فصلنامه روابط خارجی
پیاپی 57 (بهار 1402)

The intensification of the competition between the great powers in the world system takes on new dimensions every day. Each of these actors, including the United States and China are trying to increase its power in the system by using new tools and then controlling other actors. These governments are trying to increase their monitoring power by dominating the vital nodes of the global system. This is the reason why in recent years we are witnessing a wide competition between the great powers to dominate the market and the range of new technologies, the production of new monetary and financial instruments, the global supply chain, and the vital issue of energy. This article is trying to explain how great powers compete in an intertwined network of agents and resources using the conceptual framework of weaponized interdependence. Therefore, the main question of the article is, What effect does the emergence of cryptocurrencies in the international financial system have on the competition of states, international organizations, and large companies to gain network power? In response, it should be said that the emergence of cryptocurrencies in the international system increases the conflict between governments because it has given the governments with access to the main nodes of the network a new opportunity to monitor, control, and limit other actors. The present article seeks to explain the reaction of actors to the mentioned conditions in the international system by using sources such as the analysis of the upstream documents of different countries of the world, and the use of library and internet sources.

Japan's defense policy has been revised over the past decade. This article has explained the review of Japan's defense policy with the analytical approach of two types of trading and military political states. The main question of this article is what factors caused the review of Japan's defense policy during the last decade? In response to this hypothesis has been proposed that during the last decade, the significant growth of the triple challenges of North Korea, China, and Russia, as stets that belonging to the political-military world, has caused the review of Japan's defense policy. The research method in this article is an explanatory method and the findings show that Japan belongs to the type of commercial states, and the review of the defense policy of this trading state is not a return to the expansionist policies of imperialist Japan, but a re-balancing of military capabilities and capacities to defend the world of trading states. In the meantime, although China has longed for a trading state, since 1978, it has not completely given up on the military-political world. The units of the world are categorized into trading and military states, the future will make it clear whether the pressures of the power politics of the military states will force the trading to militarize, or the costs of fighting against the trading world will make political-military states more inclined to be trading type.

The purpose of the present study was to develop sports diplomacy on the horizon of the second step of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The present study is a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) study. The statistical population in the qualitative sector includes all experts in the field of sports management, strategic management, diplomacy, international relations, and sports sociology at the Deputy Minister, President of the Federation, and Advisor It was the minister and university professors who were selected as a snowball from the sampling method. The interview experts were semi-structured. In this study, the systematic method of Strauss and Corbin was used to encode the interviews and the coding was carried out by MAXQDA software. The statistical population of the small section included all experts, faculty, and all relevant officials (current and former), including specialists and sports managers, and executives at the Ministry of Sport and Youth. The method of sampling was a multistep cluster. The data collected by PLS software was tested. The findings showed that 13 concepts were identified in terms of causal conditions, and these concepts were divided into 2 categories. Also, for contextual conditions 13 concepts and 3 categories and intervention factors 13 concepts 3 categories, and strategies 11 concepts and 3 categories and consequences of 10 concepts. And there were 3 categories. With the constructive cooperation between the country's executive organizations of international sports potential by these organizations, one can hope to improve the current conditions and thus promote Iranian sports diplomacy

Occurring the war among Russia and Ukraine, not only the world has faced a serious crisis, but also the relations between great powers, the U.S., Russia and China have entered a new phase since February 24, 2022. The question being examined in this paper is that “how and upon what considerations has China managed its approach to both the war in Ukraine and the relations with the US-Russia axis from February to September 2022?”. The answer is “China's attitude to the aforementioned issue is preferably based on the logic of two-dimensional interdependence (China-US and China-Russia) along with the soft management of the political balance during that period of time”. With descriptive-analytical method, the essay shows China's policy in regard to this crisis in the given few months has been concentrated on the continuation of economic growth and stabilization of the emergence, preserving the economic cooperation systems with the United States of America, continuing cooperation and coordination with Russia, as well as pacifying the political tense atmosphere in favor of Russia in order not to impair the international political balance

