نشریه مطالعات کشورها
سال سوم شماره 1 (بهار 1404)

The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) has a privileged position in the West Asia and North Africa region both in terms of the degree of economic integration and in terms of the level of income and economic welfare. It is expected that Iran's economic integration with the council will bring great economic benefits. Although the economic integration performance of the council is low in terms of the share of intra-regional trade, it shows a growing trend and with trade creation, it is also associated with an increase in economic homogeneity among members. Although the correspondence of these two indicators with the current economic situation of Iran shows less consistency and based on trade trends in the stage before the exchange of preferences, it has some evidence of trade diversion, but a more dynamic analysis of this trend and looking at other complementary capabilities of these economies, including some of the characteristics of natural business partners can confirm the great economic benefits of the both, which depends on the preparation of necessary measures in this regard.

Following the expansion of the European Union to ten Eastern European countries in 2004, serious discussions were raised regarding the risk of further expansion. The European Neighborhood Policy was a solution to further expansion without formal annexation. In 2009, the European Union and its six Eastern partners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus) launched the Eastern Partnership initiative based on a commitment to fundamental values, market economy, sustainable development and good governance. As can be clearly seen in the text of the neighborhood policy and the Eastern Partnership initiative, the European Union places great emphasis on the procedures and norms based on European values and tries to define its foreign relations based on these norms. The current article seeks to answer the question, how has the normative power of the European Union affected the economic dimension of its foreign policy in the Eastern Partnership initiative, with an emphasis on Belarus and Moldova? In response, it may be possible to hypothesize that the European Union's emphasis on the norms of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law has activated the conditionality mechanism in the economic dimension of the European Union's foreign policy. Examining the two case studies of this article, namely Belarus and Moldova, and their commercial and economic relations with the European Union, clearly indicate the use of the European Union's conditionality mechanism. To test this hypothesis, Schimmelfning's theory of Europeanization and process tracing method has been used.

The paper analyzed the economic damage of the COVID-19 outbreak around the world. It employed a multi-regional input-output modeling framework for 26 sectors in 187 countries under three scenarios. The empirical results indicated that the re-export & re-import and recycling sectors had the highest value-added decrease, and the hotels, restaurants, public administration, and retail trade experienced the highest demand decrease. Among countries, the United States, Russia, and Japan are suffered the least from the coronavirus outbreak. Besides, the total world GDP is forecast to decrease by 3.51% to 5.94%. Based on the results, the major hint is: that resilient supply chains must be provided so that even if another pandemic- even when more virulent than the last, comes along- the system can withstand it and be relied upon no matter the circumstances.

Artificial intelligence has increasingly found a central and decisive role in the macro-competition between the United States of America and China. Beijing and Washington are looking to improve the power and capabilities of artificial intelligence in order to gain a strategic advantage in their macro-competition. The development of artificial intelligence by both sides will deepen their strategic competition and affect the structure and dynamics of the international system. Using the theoretical propositions of neorealism and the descriptive-analytical method, this article aims to analyze the dimensions and angles of the competition between America and China in the field of artificial intelligence. Based on this, the main question of the current research is how does the competition between America and China in the field of artificial intelligence find meaning in the framework of the structural competition of the two countries in the international system? The findings of the research show that America and China are trying to lead the field of technology, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, by giving priority to technogeopolitics and technonationalism. In fact, the efforts and actions of America and China to lead the field of technology have affected their strategic considerations in all areas. Chinese leaders see artificial intelligence as an opportunity to counter US military and technological dominance and gain strategic advantage. On the other hand, China's growing technological capabilities are the main factor behind the US's efforts to create a block of digital economies in order to counterbalance China's growing power.

In 2024, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson were awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for their research on the role of institutions in economic development. Their studies highlight that inclusive institutions, which promote broad participation in both the economy and politics, are essential foundations for development. In contrast, extractive institutions that serve the interests of specific groups hinder economic and social progress. Iran’s current state, characterized by inefficient, extractive institutions that protect minority interests, disrupts the country's development process. Drawing from the Nobel laureates' findings, it is clear that institutional reforms to enhance transparency, eliminate rent-seeking, and increase public participation are essential for setting the country on a path to development. In Iran, key obstacles to development include policies that favor specific groups over the general population, limited political participation, and the lack of an accountable party system. These economists stress the importance of reforming political and economic institutions to enable inclusive, participatory governance that can foster economic growth.

