فصلنامه راهبرد
پیاپی 60 (پاییز 1390)

The Europe Union's is the largest importer of oil and gas world accounting for about 29 percent of total energy imports in the world and is, as such, susceptible to fluctuations in energy market. Oil price hikes due to the rise of new energy-rich players have increased the need to formulate new common security and foreign policies. As a result of dependence on the Russian energy imports (which supplies 27 percent of EU’s energy) and political instability in the Persian Gulf, the European Union has had to adopt new policies to ensure energy security and secure energy supply in the future. Following collapse of the former Soviet Union, new republics, especially around Caspian Sea (Central Asia and Caucasus), have been drawing attention from EU and other big powers to their energy reserves. As a result, vast investments have been made in oil exploration, production, and transmission. This paper aims to review new energy security strategies and their position in EU’s future policies with special emphasis on the Caspian energy resources. Given the importance of energy, geopolitical and geoeconomic features of Caspian Sea and conditions reigning EU, the question is what will be the impact of EU’s attention to Caspian energy resources on European countries’ energy security? This study shows that EU’s foreign policy attaches special significance to Caspian Sea energy and European countries are ready to further expand economic and trade ties with Caspian states.

War and security are the most common key concepts in international relations literature and strategic studies. Investigating the relationship between these two has always been a major concern for researchers in both fields. Although a great deal of research has been carried out on both war and security, only few works scrutinize various dimensions of the existing relationship between them. Which wars lead to better security and which ones diminish security in international relations? Which model expounds how various states choose to cooperate with either side of a war? These are basic questions that the present article means to answer through a model derived from theory of Constructivism. It will finally examine the Iran-Iraq war, as a case-study, applying the aforesaid model in a bid to offer better understanding of the war as far as the relationship between war and security is concerned.

There are different approaches to security in the Iranian scientific and executive community, each focusing on various aspects of security. The 20-Year Vision Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Perspective 2025) contains important security imperatives. This article identifies and analyzes security dimensions of the Plan by adopting a multilateral approach. Those dimensions have been analyzed through five approaches: cultural, ethical, economic, environmental and military. In addition, related challenges and opportunities are analyzed. The authors assume that given the current situation of Iran in Southwest Asia, achieving the Vision Plan’s goals requires a multilateral approach to security as ignoring security aspects of the Plan would amount to disregard for an important part of the Plan.

Political participation is about people who aim to change an undesirable power structure into a desirable one. Cultural image is the first principle of political participation which makes this process possible and greatly depends on collective structures which shape political culture of every country. This paper analyzes dualist models of political sociology including functionalism, psychoanalytical linguistics, structuralism and linear models to come up with a theoretical model to study the culture of political participation in Iran. Our analytical model has been based on critical and communicative approaches as well as Islamic, Iranian and western lifeworlds. Using prescriptive policymaking formulas, we will show how those three kinds of lifeworld pave the way for political participation and in which case, they lead to passivity and dictatorship in politics.

Representatives of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela came together in September 1960 to find a way and prevent repeated decline in oil prices announced by big oil companies. The meeting gave birth to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) some half a century ago. the organization was a political reaction to an economic stimulus because oil revenues had turned into the most important source of power and legitimacy for oil-rich countries. Representatives of member states make decisions about output ceiling of the organization and members’ quotas, thus determining price of a vital international commodity. Since consumption of oil and energy is a basic component of wealth generation and because wealth and economy are necessary conditions for power and security, there is a fundamental link connecting oil, wealth, power, security and politics. Considering its huge capacities in terms of energy reserves, production, exports, and surplus output capacity, OPEC has turned into one of the most effective organizations in international political economy during the past 50 years. This paper studies interaction between this organization and other political and international variables through an international political economic approach using a descriptive – explanatory method. Findings show that for OPEC decisions to have optimal effect, they should keep a wise distance form power and politics. The same findings also prove that optimal performance of the organization is a function of the distance between its decisions and power and politics. Therefore, assessment of opportunities and threats in the past half a century can provide good grounds for the formulation of efficient strategies to increase efficiency of OPEC in the next half a century.

