Strategic Studies Quarterly

Abstract Since the mid 1970s we have witnessed adoption of remarkable number of agreements on support and encouragement of bilateral foreign investments between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other countries.Although this has been welcomed by many countries, due to some challenges in adoption and implementation of this kind of agreements, they have not been concurred equally. The challenge lies in the fact that within these agreements, two national expediencies are facing each other: the necessity of growth and development and cooperation with others on one hand, and the necessity of control and preserving public and governmental assets in order to prevent domination of foreigners on national resources and interests. The above- said laws is a forum to link these two expediencies.This paper aims to answer the question that how the Constitution and the domestic laws of the Islamic Republic ofIranand the agreements of bilateral foreign investments can link the two expediencies.    

Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to study the pathology of the ways combating administrative corruption in Iran. There are not many countries like Iranwhich is involved in combating administrative corruption and its politicians pay that amount of attention to this problem. However, despite lots of resources dedicated to this combat in Iran, less result has been achieved. This paper argues that this is because of ignoring or less attention to the effective problems, the most important of which are as follows: ethical approach in combating corruption, generalization of Weberian bureaucracy to the reality, concealment and lack of transparency in combating administrative corruption, neglecting the citizen's demand side of administrative corruption, bureaucratic authority, weak bases of the client and its fragile feature in the bureaucracy, sympathetic attempts in a rentier environment, centralized ownership of mass media and limitations by the governments over the quantity and quality of their reports, deficient use of market-oriented mechanisms, pressure of interest groups to restrain from seriously following the combat administrative corruption and finally lack of trust to the relevant independent institutions

Abstract Models of studies of politics are conceptual models which can be used in analysis of Public Policy. This paper focuses on analysis of Public Policy through the prism of institutional, process, group, elites, rational, game theories, public choice and systems. This paper shows whether each model and theory provides rather practical possibilities for the officials or they are useful instruments for analysts of social problems. This discussion also shows which of them can assist us in understanding of various activities involving in Public Policy and which one is appropriate for evaluation and criticism of the process of policy making. Finally, the author offers some general criteria which can be constructive in recognizing efficacy of these concepts and models as well as their evaluation through framework of Public Policy.

Abstract Ted Robert Ger is one of the prominent researchers in ethnical studies that unlike modernist researchers don’t use only from one factor in explaining ethnical conflicts, but sees it as multilateral and multidimensional phenomena. In this article, after studing the main concepts of ethnical issues and different attitudes on it, varios ethinical groups in Ger's view have been discussed and then the main effective factors in shaping ethnical conflicts including prominence and importance of ethnical – cultural identity, motivations of ethnical – political action (Past grievances, fear from the future and hope for gain privilege), capacity of ethnical – political action and options and apportunities (apportunity structure) have been detailed and analyzed.    

Abstract Geography of elections is one of the most relatively old concepts of the science of political Geography that assesses the interaction between space and place, electional processes, variety of decisions and vote results of voters of different regions, effectiveness of space differences of political behavior and shaping of polling stations.   Deviding territory to Polling – stations with specific borders and in proportional with geographical charactristics, general acceptance and electorial laws are preconditions of election and appointing the representatives of the people. This geograplical limites as a context for electing representatives in various local, regional and national levels, have an certain effect on the combination and founction of political institutations of the state. Thus, dividing territory to polling – stations based on numerus territorial, cultural and populational factors and applying geographical information systems, is the main focuse of Geography of Elections.

Abstract After Occupation of Afghanestan andIraqfollowing september 11 events, Unintentionally United States has enhanced the Position of Islamic Republic of Iran in the region. This unintentional consequence and Iran's attempt for achiving to nuclear energy, has forced America by overstating the threat of Iran for the region, to exploit from existed divides and paradoxes in the middle east for containment and underminng Islamic Republic of Iran. Accordingly, there woruld be a kind of convergence between America, Europe, Isreal, Arab States and sunni foundamentalists opposit Iran and shitte groups in Iraq and south lebanon that it is a threat against interests and national security of Islamic Republic of Iran.

