Strategic Studies Quarterly

Abstract Managing and countering ethnic and religious extremist actions requires a thorough understanding of the components of the tendency of the element's members of these groups. At first glance, the idea is to deprive these elements of normal life and then join extremist ethnic and religious groups such as ISIS. The aim of this study is to answer the question: "What effect do the components of relative deprivation have on the tendency of some residents of the west of Iran to ISIS?". Considering the existing historical concepts and models to explain the factors of tendency to ethnic and religious extremist groups, new conceptual model has been designed using the theory of relative deprivation and has been studied by 80 security convicts with a history of membership in the ISIS group. The research data were analyzed using SPSS and SMART PLS software and regression and Friedman tests. In the end, the effectiveness of each variable was discussed in terms of existence and intensity.
 
 

Abstract Since security and justice are both among the top virtues of human society, makes it difficult to prefer one of them in positions of conflict or to explain their relationship. In this article, author first defines both concepts and then explains possible positions of practical and theoretical conflict between them. Security based and justice based approaches are two classical ways of solving the conflicts.   Author argues that Islamic approach which is based on interaction between justice and security has more explanatory power to solve the positions of conflict.  According to this approach we should separate justice and security aspects (function and fundamental). By this separation we find that justice and security in linear function (security function with justice function or security fundamentals with justice fundamentals) don’t have any conflicts. But in cross terms (security function with justice fundamentals or security fundamentals with justice functions) we can consider conflicts. Albeit, in this situation naturally functions have priority over fundamentals.

Abstract The main question of this article is that “while there is spreading economic critics of egalitarianism economic justice policies, why numerous governments follow this policy? “The hypothesis argues that national security concerns are determined factors in pursuit of these economic policies by governments. Since discrimination and relative deprivation are negative factors in national security states value economic justice. The more discrimination will form the more challenges against political regime and national integration. Nevertheless, discrimination feeling is not confined to deprived people, but affluent class also can feel discriminated and challenge national security.

Abstract The effect of the eleventh presidential elections on the political stability of Iran is discussed in this essay. To find the answer, at first, the effect of this election is analyzed based on the relative deprivation theory. Then, the most prominent programs and promises of this government are mentioned as independent variants. Studies showed that this mentioned election has brought a favorable but an unstable and short- time condition for the political stability of the country. This status can be prolonged by the government’s attention to the rule of law, control of corruption, government effectiveness, developing private sector, and cost effectiveness.    

Abstract In his relative deprivation theory, Ted Robert Gurr is on the belief that if any obstacle is created to the way of the people’s achievement of their objectives and demands, they will become subject to relative deprivation and the natural and biological outcome of such a situation is to harm the source of the deprivation. Thus, relative deprivation is the result of the interval understood by the people as existing between their value expectations (demands) and value capabilities (belongings). But how can we achieve the psychological variable in relative deprivation? To answer this question and to assess the relative deprivation theory, Gurr describes this variable as mental in the cases he presents, and furthermore, he refers to the grand and structural variables.   Noting this paradox, this article tries to demonstrate that in order to scrutinize relative deprivation, one should explore the people’s mentalities. It should also be mentioned that the study of value capabilities, which is supposed to be conducted in an objective situation, is possible by referring to the mentalities of the actors of collective violence, considering the theory’s focus and subsequent problems arising from its structural outlook. On this basis, it is stressed that in order to evaluate relative deprivation, both the people’s value expectations (demands and oughts to) and their value capabilities (belongings and beings) have to be sought in their mentalities.