mohammad ali basiri

The increase of Russia's presence in West Asia in recent years has affected regional and international order and security. The Russia's approach in this region towards other players influenced Russia-Iran interactions and Iran's interests at the regional and global levels. This paper aims to address this question: How Russia's regional policies in West Asia have affected Islamic Republic of Iran's national interests? The paper is based on the theory of balance of power. The paper’s findings show that the most important effects of Russia's soft and hard balancing act on Iran's national interests in the region are: Help countering Takfiri Salafi terrorism, increasing Iran's strategic depth, improving Iran's regional deterrence power, strengthening the Axis of Resistance, reducing the influence of America and the West in the region, and intensifying the strategic interactions of Russia-China and Iran and their confrontation with the liberal world order and unilateralism of America.

The political education system in every country is considered a part of its cultural and civilizational heritage. Research in this case can create a correct understanding of this heritage. One way to understand the political education of a country is to study the history of the evolution of its political education system. Knowing the structure of the political education system, its foundations, educational courses, resources, and human and scientific forces in this field is one of the most important steps to study and understand it. Studying the development and evolution of these three areas over time will help to understand this educational system. Although the political education system in Iran started several centuries ago in an inconsistent manner, its initial steps were taken during the Qajar period. During the Pahlavi period, formal education was established in a university form. During the period of the Islamic Republic, more fundamental steps have been taken in the evolution of the political education system, leading to extensive qualitative and quantitative changes in the three areas of educational structures, theoretical and philosophical foundations, and trained forces in this area. Based on this, the main question of this article is: What has been the history of political education system evolution in Iran? The main assumption of this article is that along with the social, political, and economic developments of Iran in the past centuries, the political education system has also changed, leading to a more scientific, popular, and practical system.

The conceptual framework of the article is a realistic approach with an analysis of the historical developments of Iran's political education system. This article is descriptive-analytic using the method of qualitative data analysis of the historical developments of Iran's political education system. Qualitative data is collected using library findings.

The findings of the research show that:The political education system in the Qajar period was based on transferring the basic theoretical foundations of this modern science to Iran, with a limited educational structure where professors imparted only basic knowledge of this science to students in this field. Graduates were only employed in diplomatic, political, and executive affairs in a limited capacity.In the Pahlavi era, a complementary step was taken in the three areas of the educational system, teaching materials, and training of its graduates.During the period of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the developments of the cultural revolution, Iran has seen a more complete development in the qualitative and quantitative aspects of this educational system, its theoretical foundations, and its graduate force.

Analysis:

In the Qajar period, the initial and limited theoretical foundations of this field were transferred to Iran, and in the Pahlavi period, with the translation movement, a wider and expanded volume of these scientific topics was introduced to Iran. During the period of the Islamic Republic, efforts were made to propose Iranian-Islamic philosophical foundations for political science, alongside the theoretical foundations of Western political science, with a more positivist approach. Steps were also taken to localize this science and train its students accordingly. In all three periods, the foundations and philosophical-epistemological roots of political science were not fundamentally transferred to Iran, despite lessons being taught in this field.

The results showed that this fundamental flaw has hindered the localization of political science in Iran, preventing the study of local issues and problems in both the internal and external spheres of Iran. Although progress has been made in making the field more scientific, popular, and practical, it has not yet reached the desired point. This article discusses proposed solutions to address these basic problems in these areas.

The emergence of a new political system in Afghanistan after the attack of September 11, 2001, in the United States made the issue of political empowerment of women in this country to be examined. This article seeks to answer the question of what factors caused Afghan women not to develop relative political empowerment based on democracy from 2001 to 2021. Today, the method of political empowerment of women in different fields, especially in the political field, faces a series of obstacles and challenges. The limitations and challenges in the process of women's political empowerment cause the society to remain without the development and political participation of women. In this regard, it seems that the political society of Afghanistan, as a leading society, is facing the condition of non-compliance of gender in the matter of political empowerment. Women as a large part of the society have experienced detailed participation in political life for more than two decades.In Afghanistan, to adapt to the new conditions and try to solve the crises that have plagued this country in recent decades, women's issues have also been emphasized. The consequences of the events of September 11, 2001, for women were highlighted, as it led to the decline of the misogynistic Taliban regime. The harsh and oppressive policies of the Taliban towards women had created a very unbearable path for women, which resulted in the limitation of women's operations and their confinement within the four walls of the house. Women suffered a lot of hardships during this period and their migration became more intense. After September 11, 2001, and the entry of the new political system in Afghanistan, a relatively open and suitable space was organized for the presence of women in various fields. Laws were enacted to protect women's rights, both in the form of affirmative action. Their measured and impressive presence in several election periods of the country shows this fact. More than the right to vote, women had more visible activities in obtaining representative and managerial seats at the center and local governments in the provinces. Despite all this, social differences and dissociations based on unsavory cultural connections caused the striking presence of women in political power to face many controversies. Women played a symbolic role in the political arena of this country in the last two decades. Addressing the problem and challenges of women's political empowerment in Afghanistan for 20 years is a new subject that has been neglected by researchers. In the last two decades, all discourses and actions to increase the level of political participation of women were generally ceremonial and symbolic and remained so until recent years. In fact, the issue of women is a cultural issue, and its solution, in addition to passing laws and institutionalizing women's affairs in laws, requires cultural measures, planning, institutionalization, and proving the presence of women in the mentality of Afghan society.Ashraf Ghani’s government has taken stronger steps in the field of women's rights and abilities than Hamid Karzai’s government. Laws were passed to eliminate violence and gender prejudice against women, but the obstacles and problems that were created during Karzai's rule in the way of empowering women, unfortunately, the same obstacles appeared in Ashraf Ghani's regime that prevented women from participating in the political, social, cultural and economic fields of the country. Political empowerment of women can be described as a process to increase their capacity in different fields. Unfortunately, during the two decades of Karzai and Ghani's rule, according to official statistics, women were placed in a weaker social and political position and were more marginalized compared to men. Afghan women were in a difficult economic dependency and a bad social situation. In the last two decades, all speeches and actions to increase the level of political participation of women were generally formal and symbolic and it has been the same until recent years. The anti-woman culture in Afghanistan has been able to oppress women and keep them away from all their rights for 20 years. The patriarchal system in Afghanistan with its autocratic culture has prevented women from developing political, social, economic and cultural abilities for years. One of the inhuman and illegal customs in Afghanistan has been the discriminatory treatment of Afghan government officials with political men and active and educated women of this country.

