فصلنامه روابط خارجی
پیاپی 8 (زمستان 1389)

Iran, one of the three founding members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), whose headquarters is also located in Tehran, has consistently played an important role in various aspects of the Organization’s activities. Currently, Iran funds around 22% of ECO’s annual budget and Iranian nationals constitute over 20% of its staff. The present article looks at the privileged position of Iran in this regional organization and argues that it’s considerable potential capacities in various fields can contribute to Iran’s development – to be more specific, to the development of the Iranian economy. It is argued here that ECO is well-suited to provide the necessary regional dimension for the Iranian economy, especially given the current negative international atmosphere and external constraints.

The United Nations Security Council adopted the resolution 1929 on Iran sanctions in early June 2010 – the fourth such resolution since 2006. The present article tries to evaluate the fourth round of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is the author’s assumption that even though sanctions could be effective in economic terms, they would fail in attaining their purported main objective; that is, pressuring Iran to change policy on its nuclear program within the period desired by the West. Based on this assumption, it is argued in this article that sanctions could either lead to war (with different degrees of intensity and goals) or serve as the main element of containment. Since it will be argued that war in the envisioned period is practically out of question, therefore, sanctions would lose their effectiveness in the short-term and their further intensification could instead be relied on as the main element of a containment policy. As such, the containment policy pursued by the U.S. during the past three decades will most probably continue even if with new elements and nuances.

Developments in the theories of international relations during the past several decades point to the parallel wane in the positivist outlook and growing emphasis on the role of culture in the analysis of foreign relations/policy. Hence, discussions on the interaction among culture, identity, and foreign relations have come to receive increasing attention and prominence. The present paper, relying on an analytical approach, undertakes to look at the impact of these factors on foreign relations from an Iranian historical perspective. To this end, the paper draws on the concepts of self and other as presented in Shahnameh, the epic work of Hakim Abolghassem Ferdowsi, and how they influence foreign relations. The paper looks into the distinction Ferdowsi makes between Iranians and non-Iranians [others], and raises the question of how to interpret Ferdowsi’s cultural approach? As argued in the paper, Ferdowsi looked at Iran’s foreign relations from a particular cultural perspective, which we call “Iranian-humanist perspective on foreign policy” - a perspective that respects sovereignty, and accords priority to ethical and human values over ethnic bias.

Jewish emigration to Palestine – the so-called Promised Land – as of early twentieth century and the partition of Palestine in 1948 set the stage for Israel’s subsequent systematic policy of expansionism. Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in June 1967 further expanded Israeli presence in the Palestinian lands – referred to ever since as the Occupied Territories. Faced with strong international opposition over its forcible annexation of these territories, Israel changed tactics as of 1970s and continued its expansionist policies through the Settlement Policy; that is, construction of Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories, especially in the West Bank. The net result of the new policy has been a significant change in the demographic composition in favor of Jews. The present article attempts to explain this process in terms of Stephen Barr Jones’ "Unified Field Theory." The article concludes that the still on-going Settlement Policy by Israel is part and parcel of an overall policy geared towards ultimate annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Oil price stability is an important aspect of energy security and plays an important role in the international economy. A number of factors influence oil price and its fluctuations: level of production on a global scale, inclusive of both OPEC and non-OPEC members; global level of consumption; level of investment in the energy sector, inclusive of the oil sector; and foreign exchange fluctuations, especially fluctuations in the parity value of the U.S. dollar. Oil price changes in turn impact producers, consumers and international oil companies, and affect their respective policies. Given its huge oil reserves and production and consumption capacity, the United States enjoys a special place among all major oil countries. The U.S. oil policy, also supported by a usually strong dollar, has played a very significant role in the oil price fluctuations during the past decade. In addressing the U.S. role, the present article will look into: 1) factors influencing oil price fluctuations since 2001; 2) the role of fluctuations in the U.S. dollar; and 3) the relative weight of the U.S. production and consumption capacity among non-OPEC oil countries.

Third Worldism, as a movement challenging the hegemony of the dominant order in the international system, dates back to the early years of the Cold War era in the 1950s. With its origins in the anti-colonialist and nationalist struggles of the 1950s, as symbolized, among others, by Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Third Worldism also came to be influenced by anti-capitalist and anti-Western radical and socialist/Marxist currents. The present paper looks into the phenomenon of Third Worldism from its early days and traces its development over time across the entire Third World – or the developing world as it later came to be known. The paper attempts to explore the particular challenges and opportunities of Third Worldism in the post-Cold War period. While addressing the paradoxes of this movement during the Cold War era, we try to explore its fortunes in the international system following the end of the Cold War. Our study is based on the main hypothesis that Third Worldism faces a number of serious challenges, but we conclude that it can still serve an effective factor in the North-South dichotomy.

Islam as a religion contains a comprehensive set of principles, precepts and values (belief system) which lie at the foundation of a quite elaborate body of practical edicts (do’s and don’ts) governing all aspects of the behavior and life of the faithful, at the personal as well as communal/social levels, with the ultimate goal of leading a pious, happy life and “salvation” in the Hereafter. Over and above the personal and communal affairs, Islam is also concerned with the affairs of the state, as the embodiment of the apparatus in charge of the collective affairs of the society, and its behavior at all levels, both domestic and external. Based on this overall framework, this article looks into the Qur’anic approach to international relations and tries to analyze Qur’anic propositions in order to arrive at an Islamic understanding of the nature, rules, and behavioral principles governing these relations. To this end, the author advances an analytical model for "semantic structure and legal institutions" and studies the Qur’anic precepts/propositions from the vantage point of comparison between the two semantic structures of the Jahilyya [pre-Islamic paganism] and Islam. The article then proceeds to lay out the general principles of an Islamic theory of international relations – consisting of the three principles of conviction, blissfulness, and “Velaya” [acceptance of the guardianship of jurisprudence], which, in my reckoning, could fit under the general title of an "objective ethical theory."

The present article tries to look at the nexus between religion and international relations in the contemporary world. In his analysis, the existing institutionalized concepts and analytical tools of the orthodox and dominant theories of international relations can hardly provide an objective understanding of this nexus, particularly the quite significant political developments during the past several decades in various parts of the world. He ascribes such a failure mainly to the cultural context and content of such theories. Furthermore, he considers the very topic of the relationship between religion and international relations as an inappropriate abstract result of the impact of the Iranian Revolution on regional and international equations, and hence, on the current international relations discipline. Viewed as such, the author undertakes to look into the nexus with a view to providing a sound framework for understanding and analysis. To this end, he tries to caution against undue reliance on the limited value and relevance of un-experienced thought and instead vouch for the value, relevance, and utility of un-thought experience. He concludes that the latter approach deserves to be accorded top priority in future research agenda.

According to most traditional theories of international relations, including new-realism, balance of power was considered as the predetermined choice for states, depending, of course, on the existence of certain conditions such as anarchy in the international system and power-seeking for survival. But the fact that two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War an international order based on balance of power has not emerged seems perplexing and begs analysts for explanation. This article tries to look into this and explore possible answers. To this end, first Kenneth Waltz's theory of balance of power is studied, to be followed by a short critical analysis of the logical problems and historical inconsistencies related to the theory. The authors then turn to the theoretical assumptions of the article and present a catalogue of factors influencing the behavior of states in the international system, including the balance of power orientation. And finally, they suggest a number of conclusions.