نشریه مطالعات بین المللی
سال چهاردهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 55، زمستان 1396)

Every political society is consisted of two contradictory and conflicting elements: power and freedom. Both elements are essential for the advancement of affairs and goals of the political community. If there is no power, there is chaos and disorder, and if there is no freedom, there is death. According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the power of evil is necessary. On the one hand, to preserve the order of human liberties, the existence of a state of authority is necessary, and on the other hand, the government, under the pretext of maintaining order, may threaten the legitimate liberties of the nation; therefore, there should be a balance between the authority of the state and the protection of the rights of citizens. This article is descriptive-analytical and based on the rights of citizens against the authority of the state, referring to the constitution as the turning point of the balance between power and freedom

The universality of human rights, as an established principle, has already been accepted by all communities. A significant number of rules at the national, regional, and international levels, has been laid down in this regard. However, the interpretation of these rights varies from society to society and views are different on the issue. Moreover, the implementation of rules is more important than their existence. This approach has been somehow accepted by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, the implementation of the said rights has been faced with obstacles in the country. The purpose of this paper is to show that the implementation and the violation of human right must be analyzed in daily actions and performance of the government and the private sector. Therefore, in this paper, as a case study, the performance of the eleventh government of Islamic Republic of Iran in some areas has been evaluated in order to determine the degree of fulfillment of human rights.

This article utilizes the descriptive – analytical approach in response to the question of whether the student movement in contemporary Iran, in general, and in the Islamic Republic era, in particular, is considered as an independent political movement or not. To express more clearly, this paper will analyze whether the student movement in political - social evolutions of contemporary Iran and especially during the Islamic Republic of Iran has been independent, or is influenced by the other political movements and circles. The present study also tries to show that the political circles in a major part of the political - social evolutions of contemporary Iran have used student movements as a tool, and in terms of activity, have made them as its dependent. During the Pahlavi era the movement has been a function of three circles, including the left (Marxism), nationalism, and religious, and in the era of Islamic Republic it was influenced by Marxism and liberalism and then by Islamists, including the reformism and conservatism groups. Certainly testing and confirming this hypothesis does not negate the independence and independent activity of student movements in the short period of the Islamic revolution’s life and active presence in the eight years of sacred defense.

A vast majority of human societies have always been in pursuit of justice, but only a few of them were able to achieve this treasure. There is a famous quote saying that “when injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.” Since there are no existing articles about vigilantism written in Persian, this paper aims to be the first paper written on this issue in Persian. In this article, we argue that when political and judicial system lack the will or power to confront injustice and corruption in the system or in the society, vigilantes and vigilantism rise and fight with issues through legal and illegal ways.

The Visegrad group, a political group with security-oriented purposes, consists of four countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The group was established on February 15, 1991 and was formed in the context of Eastern Europe that has got its own geographical and geopolitical structure.  Established organizations of the Visegrad group are: the Presidency, Visegrad International Fund, The conference of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Council of Ambassadors, special working group such as Working Group on Energy, Visegrad Patent Institute, and Joint Battle Group; the latter two are soon to be officially established.  The security approach of this group can be divided into two periods; 1991 to 2004, and after 2004. In the beginning, Visegrad sought security from NATO and EU, prioritizing military and political security (which is mentioned as hard security in this essay). After 2004, the time in which all the Visegrad member states had joined NATO and EU, Visegrad can move toward security issues such as environmental problems, migrants, preserving intellectual property, fighting against terrorism, and energy security.  In the process of Visegrad's moving towards security, it is possible to observe a trend from cooperation towards coordination.

Extension of social life, advancements in technology, specialization of jobs, and personalizing of economics activities are the main causes of social gaps. Inequality in position, cusses the contracts with excessive obligations and disproportionate assignment than the parties’ rights. Extension of this agreements forced some of world legal systems against such matters. Contrary to what happened in the UK, the position of Iranian legislators in dealing with this type of obligations is named "Injustice", "Unfair", or "Imposed Clauses". One way for the prevention and control of this kind of clauses is called substantive control. Straight scouting of the content of contractual terms by legislation (legal control) or submitting valuation of unfair terms to the court (judicial control) are two supervisory methods in UK. Now the main question is that can Iran use the substantive controls methods for control of unfair contractual obligations similar to the UK? This paper will analyze the basis of substantive control of unfair terms in UK, and the necessity and possibility of exploitation of this rule in Iran's legal system

The identity of actors is an important factor in shaping their interests, roles, and behavior. From the constructivist perspective, identities show motivations that help understand certain behaviors. Saudi Arabia has defined its own interests and roles through its specific attributes of identity and its constituent elements. The Saudi rulers' view of the identity of their "self" and the perception of it, as well as the identity of "other" actors, has led foreign policy to adopt different approaches while maintaining the principles. Their goal is to preserve and sustain conservative monarchies, unite and lead the Arab states, foster religious leadership based on a special interpretation of Islam, and continue their ties with the United States. Accordingly, any perception of threat posed by another identity or development in the region that is against these goals will invade Saudi Arabia's foreign policy and create contradictory relations. This paper uses descriptive-analytic method and utilizes constructivist theory to investigate the identity of Saudi Arabia and its effects and implications on foreign policies of the countries in the region and in particular that of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Reducing water resources, land tenure, and food security for an increasing population are some of the most important challenges that the Middle East will face in the near future. In a situation where water scourge is most common in Middle Eastern countries and the neighbors of the Islamic Republic, future struggles to fight water and energy will be inevitable. If such a situation is created, it will undoubtedly be possible for countries that own a strong agricultural sector to have more political power and influence. The strengthening of the agricultural sector, with the aim of producing market products, is the basis for the development of a sustainable development strategy, and the achievement of that goal is based on the use of new technologies in agriculture. The Middle East can increase its ability to manage future crises. This paper, based on an advisory approach, answers the question of how the relationship between the changes in agricultural production and the management of water shortages impacts Iran's influence on other countries in the region. The argument of this paper is that the production of agricultural products required by the region will lead to an increase in the dependence of other countries of the region imports from Iran and will add to the influence of the Islamic Republic.