Research question: 

This article seeks to answer the question of what are the factors that make Afghan women unable to develop the desired political empowerment based on democracy from 2001 to 2020?Research hypothesis: The hypotheses of the article refer to mental, cultural, political, economic and social effects based on Saralange women's empowerment theory.

Methodology and theoretical framework: 

For this purpose, documentary qualitative method and interviews based on Sara langwe's empowerment theory have been used to obtain data.

The research results show that the mutual influence of political, cultural, economic, social and psychological factors during the last twenty years and during the presidency of Karzai and Ghani, have caused Afghan women not to develop the desired political empowerment based on democracy and from a weak position.

Before Karzai's two terms, women were not given the power to overcome external pressures and prejudices to gain their lost rights and improve their social status. According to Lange, women should know that what exists is not just and fair, but it can be changed, and they can change the situation in their favor. According to Lange, empowerment at this stage means increasing women's awareness of the existing situation, drawing the desired situation and the ways to reach that situation. In this regard, Afghan women have been aware of injustice, gender discrimination, emotional pressures, and economic and social problems in the past twenty years and to some extent, despite the political, psychological, cultural and socio-economic obstacles and challenges, they have been able to overcome the conditions and challenges and change them to their advantage and improve their situation.

The formulation of macro policies, rooted in governments’ particular perceptions of identity components and their aspiration to expand such components as subjective interests, has consistently wielded significant influence over governments’ interactions within their respective environments. To this end, governments resort to the securitization of identity in foreign policy, often resulting in heightened divergence between countries and coercive reactions from other governments. Consequently, this process compels states to focus only on military security to safeguard their political existence, thus diverting attention away from the imperative task of advancing the objective development in the country. In this respect, the present research aimed to address how the securitization of identity in foreign policy contributes to the conflict between subjective and objective interests.

As a descriptive–analytical inquiry, the present study employed library resources and statistical data to address the research question.

The theory of securitization, as proposed by the Copenhagen school, posits that a political actor can reframe or construct certain phenomena as security threats, even though they may not inherently pose the smallest threat to their existential security. Securitization, discussed here in relation to the concept of identity, may legitimize the use of hard levers in foreign policy under the guise of maintaining security. However, a pertinent question arises as to why some world states seek to recast identity components as either non-security or security strategies to advance their foreign policy objectives. The question can be addressed within three decision-making approaches; globalization, reaction to humiliation, and metaphysical coercion. First, the globalization approach relies on employing soft power tools to influence global public opinion to accept the identity components championed by the actor state. The objective is to attract rather than coerce others into embracing the desired identity components. The second approach, namely reaction to humiliation, is akin to a kind of cultural revanchism. This approach seeks revenge for the past actions by certain governments against a nation or its current political elite, grounded in both security and non-security expansion of identity in foreign policy. Third, metaphysical coercion shapes the overarching framework of foreign policy based on the ruling elites’ specific perceptions of identity components. It aims to compel nations to adopt the identity conception deemed favorable by the rulers of a country.Therefore, the securitization of identity emerges as an overarching strategy within the metaphysical coercion, and a significant strategy within the reaction to humiliation. The globalization approach appears to lack a strategic utilization of securitization of identity in foreign policy. Moreover, it is possible to combine the approaches, as in coercive–reactive approach which labels its users as possessing conflicting identity at the international level.Conflicting identity refers to securitized cultural, social, and political identities that seek to forcefully supplant others by relying on a deterministic belief in one’s supernatural superiority. Consequently, such an identity, as a whole, becomes targets for coercive reactions from those who fear the erosion of their own identity foundations. Nazi Germany serves as an example of conflicting identity in the early 20th century. Nazi Germany resorted to securitization of metaphysical ideas as in ethnicity and race, and mixed them with post-Versailles humiliation, thus forging a kind of conflicting identity. However, the Nazi securitization process ultimately led to Germany’s defeat and the demise of the Nazi regime, as they sacrificed objective interests in pursuit of metaphysical ideals. A coercive–reactive approach, as discussed in the case of Nazi Germany, may initially rally public support for the government’s coercive measures, temporarily deferring internal discord and friction between them. However, the inevitability of friction, even despite its delay, pertains to the issue of objective development.Securitization of identity in foreign policy not only compels governments to allocate national resources to security and military efforts but also tarnishes the nation’s image on the global stage, leading to the severance or reduction of political andeconomicties and subsequent imposition of numerous sanctions. The prime examples are the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. Political identity was the cornerstone of the Soviet Union’s resort to securitization in foreign policy. This entailed security-infused conceptions in foreign policy (e.g., mobilizing national resources for exporting the Marxist revolution), which in turn resulted in U.S. sanctions and economic stagnation of the Soviet Union, compared to its Western counterparts. Finally, this course of action seriously contributed to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. Similarly, the security measures adopted by the People’s Republic of China also revolved around political identity. The Chinese approach involved the resource waste resulted from exporting the revolution to Third World countries, and the ensuing exclusionary actions by other countries (e.g., in the case of the U.N. seat). This evidently led to the stagnation in terms of objective development. However, with the ascent of Deng Xiaoping to power, the securitization of identity was phased out from China’s foreign policy agenda, and developmentalism has become the country’s primary strategy.As evidenced by these cases, the securitization of identity in foreign policy would inevitably lead to political, economic, social, and cultural deadlocks. Those who adopt this strategy are eventually compelled to acknowledge failure and retreat from their fundamental principles.

