نشریه مطالعات سیاسی جهان اسلام
پیاپی 9 (بهار 1393)

Since the socio-political events in the Arab world in 2011 that led to change the political regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and challenges and crises other political systems in Arab countries, the different analysis and works are presented about the nature, causes, and consequences of these events. These analyzes are important differences. Each of them see the changes in the Arab countries from a different perspective. In sum, all of these analyzes and works, can be classified into five approaches: Islamic Awakening, democratization, authoritarianism, Arab Awakening and Conspiracy. Among these approaches, the democratization approach as the main rival Islamic awakening approach, despite major conceptual and empirical problems, has been the most common and influential approach for explaining political change in the Arab world. This paper will review and critique this approach and the claim that the works on democratization in terms of theoretical and empirical and conceptual problems can not fundamentally provide the impartial, convincing and knock-down explanation from political change in the Arab world.

The West’s protection of establishment of Israel and occupation of Arabic lands by this regime has been one of the most essential factors that intensified the political encountering between Islamic Middle East and West. In this encountering with industrial and powerful west, Middle East has offered all its power tools. Considering the dependence of western economy to the oil, Middle East Arabic countries utilized oil sanction in the historical past against West as supporter of Israel particularly in 1973 which caused inflation of oil prices and energy crisis; a crisis that worried intensively the West. Even, industrial west to contrast with Middle East oil countries, incorporated International Energy Agency, but evolution of relations has created an environmental power so that the West that formerly was concerned about oil sanction by Middle East countries, in the new environment copes with oil countries of Middle East by the oil boycott weapon; a coping which was seen in the oil boycott of Iraq after Kuwait war and oil boycott of Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to nuclear file. This paper as a descriptive-analytical research benefitting from library-documentary method attempted to use different references and after expressing the theoretical data to respond the cause of evolution in political role of Islamic Middle East region's oil in relation to the West. Results obtained from this study indicate that 1- The transcending Middle East countries dependence on oil revenues to west dependence on Middle East oil; 2- Hegemonic reinforcement of west in Middle East at the age after cold war and bipolar system; 3- Divergences existing in oil countries of this region, all are assumed as major causes of this evolution in power relations.

Political movements have always been one of the social dynamics in the formation of human society and bring about significant changes in each country in order to meet the demands of the people. The recent movements in the Middle East known as the Islamic awakening of the social movements of the present century is the origin of fundamental changes in the whole region. Addressing of causes of these movements from the perspective of political sociology is very important so that they can detect the direction of the next movement. Accordingly, the present paper from the perspective of political sociology and social gaps using qualitative research methods first deals the formation of the reasons for the recent movement in the Middle East and then examined with two Iran "revolutionary" and Turkey "reformation” as a successful model for the management of social divisions.

Developments and changes after the Arab Revolutions that resulted in overthrowing totalitarian regimes in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, followed by a new wave of Islamists’ rise to power - like in the case of Muslim Brotherhood. This dynamic formed a three-dimensional regional order in the Middle East: (1) revolutionary-Islamist order; (2) Muslim Brotherhood order; and (3) Salafi order. However, the Egypt internal problems and foreign interventions that kept Muslim Brotherhood out of power, led to the collapse a pillar of this order. Certainly, this important event not only had implications for Egypt’s own internal setting, but also will have a great impact on the relations of regional actors and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) security environment. Accordingly, the main question of this paper is that “what are the impacts of Muslim Brotherhood fall on the Middle East regional order?” In answering this question, the assumption is that “it seems that the collapse of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has also brought about a security order in the Middle East in the form of polarity among regional actors based on the balance of power.”

The rapid political changing in Islamic and Arabic countries in 2011, and the way the authorities of these states treated with political demands of civilians and suppressed them, focused the concerns over human rights organizations and put them under serious trial. This transferring wave toward democracy in Middle East and northern Africa which began from Tunisia, reached to Bahrain in the second half of 2011 and drove the discrepancies between political authorities and the majority of the people of this country into new phase, during which the regime instead of fulfilling the demands of the people for freedom and civil rights began to suppress them. This status put the international societies in a real predicament and made them react and announce their stance. But during this time the stance and reaction of nongovernmental Human Right Watch in Bahrain have the room for thought and discussion. Considering these events, the main attempt of this paper is to answer the following question: how is the function of the organization of Human Right Watch in relation to Bahrain events from 2011 to the current year? Based on this question, the aims of the present paper are: the organization of Human Right Watch, beside supervision and providing periodical, annual reports on the disruption of human rights in Bahrain has not done any effective act through international communities.

Strategic alliance between Iran and Syria is a viable alliance in the Middle East which is rooted in the shared threats and purposes of these actors. However, this special relationship strengthened after Bashar Assad ascended the power in 2000. It must be noted that while Iran- syria relationship was an equal partnership under Hafez Assad, it has turned to a patron- client one in which Iran has been the patron under Bashar Assad. The present paper explores the reasons behind this transformation. Accordingly the main question of the paper is as follows: why Iran- syria relationship has been strenghened under Bashar Assad? The findings of the paper demonstrate that the strengthening of relationship is explained by structural changes in international system as well as the different characters of policy makers in Syria (Hafez and Bashar). The research methodology is analytical descriptive approach.