نشریه مطالعات سیاسی جهان اسلام
پیاپی 32 (زمستان 1398)

 The purpose of this Paper is to examine how the European Union, through its neighborly policy based on normative power, transfers European norms and values to Islamic countries in the south and east of the Mediterranean and Europeanizes them, and what are the consequences of these actions? The analytical framework for examining the subject of the article is normative power theory and the research method used is the descriptive-analytical method. Also, the method of data collection is the method of libraries in which various sources including books, articles, documents, comments of relevant officials, etc. have been studied and the relevant data has been collected. European UnionIn order to ensure security and stability for itself and to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines between Europe and neighboring countries and to strengthen relations with non-member countries which have a strategic role to play in reorganizing the EU's geopolitical and economic power, by Neighborhood policy, through the conditionalizing of bilateral relations or through regional initiatives with the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, forces them to move in the direction of their desired values and norms in the political, economic, cultural and social spheres, which is the essence of the Europeanization process. The Europeanization of Islamic countries in the south and east of the Mediterranean through the EU's neighborhood policy has consequences such as diminishing political Islam in the region, transforming Islamic values, normalizing regional relations with the Zionist regime, overshadowing the Palestinian as one of the most central issue among Islamic countries, the deterioration of economic cooperation between Islamic countries is followed by the integration of the countries of the region in the single European market.

The latest developments in the Middle East are considered to be the most extensive and profound developments in the political structure of the countries in the region which started at the wake of popular protests in Tunisia and led their way to Syria. Assuming that the rule of Bashar al-Assad would fall down, Turkey as a regional power and Syria’s neighbor attempted to support the opposition against Syria. After the emergence of ISIS, Turkey adopted a policy of disdain and inaction towards ISIS's activities within Turkey and against Assad. This policy of Turkey towards ISIS caused the formation of a viewpoint, in national and international scale, that Turkey tends to support ISIS. Therefore, the main purpose of the research is to explain Turkey's positions towards the Syrian opposition, especially ISIS.

The method used in this study is descriptive - analytical based on the theory of realism; It examines the different dimensions and angles of Turkey's policies and positions towards Syrian opposition, in particular ISIS.

According to the findings of this study, Turkey, seeking to achieve its goals in this crisis and security concerns stemming from the formation of the Kurdish Corridor, adopted a collaborative approach and supported some of the group's actions.

The results show that, Turkey, in order to revive the hegemony of the Ottoman era, outlined its foreign policy with a view to the East, especially the Middle East - unlike their ancestors whose main goal was the West - Meanwhile, developments in the Middle East, especially the Syrian crisis, have provided Turkey with an opportunity to implement this strategy.

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the revolutionary action of one of the most important, but lesser-known, leaders of the February 14 movement in Bahrain, Abdul Wahab Hussein. According to many Bahraini politicians, Abdul Wahab Hussein was the initiator of the movement. He was always banned by the Arab and international media. He has envisioned a special utopia for the people of Bahrain. Therefore, the sub-objective of this article is to draw the ideal city he meant.

The method used in this study is general hermeneutics based on Pierre-Ansar's theory. In this method, the background, time, written works and words of Abdul Wahab Hussein are studied in order to explain the revolutionary action and its purpose of the desired utopia.

The results of this article show that Abdul Wahab Hussein, after trying to show the unfavorable situation of Bahrain with his influential words, drew his ideal utopia. Considering the majority of the Shiite population in Bahrain, he considered the ideal government of the utopia to be the formation of an Islamic government. It does not mean that he was indifferent to the wishes of other peoples and religions. During the political struggle with the Al-Khalifa government during the February 14 movement in Bahrain, he said that the political structure and nature of the people's future utopia depended on their choice and vote, so he would follow the wishes of the majority of the people.

Abdul Wahab Hussein's revolutionary action in the February 14 movement was able to discourage the people from the Al-Khalifa family and lead them to build their ideal city. Abdul Wahab Hussein's move to mobilize the people to move toward military change was a success, but differences over how other Bahraini popular leaders have promoted it have eroded it to this day.

The main purpose of this paper is to study how the patterns of amity/enmity in the Middle East transform with an emphasis on Qatar-Saudi relations after the crisis between two countries. Since 2003, new conditions have been imposed on security relations in the Middle East that have increased security inter-dependencies. The consequence of these developments is to intensify competition and hostility in government relations, polarization change, security interconnections, mistrust and instability in the Middle East security complex in general and the Persian Gulf region in particular. Therefore, it is important to examine the types of patterns governing countries' relations in this security complex. The key question is how the Qatar-Saudi amity pattern in the Persian Gulf sub-region has evolved into a pattern of tension and incompatibility? Using theoretical tools available in regional security theory, this paper illustrates an up-to-date analysis of the dynamics of security in the Persian Gulf regional context. The method used in this study is descriptive-analytical and attempts to analyze the regional security complex designed by Buzan with emphasis on the patterns of amity / enmity between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The findings show that the patterns of amity / enmity have gradually evolved between the countries of Middle East and Persian Gulf since 2003. And therefore Qatar-Saudi relations have intensified on regional superiority, Brotherhood and Salafist approach confrontation, Al Jazeera programs, and the nature of orientation toward Iran. According to results as a whole, the Qatar-Saudi crisis reflects a shift in traditional regional patterns of power. Thus the lasting legacy of these developments is the distrust among the leaders of the Persian Gulf states and the possible polarization in the region.

Political protests are one of the types of political action.Iraq has witnessed such protests many times after Saddam Hussein. The last of these protests occurred in the fall of 2019. The aim of this study is to identify the cause of political unrest in Iraq and to find an answer to the question of why the recent protests have become anti-regime?

The method used in this study is descriptive-analytical and uses Ted Robert Gurr's relative deprivation theory as a theoretical framework.

According to research findings, Iraq's oil revenue and economic growth over the past years has raised value expectations among young people, who make up 59% of the population, and maketo feel contradiction with their value expectations. Thus, they have experienced a sense of relative deprivation by observing poverty, corruption and unemployment and comparing their country with other regional governments.Therefore, their political actions havetaken the form of violence and protest.

Given that the elimination of the feeling of relative deprivation in citizens requires structural and serious measures, and it is practically impossible to do so in the short term, so; it can be said as long as the necessary economic reforms are not carried out in Iraq and Iraqi citizens don't pursue their political activities in the form of parties and civil movements, the occurrence of violent protests, as in the fall of 2019 in Iraqi cities, will be natural and imaginable.

Investigating the changes of power in the field of international relations is very important. Except for national actors, some foremost actors have shown good performance in achieving a new kind of power-based relationship. Hezbollah is now implementing smart power-based strategies and tactics after thirty years of trying to be recognized as a front-runner at the regional level. Smart power is a type of power in which hard and soft power sources are converted into smart power in a clever and optimal combination.

This research attempts to answer the question of what are Hezbollah's intelligent power resources and tools and how has Hezbollah been able to become a smart power in the Middle East?

The Hezbollah type of activism in the last three decades has been associated with the combination of hard power indices with soft power software values, which result in Hezbollah achieving a level of intelligent power in the context of low national actors.

The results show that Hezbollah's smart power is due to understanding the requirements of political activism, improving methods and practices, balancing actions and behaviors, and diversifying the use of political tools. Negotiation, coalition, balance and military deterrence, democratic methods, and attention to media power and psychological operations are also key elements of Hezbollah's acquisition of smart power.