Securitization of identity in foreign policy, whether rooted in metaphysical coercion, reaction to humiliation, or their combination, will inevitably result in a conflict between subjective and objective interests. This conflict arises due to the depletion of national resources, the exclusionary reactions of other countries, and the imposition of objective pressures on society. Broadly speaking, relying on securitization of identity across all administrative levels, including foreign policy, skews the epistemic validity of actions towards ideological biases, thus neglecting human reason. Consequently, securitization of identity for legitimizing coercive measures across various domains only ensures the subjective security perceived by the government internally, albeit for a limited duration.

One of the most significant, uncommon, and enduring alliances in Middle Eastern politics and security over the last few decades has been that between Iran and Syria. This alliance, which was formed at the beginning of the 1980s and was one of the external effects of the Islamic Revolution's victory, was brought about by changes to other regional alliances and alignments. Despite numerous analyses, it did not collapse quickly; rather, it was strengthened and extended, not only to Syria and Iran but also to Lebanon, Palestine, and other areas of the region, ultimately leading to the formation of the Resistance Axis. This paper aims to address this question: What factors and components influenced the formation and strengthening of the Iranian-Syrian alliance in the 1980s? The paper's hypothesis is that the material and semantic contexts that created the model of friendship and cooperation, as well as close security interaction between Iran and Syria, formed and strengthened their alliance in the 1980s, countering common threats and securing common interests. Examining the issue with the use of regional security complex theory, the analytical-descriptive method, and library and internet sources shows that the most important security considerations (physical and semantic) and the components that shaped and strengthened the alliance between Iran and Syria have consisted of: the existence of common identity, ideological and strategic platforms and fields, and common interests and threats resulting from it at the regional level. As for the regional security complex theory, the analytical-descriptive method, and library and internet sources indicates that the most important security considerations (physical and semantic) and the components that shaped and strengthened the alliance between Iran and Syria have consisted of: the existence of common identity, ideological and strategic platforms and fields, and common interests and threats resulting from it at the regional level, Common perception of the Zionist regime's threat in the region, the existence of revisionist ideologies, and ideological commonalities in opposition to America and conflict with the Zionist regime, Iran and Syria's confrontation with security threat from Iraq and confronting its supremacy, Syria's support of Iran during Iraq's war, the role of ideological religious communities, the efforts of the two countries of Iran and Syria to gain religious legitimacy at the external levels, and to secure the interests of Iran and Syria in the form of unity in the Arab world.

Despite the passage of more than four decades since the Iraq-Iran war, due to the effects that this war has had on geopolitics and regional order, and specifically on Iran's political-security approach and regional policy and its influence in the West Asian region, it is worthy of paying attention. Therefore, the question that arises is that how did the Iran-Iraq war affect the relations between Iran and Syria and the expansion of the regional influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran? Investigating the issue using the defensive neorealism approach, descriptive-analytical method and using library and documentary sources shows that this war made Iran's strategic loneliness and its unwanted isolation and lack of an ally in the region more obvious and the strategic proximity of Iran and Syria and The expansion of the scope of security cooperation between the two countries from Iraq to Lebanon and Palestine led to confrontation with the Zionist regime and it caused attention to regional influence and strategic deepening and countering security threats with the help of non-governmental allies in Iran's regional political-security approach. This ultimately led to an increase in political-ideological influence and strategic depth and regional deterrence power of Iran in West Asia.

The victory of the Islamic revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic regime  in led Iran to support the Islamic liberation movements and then allies with some them. The most important of which were Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestine, but this was followed by Iran's unification with Syria. This paper intends to explore this question:  what has the Iranian resistance in the axis of resistance affected the ideological interests and priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran? The main discussion of the paper is that the axis of resistance has led to the provision of Islamic ideological and Islamic ideological interests and priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this regard, by using library and Internet resources and descriptive-analytical methods, the paper attempts to use theory of constructivism on alliance and coalition. The findings of the research indicate that Iran's most important interests and priorities in the alliance with its allies in the resistance axis are: Strengthening the independence and the dignity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, strengthening the Palestinian cause, upholding the rights of the Palestinians and uniting the Islamic world, strengthening the culture and identity of resistance at the level of the international system, Revision of Western arrangements and norms governing the international system and efforts to strengthen their status revolutionary Islamic order  and to cope with the supremacy of Saudi Arabia at the regional level.

Understanding a great social phenomenon like Iran's Islamic Revolution in the 20th century and its domestic and foreign achievements requires a lot of study and more time. Therefore, as a general understanding, it is possible to explain its minimal achievements so far in the domestic sphere. Therefore, the main question of the article is, "What have been the achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran in various economic, social, cultural, scientific, political, legal, defense and military fields inside the country?" Our assumption in this article is based on the principle that by referring to statistics and figures, as well as comparing the achievements in the above fields, between before and after the Islamic revolution, there have certainly been fundamental changes in the country in recent decades; But according to the theory of sustainable development, there are still problems in the field of not destroying the environment and preserving natural resources. The effort of the article is to analyze these achievements based on statistical indicators before and after the revolution and also with the benefit of sustainable development theory. The findings of the research show that although the internal economic, social, cultural, political, etc. achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran are acceptable, appropriate measures have not been taken in the field of environmental protection. In this research, we deal with this issue with the descriptive-analytical research method and the use of library tools.