Abstract In Public and Political Circles and even in most scientific debates, sometimes the concepts of doctrines, policy and strategy have been applied so intertwined and with close meanings that distinguishing between their conceptual and theoretical boundaries have become a foundamental problem. In fact, theoretical and conceptual interference and ambiguity between doctrine, policy and strategy is a considerable scientific issue that must be taken into account In this article, while establishing a connection between these concepts and the concept of security, there is an attempts toward designing a theoretical boundaries between them. Accordingly, the auther triees to reassess the assumptions regarding ambiguity of security concept and interference of boundaries of security studies. In this basis, it can be said that security is a theoretical context and denomination of doctrine, policy and strategy.

Abstract We witnessed a new school in international politics so called neo-realism after Hans Morgenthau's dead in July 1980. Kenneth Waltz – the notably scientist in IR – made some adjustments in realism produced by Morgenthau for analyzing international order and disorder in his The Theory of International Politics. In the paper could be found the differentiations between Realism and Neo- Realism in concerned with Waltz's book, so it needs to respond what is the cognitive manner and international security analyses in Neo-Realism? With the reviewing the adjustments and the presuppositions and the key concepts of Neo- Realism it is make popper condition for focus on four main ideas of it. Rethinking the essential suppositions of realism by Neo-realism, the author argues; make proper explanation in international security for regarding to dynamic nature and logics of affairs and conception.

Abstract The purpose of paper does explore approaches of three generations of thinkers as three discourses in strategic culture. The strategic culture is used as an independent variable for explanting strategic behaviors at first. Appearing this conception in strategic behaviors has been meaning the acceptance of non- material and structural factors in analyzing it. In three decades made three discourses that all emphases on relationship between strategic culture and behavior, albeit reached the different conclusion from it.It is impossible in the first discourse analyzing the behavior without strategic culture, second one introduces the strategic culture as a means and instrument of running the strategy, the relationship between culture and strategic behavior in the third one does discuss strategic culture role in the context of strategic behavior.

Abstract Following the Skinner's method in reading of political paper, the paper is examining security in Nizam – ul – Mulk's perception as a notably thinkers in political curriculum. In his explanation there is 'organic' relation between subjects' security and the king's power. Security make proper situation for developing subjects' welfare and resulted that the king could assess taxation in incomes of them for improving the 'treasury' of kingdom. So this balance and equilibrium between them is necessary so that subjects couldn't take power and independence for making resistance in front of the king and would be in mercy and horror situation. The main security problems in the kingdom as Nizam – ul – Mulk's perception are increasing the power of the other kings, appearing the seditious and the impious in the religion, the king's weakness and dubiety on enforcing the force, unemployment, and dominancy of children and women in the kingdom.

Abstract Alexander Vent as a distinguished constructivist thinker does argue that the problems of the scholars of international relations and the political scientists were just be understanding of global politics and power distribution without thinking about what constructed the global system and how it organized. Vent by reviewing the current schools of the international relations field is criticizing the neo – realism so that it is important but by focus on individualism and materialism is imperfect. That is paying more attention on decision makers without any mentioning on social structures that shapes the individuals. Crucial critique of Vent is deal with materialistic views of neo – realism as an objective willing and properties. Here the main hypothesis of the article by exploring the political from the constructivist view is that the political actors do often pursuit to substitute recognition on power (in the neo – realism) and wealth (in the neo – liberal view).

Abstract Categories of ideology and strategy independently was examined and defined in many works, but surveying the relationship of these categories didn't just adequate by current independent studies. For acute comparison between ideological and strategic view, it is necessity to explore their historical origins, their whole characteristics and functions and also responding the any non- academic prejudice about them. In this article by examining of the historical, the conceptual, the functional, of each category, it is criticizing the dichotomy of definitions of them that in the one side ideology is defined as idealism, morals, changeability, emotionalism, false consciousness, and non-cognitive view and the other side strategy is introduced as realism, ethical impartiality, verification, rationality, true consciousness and scientific knowledge.

