نشریه تحقیقات سیاسی و بین المللی
پیاپی 14 (بهار 1392)

Britain as a European power is always famous for her opposition todeepening integration in Europe and Europeanization. In fact this country is one of thestaunchest opposition of converting the European Union into European federation. Theobservers are of the view that it is only the economic compulsion that has made Britainjoin the process of integration and this country is having a supra Atlantic outlook. Thepresent paper by taking the help of discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe wants toidentify and analyze the signs (signifier and signified) present in foreign policydiscourse of European Union which is articulated by Britain as an important member ofthe union and also examine the formative discourse atmosphere in order to explain theprocess of making British and European identity and to make possible the tenseapproach of Britain foreign policy.

The expansion of anti-missile system of the United States has led to severalreactions from other international actors. Some of the Western countries especially theUnited States’ allies consider the deployment of these systems as providing theirsecurity and the stability of international system. On the other hand countries like Chinaand in particular Russia consider these systems as a destabilizing factor for internationalsecurity and disrupting the nuclear deterrence and therefore a threat to their security.The present descriptive analytical paper examines the relations between the UnitedStates anti-missile system and nuclear deterrence. For this reason it defines the conceptand the characteristic of nuclear deterrence strategy and missile defense system and thenexamines the relation of these two concepts before the Cold War and after of the end ofCold War. The finding is that during the Cold War the anti-missile system were in thedirection of stabilizing balance of power, therefore, it led to stability but after the end ofCold War, though in the face of it is defensive but in reality it is offensive and it ignoresthe balancing strategy and it is in the direction of military-nuclear superiority.

The army and its role in political development is one of the important waysto understand political behavior a country. In Egypt from the time of coming to powerof Free Officers in the year 1952, the military officers have continuously ruled thiscountry. Army as a powerful organ controls military power as well as major economicresources and now it is at the head of government and plays an important role in thepolitical scene of Egypt. The present paper by following these developments raises thisquestion that what has been the impact of Egyptian army in historical context of Egypton domestic politics of the country. The paper concludes that the army from the year1952 till recent political developments, despite having different behavior and varied roleis a strong institution in domestic political scene of Egypt. Therefore, the paper focuseson the role of army in domestic equation and the consequences of the increasing powerand role of military in domestic politics. The paper after examining the presentdevelopments of Egypt gives its findings. The method used in the paper is descriptiveanalytical.

As we know for the past three decades Iran have been trying to find ways to counter economic sanctions especially the oil sanctions by the West. Meanwhile during this period China started economic reforms and the implementation of these reforms resulted into high economic growth in a way that it has become the second world economic power. The emergence of China as an economic power has been a strategic breakthrough for Iran. Therefore, due to mutual need of the two sides the interaction and ties between Iran and China increases in different fields, especially in energy sector. Iran finds China as a suitable market for sale of energy, on the other hand China finds Iran as a country with vast energy sources which is not under the influence of the United States and the transit of energy from Iran is secure and in this way its energy security is ensured. China also did not have the limitation of Western sanctions and therefore invested considerably in Iranian oil sector and in this way played an important role in creation of mutual interdependence. Mutual interdependence in oil sector has created a direct linkage which is in positive interest of the two countries.

The East Asia is one of the key economic regions of the world. According to forecasts in near future this region is one of the important poles of international economic system. This economic importance and the presence of big powers like China, Japan and extra regional powers like the United States and also the presence of nuclear weapon in the region have added to the importance of peace and stability in the region. Some of the analysts are of the view that one of the reasons for amazing economic development is the existence of stability in the region. Other observers believe that due to absence of democracy, mutual economic interdependence and the presence of multinational corporations in East Asia, the tension is on the rise. There is a possibility that disruption of peace and security in East Asia affects the whole international system. Taking into consideration the above conditions the international thinkers suggest ways to maintain peace and stability. One of these suggestions is the “concert of powers”. According to these thinkers the concert of powers or the collective security system consisting the United States, China and Japan can protect security, peace and stability of the region. The basic question raised by the present paper is whether there will be possibility of forming such concert of powers in East Asia. The hypothesis given in reply to above question is that till predictable future it is the balance of power which will be the basis of East Asia equation and it can prevent an all-out war in the region. The paper has written within the framework of Kenneth Waltz’s structural realism. In Kenneth Waltz structural realism the balance of power is the best mechanism which maintains (fragile) peace especially in a bipolar system. The Methodology used in the paper is descriptive-analytical and source for collecting data is library material. The finding of the study is that due to lack of identical political ideology and strategy about the distribution of power in the regional structure; practically the possibility of formation of such concert of power in East Asia is not probable in predictable future.

One of the important newly emerged phenomenon in cyberspace which provides the possibility of cyber association is cyber social networks which are considered as a dynamic force in social and political changes in society. Within this context the political and social changes which took place is a major part of the Middle East and North Africa especially in Egypt raises significant questions about the role of technology and the new structure of media in contemporary political movements. Taking into consideration the importance of cyber social network in social and political developments of the societies; the paper brings up a question that what role did the cyber social network played in Egypt’s revolution. The underlying hypothesis is that the social networks by facilitating and speeding up the communication among the protesters, coordinating, formulating the programmes, shaping and orienting the gatherings of the protesters played an accelerating role in Egyptian revolution.

One of the important consequences of the United States invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam have been the increasing insecurity and violence in Iraq. A violence which its clear manifestation can be seen in terrorist attacks-mostly in the shape of suicidal bombing. From 2003 to 2008 these violent incidents and terrorist attacks have increased dramatically, in a way that its repercussion is still continuing. The aim of the present paper is answering this question that what are the domestic factors contributing to recurrence and increase of such terrorist attacks after the fall of Saddam. The underlying hypothesis which is discussed with a descriptive-analytical method in reply to the above question is that several historical, cultural, social and political factors play role in increase of terrorist attacks in Iraq. Within the framework of the above hypothesis and by making use of constructivist theoretical model, three important indexes namely political history of Iraq and Baath Party, ethnic and religious differences and the United States invasion of Iraq are examined and analyzed.