Competition, conflict, and confrontation between the great powers in some parts of the world, which are of considerable strategic importance in terms of geopolitics and geo-economics, are among the salient features of the international system. So that usual in the occurrence of crises in regions and countries that have such characteristics, the effective hand, and role of great powers can be seen in the creation, extension, and management of crises. Ukraine is one of those countries that has always been influenced and competed by Russia and the West due to its unique characteristics. But the competition and confrontation between Russia and the West (the European Union, the United States, and its executive arm NATO) have escalated significantly since the Soviet collapse and Ukraine's independence. Because on the one hand, Ukraine has always been in the spotlight for Russia due to geopolitical, geostrategic, geoeconomic position, as well as its historical, cultural, racial, linguistic, and religious ties with Russian society. On the other hand, from the very beginning of the independence of the former Soviet republics, Western governments and institutions pursued expansionist policies in Eastern Europe, and due to the post-collapse turmoil, tried to membership of Eastern European countries in Western institutions, countries of the region, especially countries located in the Near Abroad region to align with themselves and In this way to prevent regional influence and Russia's use of the position and characteristics of these countries in order to regain lost power. In the meantime, the duo to Ukraine's neighborhood with Russia and its geopolitical, and geo-economic importance, as well as its strong desire to move westward after independence provided an opportunity for the West to accelerate the process of Russia's geopolitical siege, thereby preventing Russia from regaining power. Therefore, these conflicting goals and power struggles have caused Ukraine to always be the scene of competition and confrontation between the West and Russia after independence and to witness serious conflicts and political-security crises such as the events of the 2004 orange revolution, the 2006 blue revolution, and the crises of 2014 and 2022. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to use the approach of offensive realism to answer the question of what is the importance of Ukraine for Russia and the West, which has always been the scene of competition and confrontation between Russia and the West after independence?

The research method in this article is qualitative which with a descriptive-analytical approach has answered the main question of this article in the conceptual context of the theory of offensive realism. Authors to answer the main question, while describing and analyzing the reasons for the importance of the Near Abroad region in general and the reasons for the importance of Ukraine for the conflicting goals of Russia and the West in particular, Ukraine's western policies have also been analyzed and in this way, we have explained the role of this importance and Ukraine's western policies in the competition and confrontation between Russia and the West in Ukraine. For data collection, reference has been to library resources, including books, articles, theses, documents, and authoritative Internet sources. The data collection tool has been also taking notes.

Ukraine is one of those countries that, due to its unique characteristics, has always been influenced and victimized by Power competitions between different countries and has never been able to determine its own destiny independently. In the 14th and 16th centuries, Ukraine became the scene of competition between Polish and Lithuania. Then in the 17th century, it became a sphere of influence between Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which continued until the end of the 18th century which Austria replaced the Polish in the western regions of Ukraine. The domination lasted until the end of World War I. With the formation of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's membership in the Union, the country once again became an area of Soviet influence on the one hand and Poland on the other. With the start of World War II, Ukraine was not spared from the fire and was occupied and destroyed by the Nazis. During the Cold War, it was versus the Western bloc due to its membership in the Eastern bloc. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine finally gained its independence; but because of its special position and importance for the conflicting strategic goals of Russia and the West, from then until now have always been the scene of serious competition and confrontation between the West and Russia and various political-security crises. According to the offensive realism approach, the ultimate goal of the great powers is to achieve hegemony, and they try to achieve this goal by maximizing power and preventing rival powers from gaining power. Accordingly, Russia's strategic goal since the collapse of the Soviet Union has been to return to the greatness of the Soviet era and regain lost power, and to achieve this goal it has sought to take advantage of republics in the Near Abroad region. Ukraine is one of these republics that the best way possible can bring Russia closer to this goal due to its identity, geopolitical, geoeconomic, and economic characteristics. On the other hand, the West's understanding of this capability has led the West, especially the United States, as the current hegemon, to make every effort to prevent Russia from regaining power and Reaching the position of hegemony and A rival for this country, to get this country out of Russian influence and put it on its front to prevent Russia from achieving its strategic goal. In this regard, Ukraine's western policies since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its independence have also helped the West to get closer to this goal. Therefore, the findings of the article show that the importance of Ukraine's identity, geopolitics, geo-economics, and economics in achieving the conflicting strategic goals of Russia (regaining power and returning to the greatness of the former Soviet Union) and the West (preventing Russia from regaining power), as well as Ukraine's western policies have caused this country to after independence, always be the scene of competition and confrontation between the West and Russia, and to witness serious conflicts and various political-security crises such as the events of the 2004 orange revolution, the 2006 blue revolution, and the crises of 2014 and 2022.

