دوفصلنامه مطالعات سیاسی اجتماعی جهان
سال سوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 5، بهار و تابستان 1391)

Today, the rapid and accelerating developments in the regional and international levels have caused countries to move towards greater integration and cooperation. This, in turn, triggered a new coalitions or alliances and strengthens old alliances, or even weaken. The emerging economic powers (Brics) is one of these alliances and institutions that began its activities in 2009. The aim of the new global architecture, quickly became an institution of international. This article within the qualitative approach sought to answer this question: What is the current position of the emerging economic powers (Brics) in the international system, and What perspective can be expected for it? Research findings indicate that Brics has gained a few in the West and would create new economic powers and also slowly stepped into the security issues and international politics. Fixes some vulnerabilities and challenges ahead, the entity will be able to have an important role in modifying the structure of the international system.

Iran-France relations have gone through many ups and downs in the last three decades. Yet, during the last few years and especially during the presidency of Sarkozy, an unforeseen coldness dominated the relations between the two countries. It seems that recent events in the area and Iran’s Nuclear power profile accompanied by changes taken place especially in France’s approach to Iran. This paper is trying to answer why France adopted such an intense standpoint towards Iran during Sarkozy’s presidency. Considering the Neo-Realistic theories which emphasize on preventing the appearance of regional hegemonies, the writer believes that France’s concerns about Iran’s rising power in the region, the friction of their interests in the regional level and also Iran’s attempt to access nuclear technology which in the meantime increases its power factor, is the most important reasons for France’s aggressive approach towards Iran.

Studies pertaining convergence and its benefits for developing and underdeveloped countries, specifically Latin American countries and the Caribbean Islands are essential because they can create the necessary grounds for further growth and development. The aim of this study is to analyze the economic growth of Latin American countries and the Caribbeans after their beta and sigma convergences during the years 1980-2009. An examination for the beta convergence (sectional model) and the sigma convergence (distributing model) were conducted, and the results were calculated with sectional variance. For the hypothesis, the sigma convergence model studied the convergence of 29 countries in the mentioned regions, whereas the beta convergence model did not study the 29 countries. The results of the sigma convergence model confirmed the results obtained from the sectional model. The 29 countries were divided and identified as two groups with an average per capita income of more than or less than $3000 a year. The two approaches were used to test the convergence hypothesis. Results confirmed the average per capita income of $3000 a year for the first group, but results were not confirmed for the second group.
Classification JEL: F15 ¡ F11 ¡ F13 ¡ F42

Events of September the 11 and then US invasion of Iraq resulted in wide formal and substantial alterations in political and security equilibriums of the Middle East. By eliminating Sadam Hussein, US was trying to engineer a new government and power structure in Iraq, within which the nature of a new constitution is considerably important. The author believes that the method of the approval of the new constitution of Iraq is one of the components of the emerging the political instability and intensified violence in the present Iraq. Because there are many ethnological, religious and sociological cross-cuttings and a strong tribalism with growing tendency towards separatism and a relatively strong religious differentiation between Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq will turn the new constitution of Iraq into inconsistency and incompatibility.

Influencing and being influenced as a result of contact and communication of the nations has created many manifestations of culture and art in the history which architecture is one of. The roots and symbols of the French Architecture and their impact on American complex architecture can be seen and looked for from the time of arrival of the French to the soil of the American land. The impact of the French architecture on the American architecture, in addition to producing similar or inspired buildings is one of the factors causing development and continuity of competition and more innovation in the field of building higher and more modern structures and buildings and also globalizing this competition in the field of architecture: a process in which both France and the U.S were part of. Among all, the Eiffel tower and the Empire State Building had a lot of influence and importance inside and outside of both countries as two famous symbols of French and American architecture. This paper examines the bilateral impacts of French and American architecture using historical analysis method and also compares the Eiffel Tower and the Empire state skyscraper and examines their impact on building higher structures and on the created competition in the world of architecture.

Media is the tool of production and dictation of meanings and thoughts. Through the media, the political ideology is nurtured, conveyed and fixed in the personal and collective unconscious of the people. The Middle East region, especially its Arabic part, has an ideological structure. This ideological structure is based on using the mass media as a tool for production, reproduction and idea dictation. The base of such use is the reproduction of the hegemony of these political systems and the production of legitimacy and excessive legality for them. Pan-Arabism and Islamism are two Nodal points that are used for covering this hidden discourse. This article, in order to have a better and a more critical investigation, has focused on Saudi Arabia, as the most prominent Arabic country in the Middle East in its ideological structure and the mass media usage. This piece of writing shows how the mass media in the Middle East has been changed to a tool for dictating discourse and the hidden power of the political structure for the perennial guarantee of its domination.

The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of religion and religiosity on the lifestyle of students who studied at the Universidad de Los Andes Colombia (Bogota Center) during the years 2011-12. 393 randomly selected participants were surveyed and handed questionnaires to complete. The results of this research show a correlation coefficient of 0.329. The independent variables that correlate to student lifestyle were about 0.33. The determining coefficient was calculated to about 0.108. So, this means that about 11% of student lifestyles were studied based on independent variables, and 89% were analyzed based on factors outside of observation.