Abstract The information age involves fundamental changes and gaps in the interpretation of strategic information. Although the role played by strategic information can be clarified by a category called decision, and the futurist approach in strategic decisions is the vital conditions for strategies, but its function includes two direct aspects: First, the recognition and evaluation of all intelligence news which have a bearing on the existing conditions, and second analyzing, concluding, and producing information that can prevent strategic surprise in one way or another in the future. This imaging in the information age makes us recognize the characteristics of information age and explain the functions of strategic information, while identifying the challenges to its processing in the information age. These challenges in turn include challenge in the type of information, challenge in the producer of information, challenge in the space of information analysis, challenge in the type of client, and challenge in the types of threats. The author concludes that in the new era, the domain of surprise especially with regard to threats without the threatening agent is tremendously more salient, more sensitive, and more efficient.

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."

Abstract This article deals with the thought bases of Islamic fundamentalism. In fact, the main question is what constitutes Islamic fundamentalism and which parameters and statements it has. According to the author’s hypothesis, Islamic fundamentalism as an ideology is characterized with particular parameters, statements and thought-political foundations making it distinct from other prevalent mainstream ideologies in the 20^th century including liberalism, socialism, nationalism and alike. In spite of its multiplicity in theory and practice in the Muslim World, Islamic fundamentalism shares certain thought and political foundations including comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of Islamic religion, linkage between religion and politics, need to return to the original precepts of Islam, establishment of Islamic government, as well as pragmatism and having a practical plan and strategy for transition from undesirable non-Islamic conditions to desirable Islamic conditions. In this sense, the author considers fundamentalism as tantamount to al-Osuliah in the opinions of such Islamists as Yusof Gharzavi, Rachid al-Ghanoochi and Hassan al-Banna and examines its relationship with such concepts as Islamic awakening and religious reformism. On this ground, Islamic fundamentalism presents a new interpretation of relationship among human, god and society in contradiction to the modern version in order to secure worldly and other-worldly happiness of human being.    

Abstract Time and spatial contexts do not always conform to religious teachings; so, the question of their contradiction and the possibility of the rise of conflict within society has been subject to historical debates. From this perspective religion has not merely a security-generating function and its conflictual dimensions should be also taken into consideration. This writing deals with the second aspect of the issue and tries to identify the security-generating functions and objectives in the event of the rise of a conflict. For this purpose, it chooses the concept of the arena of reform as an enormous intra-religious concept and re-interprets major jurisprudential rules concerning the quality of conflict settlement. The author concludes that there are two types of positive and negative reforms. The positive form refers to the apriori management of conditions in order to prevent the appearance of conflict. The negative form also includes apriori management of conflicts and their resolution with minimum degree of controversy. Hence, the unpeaceful management of conflicts pattern is derived from these two patterns.

Abstract Neo-idealism is among the salient and influential schools in the analysis of international security and relations. This school is distinguished from neo-realism because of its emphasis on the idea of limited state and trans-state community-based outlook. The school lacks the liberals' weakness and optimism given its sophistication and comprehensiveness. Neo-idealism seeks to extrapolate power relations and develop ideas for changing them so that all world inhabitants enjoy desirable security. Democratic governance, priority of absolute achievements and subjugation of security to sustainable public welfare constitute the foundations of this school. Neo-idealist scholars provoked hopes by developing such statements; but with the lapse of time and appearance of neo-idealist capacities, it became apparent that this outlook suffers from weaknesses in spite of significant innovations. Due to their propensity to rationalism, neo-idealists are no immune to mental biases and pre-judgments, they underestimate the reality of the state and hard power in shaping groups' identities and even in the drawing and repairing norms, and they tend to suffice to provide general and simplistic ideas in explaining the factors of changes.