The changes in Israel's national security strategy in recent years have led to the fact that the rulers of this regime put the use of Salafi-Takfiri groups in their agenda to ensure their national security. Based on this, this article seeks to answer the question: What is the position of Salafi-Takfiri groups in Israel's security strategy? The hypothesis of the article is that "Israel has used currents like ISIS from two perspectives of a strategic-security tool and an intellectual-discourse tool to threaten the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies". This has led to the intellectual and strategic alignment and convergence of Israel and ISIS against Iran and its allies in the axis of resistance. Therefore, exploitation of Salafi-Takfiri groups in identity confrontations and proxy wars and terrorism, carrying out terrorist acts and creating insecurity and instability in Iran, weakening the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies in the axis of resistance and the region, confronting Iran's regional influence and strategic depth and creating a strategic depth for itself in the region, Iranophobia and representing the power of Iran and its allies as a regional threat and establishing close relations between Israel and the Arabs, weakening, disintegrating and balkanizing the countries surrounding Israel and creating conditions for the expansionism and superiority of this regime in the region are among the most important functions of Salafi-Takfiri groups such as ISIS in increasing the national security of the Zionist regime. This article has been written using the descriptive-analytical method and using library and documentary sources.

The Iran and Iraq war had a significant impact on the level and nature of relationships between Iran and Syria, as well as on a larger level of political and security order equations in the Middle East, and led to the form of an alliance between the two governments. Based on this, the main question of this article is what was Syria's approach towards Iran during the Iran-Iraq war? Examining the problem using the analytical-descriptive method shows that during the war, Syria's approach was based on the alliance with Iran and creating a balanced regional power against Iraq, the United States and its Arab allies and Israel. Syria has taken several proceedings such as preventing the alignments of the Arab countries against Iran, providing military-political support to Iran, increasing Iran's maneuvering power at the regional level, specifically creating the possibility of Iran's presence and influence in Lebanon, participating in the economic war against Iraq, played a great role in supporting Iran and creating a balance of power in favor of this country and preventing Iraq's military superiority and regional hegemony, and in this way, it affected the formation and strengthening of the alliance between Iran and Syria.

The emergence and strengthening of Hezbollah in Lebanon at the beginning of the 1980s which was influenced by Iran's Islamic Revolution.   Iran's role in gaining power for this Shiite movement with a strategy of resistance from a small guerilla and militia group as a regional player have been the focus of analysts of Middle East issues. This paper aims to answer this question, what was the role of Iran in the context of the emergence of Hezbollah, the formation and strengthening of this movement?

The method of research is descriptive-analytical by using library and internet sources.

The paper’s findings indicate  that in the emergence and formation of Hezbollah, two components of identity, security and material survival have played an important role, and Iran's Islamic Revolution and it's actions  have been influenced in different ways in the emergence and strengthening of this anti-Israel Shiite movement at the beginning of the 1980s which has been manifested on the one hand in the form of the formation of the identity of Hezbollah and the creation of the identity of the anti-Zionist resistance in it, and on the other hand It has led to the intensification of the military mobilization of the Shiites, and the organization, cohesion and strengthening of the military power of these Shiites in line with the Islamic Revolution within the framework of the Hezbollah movement.

The formation of Hezbollah in Lebanon arose from the identity components resulting from the ideology of Shia political Islam and based on the realistic considerations of Iran in the Arab World, specifically Lebanon and the issue and ideal of Palestine and confronting Israel, and was influenced by the alliance between Iran and Syria.

Winter of 2011 marked the beginning of a series of developments in the Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East, including Egypt, which led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's regime, the victory of the Islamists, and at the head of them Ekhvanolmoslemin movement. Once again, this victory once again made the political, cultural and social contexts of this Islamic world radical movement the center of contemporary analysis and thought. Considering the geopolitical position of Egypt in the Arab and Islamic world and the importance that this country and its evolution has in the Middle East's political and security order, it seems necessary to consider the internal evolutions, opportunities, and challenges. In addition to analyzing and examining the political and historical conditions of contemporary Egypt, the present study addresses this fundamental question: "Which Factors do affect overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's Regime and the emergence of Ekhvanolmoslemin movement in Egyptian Politics?" It seems that:"The inefficiency of government, the prevention of power distribution, the political repression, and the widespread corruption are characteristic of the political structure of Mubarak's era, which along with profound social anomalies and internationally influential variables provided Egypt with crisis."The results of the research and evolution investigations show that the overthrow of Mubarak was the consequence of some crises at the micro and the macro level, in which a set of variables including the type of power, culture, economy, society and the international system influenced domestic politics and provided the basis for the overthrow of Mubarak's Regime. Moreover, the present study describes and explains the factors influencing the overthrow and Ekhvanolmoslemin congregation governance on the basis of library resources and internet.

