevaluating the political doctrines of eminent philosophers, through the prism of both traditional and modern security notions, is not merely crucial but also beneficial. Apart from addressing the deficiencies of contemporary security studies, this sets up specific criteria for assessing both current security perspectives and everyday security strategies, theoretically and practically.
Methodology:
Aristotle, despite the historical nature of his work, is a highly distinguished philosopher whose ideas merit analysis through this approach. This paper aims to extract themes related to contemporary security concepts from Aristotle’s teachings. It poses a fundamental question: What are the features of a security theory grounded in Aristotle’s teachings and political thought? To answer this, the hermeneutic method is employed to idntify key security points and themes related to the concept of security from his political thought. These are then analyzed in accordance with modern security perspectives across military, political, social, and economic dimensions.
Conclusion:
Through this process, the principles of a security theory - namely, the security referent object, security issue, and security measures - are discerned. Consequently, the research hypothesis is formulated as follows: A security theory rooted in Aristotle’s teachings and political thought aligns with the philosophy of emancipation. In this theory, the polis or state (political society) serves as the security referent object, harmonizing with the military, political, social, and economic dimensions of security. Concurrently, this theory’s foundations are built on military strength to counter external threats, political stability, societal peace, and just distribution to fulfill economic needs.
This paper shows that while Aristotle may not have explicitly established a security theory, his ideas align with the security perspectives of contemporary theorists across military, political, social, and economic domains. Accordingly, we can identify security elements within his political thought and study the security referent object, security issue, and security measures from an Aristotelian perspective, albeit not within a framework directly formulated by Aristotle himself.
The paper also emphasizes that the “good life” is at the heart of Aristotelian philosophy. Since this goal is best achieved within the polis (political society), in a security framework grounded in Aristotelian thought, the polis or state becomes the referent object of security. Key elements of safeguarding the security of the polis in this view include defending the polis against external threats, ensuring its stability and peace through appropriate institutional structures, and nurturing virtuous citizens who enjoy a degree of economic prosperity due to just asset distribution.
The paper’s findings also suggest that Aristotle’s security philosophy is fundamentally rooted in the concept of emancipation. This is because, in his view, security stems from factors such as upholding virtue, fostering virtuous and just citizens, just distribution, enforcing justice among equals, adherence to the law, education aligned with the nation’s constitution, and citizens’ rights to participate in governance and receive respect. The ultimate aim of security is the “good life”, and the use of military power serves this purpose rather than being a means for domination. These emancipation-based elements form the bedrock of societal security in an Aristotelian security theory.

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the topics connected with the modern concepts of security in Plato's political philosophy. The opinions of the great philosophers of history, despite their lateness and context, since they are viewed from the perspective of today's security concepts, they provide criteria based on which modern security schools can be established. In this regard, the upcoming article raises the fundamental question of what kind of approach to the concept of security can be deduced from Plato's political thought. In the light of answering this question, the reference, issue and means of security are identified in Plato's thought. Using the hermeneutic method, this study shows that the security approach derived from Plato's political thought is an approach based on the philosophy of liberation, based on which security is based on the dominance of soft factors such as establishing divine laws, acquiring human virtues and establishing Justice (all in its Platonic sense) emerges in society.

Abstract This article studies the role of legislature branch in creating security and recounting the causes and roots of inefficiency of parliaments in performing their securing functions and recognizes the necessary conditions for parliament to govern national security and how to achieve these conditions. In this regard, the role of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in good security governance in Iran will also be discussed. Parliaments need institutions such as free, fair and frequent elections, freedom of expression, alternative sources of information, independent organizations, and integrated citizenship to consolidate national security. Economic progress, the absence of a wide gap in economic and social inequalities, the existence of democratic cultural foundations (such as tolerance of dissent, consensus on the democratic method, etc.), non-preference of individual, ethnic and group interests over national interests and lack of foreign intervention are some tools for the continuity and proper functioning of parliament in order to strengthen national security. Until the aforementioned conditions and equipment are provided, no parliament, including the Islamic Consultative Assembly, will be able to perform its functions optimally in order to increase the national security coefficient.

Abstract The discourse of the 11^th administration has taken shape based on the noble concept of "moderation" and its components include an interactive approach to the outside world, a moderate interaction model inside the country, an Iranian-Islamic model of development, a broad non-securitized model in the social field, non-mechanical cultural engineering, a combined-local-economic approach to national security with software orientation, creating a promotional model of the Islamic Republic, and a cultural approach to the fight against imperialism. Studies show that the moderation discourse has been effective in the fields of military security, political security, and social cohesion; has had a dual outcome in the area of economic security; and has a long way to achieve the stated goals in the field of environmental security despite some accomplishments.
 
 

Abstract The paper considers the relationship between nation-building strategies and uneven regional development in Iran during Pahlavi’s era and the Islamic Republic of Iran and raises the question of effects of their strategies of nation-building on regional imbalances witnessed in Iran. And its main hypothesis is as follows: in spite of different results of the strategies of nation-building in the two eras, both of them have led, to some extent, to regional uneven development. The findings of this paper have been illustrated through causal explanation and they indicate that among different elements of strategies of nation-building, some common factors like political and economic decentralization, and top-down reforms have been followed in the both eras and they have been creating uneven development in Iran.
 

Abstract Election mechanism is a basic requirement of a democratic system. It is important not only for its role in founding a democratic society but also it has impact on the functions of the system in several aspects including political, economic and social affairs. National security as one of the important aspects of political affairs is not excluded from influence of the election mechanism. Therefore the paper illustrates the impacts of election mechanism on national security using system theories, historical studies and quantitative methods. Establishing security-building functions of election mechanisms, some case studies against and proper conditions for the realization of those functions are among other topics touched in this paper. This study shows that the implementation of the said functions is subject to a set of requirements namely the adoption of an appropriate election mechanism, filling the ethnic, race and religious gaps in multi- sector societies, promotion of cultural participation, lessening the influence of great powers and finally overcoming challenges of economic underdevelopment.  

Abstract The Islamic Republic of Iran has gone through several security periods. Enjoying the methodology of “discourse analysis”, this paper discusses the component and impacts of discourses which were prevailing, in Iran, during President Ahmadinejad’s era.   Therefore, the main hypotheses of the paper is: the prevailing discourse of President Ahmadineja’s administration was to return to a revolutionary contraction and expansion that was realized by new elements in a different context and amongst the Islamic and the Revolutionary values, the idea of “Islamic Justice” was highlighted more than others. Thus, the paper concludes that although President Ahmadinejad’s administrations have been successful in achieving peaceful nuclear technology, expansion of relations with some Latin American countries, however, it ended up with new problems like referring the Iran nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council, expansion of international sanctions and consensus against the Islamic Republic of Iran.  

Abstract This article tries to review the relation between democracy and national security in less-developed nations. Since there are some limits on civil and political freedoms in less-developed countries in the name of national security, and democracy has had some unpleasant impacts on national security in these kinds of nations, author tries to analyze this issue.  This article shows that democracy and civil institutions of democratic system can correct and facilitate the flow of data, match outputs and inputs in political system, and coordinate components of political system with its functional environment, and help to increase national security factors. This occurs through functions like making social cohesion, increasing political capacity, increasing the legitimacy of system, positive effects on nation building process, and adapting elites discourse with social discourse.