فصلنامه اندیشه سیاسی اسلام
پیاپی 2 (تابستان 1389)

The Caucasus is one of the most important and strategic regions in the world, because of which many countries try to find a way into this region. The presence of Israel which is established as a result of the “Ben Goryun” doctrine can be easily felt in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. This region is very important to Israel in terms of geography, economy, history, culture and transit. Israel, along with the US, tries to secure its position in the region so that it can surround Russia. Iran can be easily put under pressure from this region and the Jews living here can be supported by Israel. By its presence in this region, Israel tries to end its security isolation in the traditional Middle East and eliminate any threat from Iran.

In the past, when philosophy used to have a broader meaning, a philosopher’s attitude towards being and human’s status in it was among the inseparable elements of his philosophy. Saint Thomas Aquinas is one of the most influential philosophers of the Middle Ages. Based on his most famous book Summa Theologica, the status of human in his philosophy is studied in this article. It is impossible to analyze Aquinas’ anthropology and explain the status of human in his philosophy without paying attention to his ontology. Like most traditional philosophers, Aquinas recognizes a hierarchical system for the world which starts with God and ends with lifeless beings. The status of human can only be realized in this pyramidal system. For him human is not the noblest creature and is situated between angels and animals in this pyramid. Human is created as a result of the unity between soul and body; body is the essential from of human. Next to angel, human is the second creature which is most similar to God, and since he is rational he is regarded as the representation of God. Rationality, which is the focus of his philosophy, is the most prominent feature of human. Since human is a rational creature, he enjoys free will. Ration and will help human move towards happiness, which is becoming more acquainted with and similar to God; therefore, unlike what Aristotle says, happiness is personal.

A new era began in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the Iraqi invasion of Iran on 9 December 1991. All aspects and aims of the Iranian foreign policy were affected by his event. The export of the revolution, as one of the aims of the Iranian foreign policy, underwent some changes both in from and nature. In this article it is argued that the model of the practical export of Iranian Revolution, which because of the Imposed War, change in foreign policy discourse, the empowerment of the Islamists and the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, took the form of constant revolution, changed into a new model which was the export of the practical model of the Islamic Revolution in the form of Om al-Qora doctrine and the settled revolution; this was because of the changes in war, the change in foreign policy discourse and the regional and international obstacles.

Because of its special geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-economic characteristics, the Caucasus is one of the most troubled controversial areas in the world. Due to its rich oil and gas fields, important location in regional transit, favorable markets for the export of goods and its political importance, which owes to ethnic conflicts, political instability and lack of democracy, it has attracted regional and international powers. The most important regional and international players are Russia, the US, Iran, Turkey, Europe and Israel among which Russia and the US have more significant roles. Russia’s major goals are: using the countries located in this region as a buffer zone, providing easy access to the Middle East and Southern Asia, balancing international relations and securing economic interests. Russia tries to re-emerge as an international power and regain the position it lost after the breakup of the Soviet Union. What the US tries to achieve is providing access to the region for a predicted future, controlling other countries’ access to the region, influencing the region and leading the Central Asian countries to a supported independence which results in political stability and economic growth. The US also tries to control Islamism and isolate Iran. The European Union is mainly seeking economic interests in the region. Also, Europe diligently tries to help these countries to maintain their independence and promote democracy. In their relations with the Central Asian countries, the European countries try to secure Russia’s interest because they believe that after undergoing economic revival Russia can play a major role in Europe. Israel tries to secure its position in this region, especially in the Muslim countries, so that it can develop political, economic and cultural relations and improve its international and regional legitimacy, and undermine the role of religion in conflicts between Israel and the Arab countries, facilitate Jews immigration to Israel, limit fundamentalism and benefit from the economic, agricultural and industrial capacities of the region. Enhancing regional cooperation and removing security worries of the region are the major aims of Iran in its relations with the countries in the region. The main strategic factors include Iran and Central Asia’s future relations with Russia and the US. In fact, the establishment of a security belt in the northern borders of Iran, especially by international powers has posed territorial, economic and cultural threats to Iran.

Social justice” and “government” have been among the important issues of political science and have been expounded by theoreticians of different schools. Hayek as one of the prominent theoreticians of liberalism believes that government should not take social justice into account in its social and economic programs. In the first part of this article, the author tries to lustrate this theory and analyze it from the perspective of Prophet Mohammad’s practical conduct and his tradition. In the second part, the author tries to discuss different governments from Aristotle’s viewpoint and illustrate the views of liberalism and Marxism on this issue. In addition, the author tries to discuss the viewpoint of Islam on government and ways of running it based on Prophet Mohammad’s socio-political conduct.

From the mid-1980s New Right thinkers, who had revived the ideas of liberalism, leveled some criticism at the pluralists. New Right, which was embodied in Thatcherism and Reaganism in Britain and the US, consisted of many thinkers ranging from those of the liberal philosophies and the adherents of traditional values. In politics, New Right includes, among others, the opponents of government aid and supporters of religious values; in fact, it is a combination of liberalism and conservatism. Although many thinkers have played a role in the development of this new trend, New Right, as a combination of the two strong trends of liberalism and conservatism, is rooted in the ideas Friedrich von Hayek and Leo Strauss. This article aims to conduct a critical review of the principle concepts of New Right through analyzing the ideas of these two thinkers who have somehow developed liberal-conservative policies.

Due to its considerable potential and capacity, Iran has always been the focus of attention of the Zionist regime. Before the Revolution, the Zionist regime tried to enhance its cooperation and foster its strategic unity with Iran; therefore, Iran was one of the most important strategic allies of this regime. After the Revolution and because of the nature of the Revolution all these potentials and capacities changed into serious threats to the Zionist regime, and because of the security threats it posed, once again, Iran became the focus of attention for The Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has tried to counter this threat through restricting Iran from different aspects.