Dealing with global challenges requires strengthening international solidarity. The two ideas of emphasizing the solidarity rights in human rights literature and the socially constucted identity in the framework of international relations theories are important theoretical efforts to strengthen the concept of international solidarity. The idea of solidarity rights aims to reduce the focus on individualism and encourage all international actors to participate in the implementation of this category of rights, but in comparison with individual rights, it lacks an alternative philosophical basis to justify this category of rights. Forthemore, The idea that identities are socially constructed opens the way to propose alternative narratives of identity in the theories of international relations, but it does not lead to the strengthening of the idea of solidarity. Achieving this goal requires presenting a new narrative of human nature. The question that we intend to answer in this article is how the Rumi's anthropological narrative helps to promote the concept of international solidarity. The argument of this article is that the approach of Rumi's anthropomorphism emphasizes the unity of human souls and the priority of this unity over individuality, identifying a common goal and strengthening the spirit of empathy and responsibility among humans. Therefor, it should be the basis for justifying the rights and common responsibilities of humans, and on the other hand, it should present a new narrative of human nature that expresses the unity and shared identity among humans.

Despite having common cultural values and ideas with other neighboring countries, Iran faces a serious challenge in using cultural and media diplomacy in economic relations. These weaknesses have caused the merchants to find new export routes; to face challenges. The investigations of this research from official sources based on the statistics of 2019 show that Iran's exports to neighboring countries are unbalanced and less than its capacities. These studies show that Iran provides only1.76percent (one and seventy-two hundred percent) of the import needs of 15 neighboring countries. This trade share shows a great distance from the principles of global trade with neighbors. It seems that by strengthening media and cultural diplomacy along with other economic components, Iran's commercial share in neighboring countries has increased. For the pathology of cultural and media diplomatic capacities in Iran's economic and commercial relations with neighboring countries, in this article, relying on the theoretical foundations of neoliberal institutionalism, the issue has been investigated. It is assumed that the adoption of a model of modern economic diplomacy that simultaneously pays attention to cultural exchange with the components of cultural diplomacy, peace-oriented communication with the components of media diplomacy, and economic-oriented foreign policy with the components of economic diplomacy will lead to the expansion of Iran's economic and commercial relations in neighboring countries.The present research is "applied" in terms of its purpose and "descriptive-correlation" and "causal-communicative" in terms of method.

Turkey does not have a stable position in the Mediterranean Sea and has ups and downs. More than half of Ankara's foreign trade is carried out through the Mediterranean Sea. This article is saying about a correct and better understanding of Turkey's strategic reorientation in the Mediterranean, in the other word change of its tradition strategy to the doctrine of the Blue Homeland, in order to answer the question of what is the basis of Turkey's new sterategic politics in the Mediterranean Sea. The article examines the hypothesis that Turkey's interests and threats in the Mediterranean will cause it to adopt limited aggressive policies. This research is based on the threat balance theory. The method of this research is qualitative data analysis. The findings of the research show that due to the existence of threatening variables in the Mediterranean, Turkey tried to balance the threat against the Mediterranean border countries by implementing its strategic policies in this area, and thereby reduce the threats against it self and increase its security.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China's presence in Central Asia has increased. Russia and China adhere to a functional division of duties in which China focuses on economic activities and Russia as the guarantor of regional security. The statement of the functional division of duties between the two governments has been questioned due to China's increasingly active presence in the military-security in the region; And China's influence throughout is increasing. Indeed, in Central Asia, a defensive Russia is facing an aggressive China. Also, the war in Ukraine will have a negative impact on the investment process and the future relations of Central Asia with Moscow, and the foreign policy and geopolitical image of the region must wait for the hegemony of China. The main question in this article is, despite the regional goals of Russia and China, what are the factors of Russia's decline and the evolution of China's role in Central Asia? The hypothesis of this research emphasizes that the growing difference between the two countries is due to their power capabilities; the interactions between Russia and China in Central Asia reveal this difference as the most vulnerable aspect of their relations. The theoretical basis of the article is based on the threat balance and the research method is descriptive-analytical. Also, the findings of the research in this regard argue that China, with its active presence in Central Asia and the establishment of a China-centered order in this region, has struck a regional balance against Russia through the One Belt One Road policy.