Abstract The issue of organized crimes has recently gained the attention of those interested in new strategic analyses as one of the security threats. Nevertheless, in most cases, no reference is mainly made to the major records and the place of this issue in social sciences as well as law, and most of these studies lack depth failing to delve into the technical discussions. This shows that the researchers on security studies gradually learn the necessity of paying attention to this topic. In this article, the author seeks to precisely and comprehensively analyze the concept, dimensions and theoretical models of organized crimes drawing on the existing approaches and literature. Finally, the relationship between these crimes and political stability, social order and national security are explored. First, organized crimes are classified according to their area of activity (domestic or transnational), type of activity (trafficking, organizational and political corruption, and money-laundry), and type of the organization (Mafia-like, criminal, and terrorist), and then theoretical frameworks for the analysis of such crimes are scrutinized. These frameworks include hierarchical model, patron-client model, and economic model. The final section of the article deals with the criminal policy towards such crimes and offering a framework for evaluating them at the political unit level.

Abstract This article mainly seeks to provide a framework to help us reach a better understanding of the nature, causes and grounds of the rise of administrative (economic) corruption in a political-economic system. Administrative corruption refers to the misuse by a person of public powers for self-interests of a party, faction, friends, relatives and so on. It indeed appears when the public civil servants fail to make a distinction between personal and public interests in executing their public powers. On this basis, the author identifies six approaches to administrative corruption and examines the causes and grounds for the rise of corruption within these contexts. These approaches include: cost-benefit, relative deprivation, rent-seeking, employer, non-agent, patron-client and moral approaches. Each of these approaches is able to explain part of administrative corruption. The former five approaches take political and institutional grounds into their analytical agenda, which consolidate and underpin the capacity of public sector’s employee in taking personal advantage of public power – i.e. the essence of corruption. According to the author, administrative corruption is a kind of institutional dysfunction related to the institutional arrangements and political structures of a society rather than the bureaucrats’ immorality. In conclusion, the author has counted the characteristics of an effective strategy to battle corruption, which contains the policy recommendations of the five aforementioned approaches.

Abstract Trust is one of the fundamental and less-attended issues in social and political studies and it constitutes the basis of the society and social relations. Discussing the sources of trust and its importance in various spheres, this research focuses on social order. With respect to the sources, the article identifies two types of social or sociological sources on the one hand and intellectual, philosophical or doctrinal sources on the other. Two discussions of economic performance and social equality are included in the heading of the first source, and certain moral outlooks, beliefs and values are counted under the heading of intellectual sources. There are three kinds of social order and corresponding types of trust, the establishment of order that corresponds to the habit based on the habitus and it acts through custom, fame and memory; regulating order that is based on emotions and affection acting according to family relations, friends and the community; and auxiliary order that is founded upon trust as based on policy, conscious compliance with the rules and commandments and perception of their usefulness, and it acts according to cohesion, tolerance and legitimacy. These kinds of order act alongside each other and are related with the other elements of the society. Therefore, change in any of the aforementioned elements may affect the subject and issue of trust as well. Furthermore, trust has a mutual relationship with the other elements of the society and influences them as it is affected by the others. Therefore, the appearance of a problem in one of these aspects may be followed by a circle of declined trust. This is a point that should be considered in the formation of social and political developments.

Abstract This article addresses the weak points of the dominant discourse in the field of international relations, namely realism and neorealism, and displays that issues related to security cannot be analyzed well in the modern age according to those assumptions. Pointing to the underdevelopment of the international relations discipline and proposing critical, postmodernist and feminist theories, the author tries to stress that these approaches give more space to those marginalized in the mainstream of international relations field in order to enter it. In this line, he believes that these theories, by questioning epistemological, ontological and methodological assumptions of realism, challenge the approach’s traditional outlook on security and have integrated new security relations and new analytical frameworks in the field, by including destitute people, women and the poor as actors in the domain of international relations. For critical theorists, security is often defined as the absence of threat, and it is closely linked with the concept of emancipation and world autonomy leading to freedom of action and true security. Postmodernism also creates satisfaction for those who see the world of politics from the viewpoint of peripheral actors. Within feminism, insecurity is also a gender issue that is combined with the other sources of insecurity. Furthermore, feminists seek to make international relations gender-sensitive.

