پژوهش نامه ایرانی سیاست بین الملل
سال دوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 4، بهار و تابستان1393)

This article is an inquiry into the causes of the failure of the Iranian ConstitutionalRevolution of 1906 in achieving its aims and objectives، as the triumphant revolution facedmany difficulties shortly after victory. In the period، Iran was integrated into theinternational system، therefore، without noting international issues، understanding itsinternal developments cannot be possible. The current paper is a study of internationalsituation in that historical period، ranging from the victory of the revolution in 1906 to theWorld War I and finally the collapse of the constitutional government. The main questionin this paper is: why did the Iranian Constitutional Revolution، in spite of Iranian people’efforts fail? Relying on the balance of power theory as its theoretical framework، theauthors put forward the thesis that as the aims of the revolution were against the interests ofRussia and its ally of the time، Britain، the two great powers collaborated to undermine therevolution، and finally caused its defeat.

Russia is concerned with the old question of ‘what is Russia? ’ Russians’ answers to this question have influenced the country’s foreign policy directions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union، the debate over Russia’s identity and its foreign policy goals has escalated. In 1992، the political elite that identified itself with liberalism، accompanying Kozyrev، joined Yeltsin in itself efforts to make Russia into a liberal democratic market economy and a willing ally of Western hegemony in the world. The liberals were، however، challenged by Slavists and Eurasianists، and finally fell from power. With the rise of Eurasianists، Russia''s foreign policy has been changed. By the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium، a new Russia was emerged that no longer defined itself in Western or Eurasian terms، but instead sees itself as restoring Russia’s “natural” identity. Accordingly، the direction of Russian foreign policy has changed once again. In this article، internal debates over Russia’s national identity and its impact on the country’s foreign policy has been discussed. The question is what the impacts of Russia’s identity layers on its foreign policy are. The hypothesis is that different layers of Russia’s identity، that is، Slavism، Eurasianism، Atlantism as well as the so-called authentic Russian identity، have given rise to different “ought” s in its foreign policy.

After the establishment of the OPEC، oil-rich countries of the third world، which were in struggle with big petroleum companies since the 1950s، tried to use oil as a means for achieving their economic and political goals. As an example، the OPEC raised the price of petroleum in 1973 and 1974 to unprecedent levels. Concurrent with these conditions، Richard Nixon، then the President of the United States of Americapursued a new policy regarding the Persian Gulf، based on the trend of US foreign policy making، public opinion and inernational conditions. Under the new policy، known as the Nixon Doctrine، the responsibility of maintaining security in the region was entrused to regional states. Insuch circumstances، trying to perform the role of the regional gendarme، Iran purchased American arms in a large scale. The purpose of this article is the explanation of the impacts of the Nixon Doctrine on the Iran’s oil policy in the 1970s، applying James Rosenau’s linkage model.

China has been in a process of intensive industrialisation in recent years; and as a result، the country is now one of the largest growing economies in the world. Throughout the 197 s and 1980s، China was exporting oil، but in 1993 it became to an importer of oil. China''seconomic growth in recent years has turned the country into the second biggest consumer of energy and the third largest importer of crude oil in the world. The growing need forenergy has raised the issue of energy security for China. Despite the country’s effort for the diversification of sources of its importing oil، the country has become more and more dependent on the oil of the Persian Gulf. China''s current emphasis on the Persian Gulf as the energy market is historically unique. It is a relatively new player in the region; having no colonising history and unlike the US، not pursuing aggressive policies. The main question with which this study is concerned is: what is the significance of the Persian Gulf in China''s foreign policy? Using a descriptive-analytical method، this paper comes to the conclusion that the Persian Gulf enjoys an important and strategic weight in the Chinese foreign policy.

Security has been the most important issue in relations between Turkey and the European Union. Turkish leaders have always tried to link their own security concerns with those of the Union، trying to portray their country as net security provider to the EU. The European Union in its new security strategy has tried to expand its security zone outside the EU، defining issues such as terrorism، weapons of mass destruction، regional conflicts، energy security and identity security as new threats. In order to meet such threats، Turkey has been considered as an important actor. In the beginning، the relationship was limited to military partnership، but in recent years، the European Union has tried to exploit Turkey’s nonmilitary capabilities as well. The question that the persent paper wants to examine is: what are Turkey’s security capabilities to achieve permanent membership in the European Union? To answer this question، the authors examine the security concerns of the European Union، especially after the Cold War and September the 11th، as well as Turkey’s capabilities in response to such concerns.

Diplomacy is an institution as old as the state; and diplomats have always been alongside rulers. For most people، politics and diplomacy is a mysterious realm، full of astonishing rewards. In the common perception، politicians and diplomats were often seen as shrewd، ruthless، planner and sometimes just characters. Diplomacy was also considered as a technique which did not comply with fixed rules. Diplomats seldom wrote about their profession. The Shahnameh is a narration of Iranian rule from the beginning of their history until the fall of the Sassanid. A search in the Shahnameh reveals certain rules and features of diplomacy in ancient Iran. The main question in this study is: what were the characteristics of diplomatic and negotiation rules in ancient Iran? In response to this question، it is argued that due to the experimental nature of diplomacy، its rules and attributes have remained constant during the time. The etiquette of diplomacy and negotiation، however، has changed. Rereading the Shahnameh، which is the research method used in this paper، points to this conclusion.