In the years after the relative domestic stability following the Islamic Revolution of Iran, regional and international issues became the most important concerns of the Iranian politicians. The Iran hostage crisis and the ensuing break in Iran–US relations as well as the Iraqi-imposed war on Iran during the early years of the formation of the Islamic Revolution practically led to a crisis in Iran’s relations with the Western, Eastern, and Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.Later on, some analysts of Iran’s foreign policy pointed to the ideological nature of Iran’s foreign policy, the idealist viewpoint of Iran’s revolutionary leaders, and the attempt to export the Revolution to other countries. The foreign policy of Iran was based on the preference for nations over states in international relations, the emphasis on the political independence in planning and policymaking, on the preference for beliefs over economic and commercial interests in bilateral and multilateral relations, and the importance attached to political justice in the relations between states in international relations.Highlighting the convergence in intra- and extraregional cooperation, recent changes in Iran’s foreign policy have led to the current emphasis on convergence of issues such as expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations, cooperation and good-neighborliness with neighbors (esp. in the Persian Gulf region), and reduction of disputes. This new approach to foreign policy subscribes to the view that Iran has strategic depth due to its geographical and historical location, hence capable of attaining strategic-cum-global significance. For this purpose, it is necessary for Iran to resolve its problems and differences with its neighbors, establish friendly relationships based on good-neighborliness, and prepare the grounds for the convergence of countries by exporting strategic goods, for example, gas export to Oman. Iran–Oman relations in the field of energy can move to a transregional level, leading to the greater convergence and cooperation in the Persian Gulf region and even in the countries such as India and China.This article aims to evaluate one of the most important developments in Iran’s foreign policy in the last decade, that is, the focus on the surrounding regions, including the Persian Gulf, and the look to the East and Asian countries (e.g., India and China) for the purpose of reducing the disputes with neighbors and seeking extensive cooperation with the East concerning the export of natural gas. The main question is, how can Iran’s export of gas to Oman contribute to the expansion of convergence in Iran–Oman relations? The research hypothesis predicts that the expansion of communications (e.g., the export of strategic goods, such as gas, to Oman) will prepare the ground for enhancing the convergence between the two countries in other fields. The research used Peter McLaughlin’s functional explanation as the method and convergence theory as well as Karl Deutsch’s communications theory as the conceptual frameworks.Considering the economic power and energy in the Persian Gulf region, the analysis indicates that Iran is able to be one of the important sources of income and set gas transit in the region, hence the transit hub of the Persian Gulf. Iran’s gas export to Oman faces challenges and advantages. Regarding the challenges, the enormous investment is required for transporting gas through pipelines over a long distance, which stresses the need to guarantee the gas consumption market and access to a large volume of gas reserves. The dispute between Oman and the UAE over determining the route of the gas pipeline constitutes an important challenge for Iran’s export of gas to Oman. Another challenge is the sanctions through which the US and the Western countries, unable to dominate the energy and resources of Iran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, tried to oppose Iran. The US has prevented Iran from reaching its desired goals. Despite the challenges, Iran’s gas export to Oman has advantages. For example, the construction of the gas pipeline is beneficial given the fact that Iran is supposed to export 30 million cubic meters gas to Oman and increase this figure to 70 million. This long-term contract enables Iran to achieve between 20 to 30 million dollars of gas revenue.The findings show that the increase in communications (e.g., the export of strategic goods, such as gas) between the two countries can prepare the ground for increasing exchanges of other goods and services. Exporting gas to Oman is considered as the reason for meeting the country’s energy needs, energy security, and even as the basis for the expansion of the gas pipeline from Oman to India and China—which is the most effective factor for the implementation of Iran’s active foreign policy based on convergence between the countries of the Persian Gulf.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has always been the scene of Russia-West competition due to its identity, geopolitical, geo-economic and economic importance, and has witnessed serious conflicts and various political-security crises. The 2014 Ukraine crisis, which began with Russia’s pressure on Ukraine to refuse to join a free trade agreement with the European Union, eventually led to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula to the Russian Federation could also be considered in the context of the same competitions between Russia and the West. A competition that not only started the crisis and annexed Crimea to Russia; Rather, it sharply increased tensions between Russia and the West. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to answer the questions that why did Russia decide to annex the Crimean peninsula to the Russian Federation, and what effect did this annexation have on the balance of power in the Black Sea region? In this article, with a qualitative method and analytical approach, the research questions in the conceptual context of the balance of threat theory have been examined using library resources. The findings of the article show that the elimination of threats from Ukraine's possible membership in the European Union against Russia's security and national interests has been the reason for Russia's decision to annex Crimea to the Russian Federation. This annexation has also changed the balance of power in favor of Russia vis a vis the West in the Black Sea region.

During recent decades, Iran and Turkmenistan have become reliable neighbours. But when these two countries want to develop their cooperation in the field of energy and export their gas to Europe through Turkey, they face different obstacles and challenges in issues such as bilateral relations, the Turkish energy market and the European Union. The purpose of this research is to examine the situation of Iran and Turkmenistan in the field of energy and the issue of gas transit to Europe through Turkey.Research Question: The main question is, what are the opportunities and challenges of Turkmenistan gas transit from Iran and Turkey to Europe?

The hypothesis of this research is based on the positive relations between Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan and the geopolitical position of Iran, the connection with the opportunities and sanctions of the United States on Iran's energy sector, Russia's pressure on Turkmenistan for the exclusive purchase of gas, which is the most important challenge for the transit of gas from Turkmenistan to Europe.

In this paper, the qualitative research method for studying the hypothesis is based on Peter McLaughlin’s functional explanation. The data collection tool is based on library and internet resources. The theoretical framework of this research is based on the regional system proposed by Louis Cantori and Steven Spiegel. By combining this framework with functionalism, it examines the cooperation and competition of governments and analyzes the factors of convergence and divergence in the relations of these countries.

