Political Islam and Its Rising Effects on International Relations: From Confrontation to Interaction

Using analytical-descriptive method, this research seeks to answer the following questions: What is the social and institutional context of political Islam, and how did the emergence of this phenomenon in world politics affect international relations? In response to these questions, the parameters such as modernity, the nature of the political system, and the political, social and economic characteristics governing Muslim countries as well as the advent of the Islamic Revolution are viewed among the most important social and institutional roots of the rise of political Islam. Also about its effects on the international system this research emphasized the distinction between the behavior of the national governments and the subnational groups in pursuit of Islamist ideals and principles. It is argued that the more interactive approach is seen in the behavior of the Islamist national governments, and more confrontational behavior were manifested in the actions of the subnational groups. It is indicated that the Islamist demands and moves as long as they are susceptible to be pursued through the channels of the official actors of the international system tend to be more interactive. Conversely, due to incompatibility with the values and rules of the international system, the subnational groups struggle to challenge the international system that could lead to further international instability.