Military occupation of Iraq following 9/11 terror attacks and the fall of the Baathist regime led to new geopolitical changes in the Middle East subsequent to disintegration of the bipolar world system. Such terms as “New Middle East,” or “Greater Middle East” are telltale signs of geopolitical changes in this sensitive part of the world. The above developments have provided grounds for further rivalry among international and regional powers which aim to increase their clout in the Middle East and make the most of the new geopolitical and geostrategic conditions. Strategic void that followed the fall of Saddam in Iraq provided Israel with a good opportunity to focus on its geopolitical and geostrategic goals and formulate strategic plans for northern parts of Iraq which are of high geopolitical and geoeconomic importance in Israel’s political and military strategy. Thus, Israel sees Iraqi Kurdistan as its geopolitical heartland which can enable it to carry out strategic plans which are reflected by such ideas as “Greater Israel” or “From Nile to Euphrates.”

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established after the collapse of bipolar world system to herald the establishment of new conditions in international system and Eurasia. Russia and China, as two great world powers spearheading establishment of the organization, India and Pakistan as two nuclear powers, and Iran as a potential regional power and observe member of SCO, follow their own strategic approaches to the Organization. Meanwhile, the United States, as the world’s most powerful country, is very sensitive to membership of 21st century’s most important powers in this organization and follows its own specific approach.China’s strategic approach to SCO aims to invigorate Chinese economy and strengthen its development capacities while Russia’s approach to SCO is more founded on its strategic policy of active presence in surrounding regions and maintaining the balance of power in Eurasia. US approach to the Organization is based on containment policy which aims to keep international balance of power in Washington’s favor. India is trying to increase its domestic capacities and economic power in rivalry with Pakistan while Pakistan’s interest in SCO stems from lack of strategic depth which has prompted Islamabad to find new allies in the face of India. Convergence with eastern powers in a bid to maintain balance in international system is likely to be the main motivation for Iran’s observer membership in SCO.

Today, organizations use strategic management to gain sustainable competitive advantages and to boost productivity. Institutionalizing strategic management needs suitable research methods. The present aims to determine suitable research methods in strategic management. Case study presented here focuses on large-scale strategic management studies in Iran. This is a developmental-applied study in terms of research findings; an exploratory study in terms of research goals; and a qualitative study in terms of data used. Documentary method has been used to gather information which has been then analyzed through comparison of data and model. Case study and ethnographic research have been introduced as suitable methods to design, implement and control a strategy.

Qualitative and quantitative development of research activities in knowledge-based developing societies is a continuous process. So, diversification of research methods needs new research methods and models. Using mixed and integrated methods to achieve research goals and a more profound understanding of research subject represents a new movement in the scientific research and meeting this research need is a basic requirement of every research. The mixed method combining qualitative and quantitative approaches has enabled researchers to simultaneously consider methodology, designs, models and methods used in a single research. This paper, first, studies research paradigms and methodology before focusing on mixed research as new methodology of interdisciplinary studies. Moreover, the paper deals with development of different designs and methods in mixed research and explains how qualitative and quantitative data should be combined.

The Age of Enlightenment discredited all kinds of prejudice by relying on self-constructed reason. It considered prejudice as a source of error and an obstacle to understanding, dividing it into prejudice of authority and prejudice of over-hastiness. Though believing in the conflict between reason and authority as the Enlightenment did, Romanticism resolved the conflict in favor of authority and reversed the basis for credibility of anything to tradition, which is the most effective kind of authority. In contrast to the Enlightenment and Romanticism, Gadamer is of the opinion that not only there is no contradiction between reason and authority, but also the authority itself is the result of reason. He considers authority not blind obedience, but a form of knowledge. In addition, Gadamer considers a fundamental role for prejudice in the process of understanding, deeming as fully incorrect the necessary connection between prejudice and error.