The analysis of this research shows that Iran and Turkmenistan have expanded their economic relations. The opening of the Mashhad-Sarkhs-Tajan railway lines and the Bafaq-Bandar Abbas railway line is considered as an important economic measure for the development of economic and trade relations between Iran and Turkmenistan. Also, the cooperation of the two countries in technical and engineering projects with numerous investments of Iranian technicians in this field has also been important.  Iran and Turkmenistan pursue their economic cooperation within the framework of the Joint Economic Commission. The main export of goods from Iran is related to Turkmenistan, and since 2013, the volume of trade between the two countries has increased, especially with Khorasan Razavi Province.With 5900 industrial units, 46 mineral resources and approximately 800 mines, Khorasan Razavi province has a high rank in the production of products such as saffron, pistachios, pomegranates and medicinal plants and mainly exports these products to Turkmenistan. The implementation of the border-crossing-permit plan between Iran and Turkmenistan has also provided the basis for the movement of nationals of both countries in the border areas.Turkmenistan’s gas reserves are scattered throughout the country. In addition to the huge gas resources and significant production in this country, the discovery of Yultan gas field near Iran's Daulatabad field has put Turkmenistan in the focus of Iran's attention. The desire of Iran and Turkmenistan to cooperate made Turkmenistan agree to the construction of the country's first pipeline in July 1995. The Kerpcheh-Kordkoy pipeline was built in 1997 at a cost of over $200 million to transport gas to northern Iran from the Kerpcheh gas field. With abundant gas resources, Turkmenistan negotiated with Iran to export gas from Iran to Europe via Turkey. Due to its geopolitical position, Turkey has become an energy pole and this has created an opportunity for this country to gain more economic benefits. The European Union (EU) has become heavily dependent on foreign energy resources in recent decades.Due to its geopolitical position, Turkey has become an energy hub that connects the Middle East, Russia and Europe. Many gas pipelines pass through Turkey, transporting gas from Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe. However, some of these pipeline projects have been suspended for some time. Turkey has given the green light to Iran’s presence in the Turkish gas market (to Europe) and the Tabriz–Ankara pipeline operates in this direction. 

The findings indicate that first, long borders and economic capacities in Turkmenistan are like the gateway for Iran to enter this country and the two countries have cooperated in the field of natural gas transportation projects. Second, Turkmenistan’s rich gas resources and various gas fields led this country to build the first Kerpcheh-Kordkoy gas pipeline with Iran, which met the gas consumption needs of Iran’s northern provinces. Simultaneously with the construction of this pipeline, the issue of Turkmenistan gas transit from Iran to Turkey was raised so that Iran would receive transit rights. With Najmuddin Arbakan coming to power in Turkey in 1997, bilateral relations between Iran and Turkey improved significantly and Turkey's economic growth has led to an increasing need for gas imports. In this regard, Turkey has increased its gas transit pipelines in recent years. Europe's effort to diversify its gas imports from exporting countries and not relying only on Russia has provided the opportunity for Turkey to become the energy hub of the region by importing gas from Iran (and even other countries) and using its geopolitical position to re-export energy and gas to European markets. The improvement of relations between Iran and Turkey and the transit of gas to Europe have strengthened their economic growth, but the US sanctions against Iran and possible obstruction of gas exports by Iran in the case of incresing US pressure, may prevent them from making profits in their bilateral transactions.

The exit of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 was made by the government of Joe Biden, which was preceded by the Doha Agreement on February 29, 2020 between Donald Trump and the Taliban with the official title of "Peace Agreement to Afghanistan." The end of the 20-years US military presence in Afghanistan has challenged international relations researchers with the crucial question of what consequences the military pullout of the United States and its allies will have for other actors active in the Middle East, Central and West Asia? And what aspects of their national interests will be affected? Amongst these players is the Russian Federation, that Afghanistan's proximity to Central Asia, as Moscow's traditional sphere of influence, could lead to new crises, including the expansion of Islamic fundamentalism to the national interests of this country. Therefore, the main question of this present paper is that what are the negative consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on Russia's national interests in Central Asia? The main assumption of this paper is that the central Asian region should be considered the center of the world crisis in the future as the most prone region for the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, which will destroy the region's security dynamics and confront Russia to new security threats. The authors try to prove their hypothesis in this paper by applying Regional security complex theory.

The American policy towards the Islamic Republic of Iran during the Trump era (the official withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018) is known as the maximum pressure campaign. During this period, tensions between Iran and the United States reached their peak and the risk of a military conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States and its allies was greater than ever. The Islamic Republic of Iran endured the most severe economic sanctions imposed on a country during this period. The research question is, what was the goal of the United States in undertaking the campaign of maximum pressure against the Islamic Republic of Iran? The research hypothesis is that America's maximum pressure campaign was an attempt to balance power in West Asia against Iran. The findings of the research are that the Americans have tried to weaken Iran through the imposition of economic sanctions and the collapse of the country's economy in order to reduce Iran's acting power, and on the other hand, by strengthening the power of its allied countries in the region and also by forming regional coalitions to create a balance against Iran. The theoretical framework of the article is based on the balance of power and aggressive realism. The current research is descriptive-analytical in terms of the research method and the documentary/library method has been used to collect the required data.

The Central Asian region is one of the regions with strategic, geo-economic and geo-cultural importance. Most of the countries in this region were part of Iran until the Qajar period. With the occupation of these areas by Tsarist Russia, these countries became part of the territory of Tsarist Russia and then the Soviet Union. The Islamic Republic of Iran has important historical, cultural and identity commonalities with the countries of this region. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of these republics, the parties sought to establish bilateral and multilateral relations for various reasons. The relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and these republics have been affected by various factors and components since the beginning of independence until the present time. In line with its goals and national interests, the Islamic Republic of Iran has planned its foreign policy cultural strategies in the region in order to achieve its foreign policy goals. The findings of the research, by examining the multiple cultural drivers affecting the relations of the parties and using an "interdisciplinary" approach and based on descriptive-qualitative method, indicate the importance of the cultural diplomacy strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the group of Central Asian countries (Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) at the beginning The independence of these republics had highlighted the dominance and cultural influence in the minds of the rulers of this country, but with the passage of time, the friendliness of Iran's "civilization-oriented" cultural diplomacy became apparent to the people and statesmen of these republics and is slowly developing.

