Strategic Studies Quarterly

Abstract The studies conducted as part of this article show that the network of intellectuals created by the United States during the Cold War realized the ineffectiveness of a hardline and negative approach to opinions of the left and moved to provide an internal reading of it as the "non-communist left" by adopting a soft and affirmative attitude, while recognizing this orientation. By developing and supporting this idea, which transforms communism within itself and criticizes it while epistemically belonging to the left's ideology, this network promoted an alternative model that served the political purpose of institutions of power and their funders, namely curbing the influence of the Soviet Union, while undermining the foundations of the legitimacy of eastern European governments. 
 

Abstract Postmodern scholars have developed three following statements and thus affected the method of cognition and study of social relations: First, perception of the world as the text and the necessity of interpreting it; second, basing knowledge on power and historical nature of truth; and third, distrust in meta-narratives. With the three above statements, the positivist presumptions and even positivist achievements were seriously challenged, because according to positivist observational experience, first the world was regarded as reality containing truth, second knowledge was achieved independently devoid of power relations, and third there is a universal code of rules and laws that is beyond time and space. Examining the important points in postmodern understanding, this article seeks to answer the question which relation exists between the study of strategic issues and recognizing the meaning and criteria of security and the methodological findings of postmodernism. On this basis, "the postmodern method of analysis rejects the legitimacy of modernity and its achievements, but it fails to propose any alternative on how to relieve of modern insecurity. The result of this incomplete view is the distrust of people and groups in the sources of power and prevalent interpretations of truth."