Abstract The consistency of consolidated legitimacy with the continued power constitutes the basic presumption of security in modern states, and the rulers in the today’s world need the trust and popularity on part of the ruled. This correspondence is not of less importance in the Islamic Republic when compared to other regimes, because its focal point has not shifted from the inside to the outside yet. Hence, this article seeks to present a narrative of the process of legitimation within a strategic context, using a discoursive method. On this basis, discoursive change in the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy has formulated three main discourses on legitimation as follows: essential discourse, instrumental discourse, and procedural discourse. The analytical narrative of this article is founded upon the process of change in such discourses according to the articulation of such criteria as the degree of recurrence, limits of discursive shift, statement discipline, and the methods of rejection which in sum lead the author to the hypothesis that the current situation represents the end of legitimiation in the Islamic Republic’s system. In other words, having passed the stage of establishing legitimiation, the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered the phase of meta-legitimiation. The parameters providing the contingency of discourses in the new age include linkage character, the priority of utterances, and the recurrence of interpreted discourses. The inability to understand this level of discoursive shift and adapting to it results in the crisis and disruption of the state’s adaptive function. Moreover, empowerment in this area will promote the degree of recurrence and the level of discipline of legitimizing statements.

Abstract This article intends to point out that the acquisition of power on part of human has not been met only through his ongoing predisposition to authority and the establishment of the state, but he seeks, by nature, to destroy the surrounding and dominant authority of alien and non-alien states as well. The human nature is not merely manifested in the building of states; but also human effort is concentrated on the abolition of states. To investigate the possibility of anti-state is another effort to come in terms with the other ways of political unity among those groups of humans that do not tend to be subjected to the city-state. This article aims to explain the separation of states’ political interests from the internal and external identities seeking to destroy them. On this ground, the future of world order is not merely subject to the existing states and sovereignties, but it will depend on the threats that anti-states pose to the states.Anti-state, by nature, lacks a history as clear as that of the concept of state and historical concept of state; but it has played a part throughout history along with the state authority and has resisted its manifestations either secretly or openly. Hence, any historical study of state hinges on the historical discovery of its antithesis which has existed in a variety of periods and in a multitude of ways both implicitly and explicitly. At our time, the phenomenon of September 11^th signifies the rise of anti-state vis-à-vis the global authority and dominance of a single superpower, i.e. the United States.

Abstract To specify the goals and agenda-setting are among the most important stages and aspects of strategic and national planning. Due to this importance, this article seeks to methodologically and systematically analyze national goals using a conceptual approach. To do this, it initially considers the components of planning at various international, national and supranational levels as a whole or a system. Admitting the presence of different patterns in the location and seniority or inferiority of these components, the author specifies the nature and place of national goals in relation to other components like ideals, values, interests, strategies and so on. Then he tries to classify national ends according to such criteria as timing, division of areas, and resources. The author is of the belief that national goals should be formulated and declared in a general, scheduled, quantitative, transparent, calculable, and logical way consistent with the population’s aspirations and beliefs so that they serve as a connecting bridge between micro demands and objectives, and ultimate ideals and ends.The last part of the article seeks to explain the relationship between the Islamic Republic’s 20-year view and national ends, and clarifies its status among the political system’s overall policies and 5-year development plans. Finally, the author proposes certain directives for the further adaptation of 20-year view’s instrument with the characteristics of national goals.

Abstract Religion has always been the strongest factor in the creation of order and stability in various dimensions of socio-political relations. Religious beliefs have ensured the continuity of communities through giving meaning to collective life and regulating group relations. Nonetheless, religion is prone to interpretation. Thus it is the historical root of the formation of different denominations, sects and groups which result in social schism and political instability. In such conditions, the split groups usually seek to create a smaller community from national society and disrupt the process of social integration.   This article, while acknowledging the regulatory and integrative functions of religious cults, just examines and explains disruptive effects of religious sectarianism on the process of the establishment of political order and stability from a sociological perspective. This article tests the hypothesis that religious sectarianism is a soft threat to the political stability and constitutes groundwork for the rise of violence in the society.On this basis, sects as the social opposition of the political establishment, play a crucial role in the weakening of political unity and in undermining the foundations of government’s legitimacy. These groups may affect the foreign policy of the state and cause foreign provocation against the existing state.