With the increase of communication with the West and after the Iranian defeats in the war with Russia, as a European state, during the Qajar era, the rulers became aware of their internal weaknesses and the country’s underdevelopment. At the time, a large part of the country's elite saw the reason of weakness in the scientific-industrial underdevelopment of the country, whose root cause later was deemed related to the domestic dictatorship and foreign colonization. They saw the way out of this retardation in achieving the new sciences and technologies in the west. Dispatching students for acquiring the new techniques, sciences and technologies, was the first step of the Iranians along this path. Thus, the main question of this paper is what impact has dispatching students to France and Germany had on the Iranian scientific level and creating change in the thinking and political, social and cultural structures? The main hypothesis is that dispatching students in the recent century to France and Germany has been one of the main bases of transfer of modern science and technology to Iran, creation of change in the thinking and political, social and cultural structures. The findings of the research show that sending students since the Qajar era up to now  has been a major factor in transfer of science and technology and shaping new scientific schools and institutes, constructing railways, entrance of new industries and western architecture and modern urban planning and new arts, entrance of modern concepts and formation of new institutes, emergence of the intelligentsia, improvement of political and social awareness, change in the culture, the administrative and Judicial system, and the legal and political institutes and structures in Iran. The method of research in this paper is descriptive-analytical, using library tools.

The think tanks of the United States have played a special role in the decision-making of American politicians. The main issue is what effect think tanks have on relations with Iran. This study examines the role of think tanks in US foreign policy decision-making toward Iran during the Obama and Trump presidencies. The change in decision-making was due to the change of think tanks during the two presidents. What was the role of think tanks in the decision-making of Obama's and Trump's foreign policy apparatus towards the I.R.Iran? The think tanks with the intellectual and executive elites and the formulation of foreign policy and the design of various scenarios have focused on the decisions of the US foreign policy apparatus towards Iran during the Obama and Trump eras. Through negotiations, Obama signed JCPOA, which sought to reduce related sanctions. Trump left JCPOA. Obama agreed with JCPOA the negotiation scenario that originated from the think tanks and Trump with JCPOA with the scenario of pressure and sanctions of the think tanks. This change in scenario was due to the shift of think tanks from moderate to neoconservative and extremist. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of think tanks on the decisions of the US foreign policy apparatus and use it to adopt a counter-strategy against US policies towards Iran. using the Obama approved think tank comparison method, chose the negotiation approach and Trump chose sanctions and pressure. This research, analytical method and library tools have been used.

Iran has close historical and economic ties with Central Asia, which provides a strong foundation for establishing relations with each other. The geographical location of Central Asian countries creates opportunities for cooperation with Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has increasingly sought to engage in the Central Asian region to secure its national interests and diversify its economy, as well as to avoid global isolation resulting from international sanctions. In recent years, Iran and Tajikistan have increased their mutual cultural and scientific cooperation and projects, and most of these activities have been carried out in Tajikistan. Iran and Turkmenistan have also established bilateral relations after independence. Iran has defended Turkmenistan's "neutrality" foreign policy and its hesitant attitudes towards the independent countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. The present research, using descriptive-analytical approach, seeks to answer the question, what are the strategies of Iran's foreign policy in these two republics? Have the strategies been effective enough to secure Iran's national interests in these two countries or not? The findings of the research show that by analyzing the effective political drivers in the relations between the parties, Iran's foreign policy in the two countries of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan has not been in accordance with the bilateral potentials, and only in the last two years, with the adoption of a look-to-the-east foreign policy, the relations between the parties have taken a development track.

The Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 by the leadership of Imam Khomeini, the resulting discourse and its influence on the internal political and social structure, affected the Islamic world, the Middle East, and the Lebanese Shias. The rise of Hezbollah in Lebanon was a manifestation of the Islamic Revolution discourse on the Shia community regarding meaning and identity. With a critical approach, the present study aimed to answer the question ‘How close and different has Hezbollah to the discourse of the Islamic Revolution from the discoursive view, structural and identity?’. The issue was analyzed using the theory of Laclau and Mouffe's discourse analysis and operationalized by explaining the positions of the movement, its leaders and the function of Hezbollah and comparing it with the political thought and works of Imam Khomeini as the Islamic Revolution ideologue. It shows that the Islamic Revolution has been very influential in shaping Hezbollah's Islamic and revolutionary identity. Meanwhile, the sign of Shia political Islam is the central sign of the Islamic Revolution discourse, and the (Islamic) resistance is the primary sign of the Hezbollah speech. The result indicated similarities in most floating characters, namely Shia political Islam, belief in Velayat-e Faqih, justice-seeking, nationalism, independence, issuance of Revolution and revolutionary identity, and resistance (struggle against Israel and anti-Zionism, and anti-arrogance). However, there are some identity distinctions regarding the emphasizing Hezbollah on the Shia, Arab and Lebanese identity and the broad definition of some signs and, consequently, the attribution of some meanings to them, which should be considered from the pathology of future relations between Iran and Hezbollah. This issue regarding common counter-discourses such as Salafi-Takfiri, Liberal Democracy and the Akhavani is essential.

The issue of agriculture in Iran, especially in recent years, has been linked to the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the influence of issues such as international sanctions, successive droughts, transgenics, mismanagement and the like.This study examines national security based on the theories of the Copenhagen School and the theory of resistance economics. The research method is a cross-sectional survey method with two purposes of description and explanation. The study population is the managers and experts of knowledge-based and technology companies in the field. The sample size was selected according to Cochran's formula of 384 people. The measurement tools in this research included a researcher-made questionnaire to measure the formation of research variables.The results of the hypotheses showed that eliminating the security consequences of the water crisis in Iran by relying on the expansion of technological and knowledge-based activities will improve the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Also, self-sufficiency in agriculture and increasing the coefficient of food security by relying on the expansion of technological and knowledge-based activities will improve the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.