This article analyzes the impact of the different leadership styles of Trump and Harris on American public opinion, with a special focus on the speeches of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris between 2016 and 2024, concentrating on four key speeches from each of them. The main objective of this research is to examine how public communication is used to shape leadership roles and influence audiences. This study employs a qualitative content analysis method to evaluate the speeches of both politicians, as well as related statistical data to measure their effects. The findings indicate that Trump and Harris employ distinctly different public communication styles, leading to notable differences in how their messages are received and how audiences react. Trump utilizes a straightforward rhetorical style, relying on message repetition to evoke emotions and capture attention, while Harris adopts a more complex and emotionally charged approach, focusing on issues such as social justice and racial equality. These stylistic differences play a crucial role not only in the content of their messages, but also in the extent of their influence on various societal groups. Ultimately, the study concludes that public communication in political leadership serves as a powerful tool that can shape perspectives and garner public support. However, the effectiveness of this tool heavily depends on the leader's personality traits and communication strategies. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of public communication in the success of political leaders and its impact on voter behavior.

Afghanistan, with its forty-six identified ethnicities, two official languages, and over thirty native languages, is a culturally diverse and pluralistic country. If we multiply the above elements by factors such as religion, race, and sect, a matrix of multiple states emerges. By placing these equations side by side, the pieces of a thousand-piece puzzle are completed, and the picture of Afghanistan is drawn on the geographical map. This study, from the perspective of intercultural communication, using a qualitative approach and the interview technique, has examined both sides of this plurality in two sections: "describing the situation" and "recommendations to the governance". It has attempted to explain and interpret its findings using Gleiz's communication accommodation theory. According to this theory, actors—at both micro and macro levels—adopt strategies of convergence, divergence, and maintenance in their communicative behavior toward one another. The research findings indicate that the existing conflicts, from the interviewees' perspective, fall into two broad categories: schematic challenges (inter-ethnic mentalities) and political challenges (intercultural conflict). These challenges are primarily explained under four categories: "ethnic diversity", "linguistic diversity", "religious diversity", and "unilateralism and cultural authoritarianism". Furthermore, the proposed solutions, from the interviewees' perspective, to overcome this historical situation are categorized into four areas: "improving the level of literacy and education", "redesigning the media system", "developing domestic tourism", and "strengthening civil society organizations". Research indicates that cultural diversity and its manifestations, while historically posing a threat to Afghanistan's territorial integrity, national identity, and political unity under unilateral and ethnocentric approaches, can be transformed into a comparative advantage for the country. By shifting from a threat-based perspective to one that focuses on developing and promoting intercultural dialogue, it can foster national unity, cultural strength, national pride, political participation, and social security. In other words, intercultural communication in Afghanistan's current situation is both a crisis and a solution.

The normalization of Israel's relations with four Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, in the second half of 2020, which is known as the Abraham Accords, is one of the new and important changes in the Middle East (West Asia) regional security complex. These agreements put an end to a historical enmity and non-recognition of Israel as a country for nearly eight decades by these four Arab countries. Since these agreements, due to their nature, process and goals, have the potential to influence the security complex of the Middle East, investigating how it influences and its consequences on the pattern of friendship and enmity of this security complex is a research necessity and the goal of this article. In this regard, the main question of this article is how the Abraham Accords have affected the pattern of friendship and enmity in the West Asia Regional Security Complex? The current research seeks to answer the above question by using the qualitative content analysis method, using the security set theory of Barry Buzan and Ole Waever. The results of this research indicate that the Abraham Accords in 2020 have influenced the pattern of friendship and enmity in the West Asia security complex through strengthening the identity of the Hebrew-Arab coalition against the Axis Resistance. These effects are in the form of conflict between revisionists and supporters of the status quo in the West Asia security complex, simultaneous strengthening of the identity of the Hebrew-Arab alliance and the axis of resistance, the increase in the arms race and the continuation of the war as a method of resolving the conflict between the axis of resistance and the Hebrew-Arab alliance has appeared.