Public Policy
Madjid Vahid
Abstract
The purpose of this contribution is to shed light on the evolution of public policy studies in France. It should be noted that this discipline was born in the United States in the 1950s mainly based on the works of Harold Lasswell who is known as the founding father of the discipline. Lasswell and his ...
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The purpose of this contribution is to shed light on the evolution of public policy studies in France. It should be noted that this discipline was born in the United States in the 1950s mainly based on the works of Harold Lasswell who is known as the founding father of the discipline. Lasswell and his collaborators aimed to study the actions of the State to then be able to help decision-makers act more effectively and of course more democratically. It was in the 1980s that this discipline entered the scientific field in France. We believe that four steps are distinguishable in this regard.
1- The attempts of synthesis aimed at bringing and knowing the discipline in France. The works of Madeleine Grawitz and Jean Leca, Yves Mény and Jean-Claude Thoenig, and Patrick Hassenteufel are notable in this regard. They brilliantly managed to clarify the foundations of the discipline and the research carried out in the United States and France in its frameworks. They were convinced that this new branch of political science would help to better understand the logic of public action, which would logically lead to its improvement.
2- The multiple works carried out since the 1980s were inspired by the sociology of organizations. Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg have particularly prepared a fruitful ground for public policy researchers to access epistemological, theoretical, and methodical tools to analyze French public policies. Of course, the sociology of organizations reveals its American inspirations, and the specialists of the Center for the Sociology of Organizations have not hidden it. The sociology of organizations emphasizes the theoretical values of some concepts such as actor, system, power, areas of uncertainty, and rationality of actors, which show a convincing capacity in the analysis of the strategies of the actors within the organizations and in the analysis of the organizations themselves which are the main frameworks of action in modern societies.
3- Research leading to cognitive analysis of public policies in France. Here, we should emphasize the founding works of Pierre Muller and Bruno Jobert. The elaboration of concepts such as representation, mediator, and référentiel in their analyses has opened very useful routes for future researchers to know the logic of public policies in France and the possible means of their change, especially since the 1990s. These researches show a certain utility in the analysis of some major turning points in French politics, among which the neoliberal turn made under the presidency of François Mitterrand, however socialist and attached to left-wing values.
4- A new direction of research is known by the studies and analyses of researchers such as Gérard Noiriel, Renaud Payre, and Gilles Pollet. They are at the origin of a new approach in the study of social phenomena and actions of public authorities. Gérard Noiriel in a part of his works gives an overview of an approach that is known as the socio-historical approach. Renaud Payre and Gilles Pollet are among the leading researchers who apply this approach in the field of public policy and the actions of public authorities. They reveal the sociological and historical foundations of policies and actions and show precisely how socio-history differs from historical sociology or sociological history. In the field of analysis of public action, socio-history provides useful tools for researchers to deepen their knowledge in areas such as the emergence of new social categories (unemployed, immigrants, etc.), the transfer of knowledge and experience from one country to another, and the establishment of regional entities such as the European Union.
In conclusion, we note that we had, throughout the writing of this article, an implicit objective in our mind: Clarifying the efforts made over the decades in France to be able to import a discipline that has proven its innovative abilities in its original cradle. Public policies are now part of the integrated disciplines in Iranian universities and it is of course necessary to know how the scientists of a developed country attached to its independence and originality, France, have worked at the entrance of a new scientific discipline created outside their country to be able to benefit from it for their development and be at the origin of its development in turn. We hope that Iranian academics and scientists will follow the example of their French colleagues, which appears fully promising.
History
Alireza Ashtari Tafreshi
Abstract
Qawanin al-Wizarah is one of the most significant works of Abul Hasan al-Mawirdi, a policy theoretical scholar of the 5th century AH, in which he presented a constructed image of the government; however, this image is not purely theoretical, but also that is to a great amount image of government with ...
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Qawanin al-Wizarah is one of the most significant works of Abul Hasan al-Mawirdi, a policy theoretical scholar of the 5th century AH, in which he presented a constructed image of the government; however, this image is not purely theoretical, but also that is to a great amount image of government with its essential working parts and process.
Understanding the relationship between the variables active in the writer's thoughts and society with the content of this work is the main problematic issue of the current research. Despite the importance of Qawanin al-Wizara in the heritage of Islamic political thought and Islamic statesmanship, this work has been less studied by contemporary researchers when it has been more in the shadow of al-Mawirdi's more well-known other work, Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah, so usually scholars have not paid enough attention to Qawanin al-Wizarah`s significance.
For this reason, the current research aims to identify the main characteristics of an efficient government in this important work of statesmanship. This research by applying the thematic analysis method has tried to explain the main factors of an efficient government in Qawanin al-Wizarah. This study has been done through a library method when its main concentration has been on the Arabic text of Qawanin al-Wizarah.
A Part of the achievement of this research is the understanding of more than 300 themes of Qawanin al-Wizarah the work has been mainly constructed; The result of their analysis shows the division of themes into the categories of crisis themes, crisis causes, crisis solutions, and efficient government or crisis-free (ideal) government by them the work has been presented.
Our final step is the attempt to understand the achievement of thematic analysis of the text through the conceptual approach of Thomas Spragens in his book Understanding Political Theory (New York, 1976). By this last step, it becomes clear that al-Mawirdi considered the political crisis of the 5th century AH as the lack of structural, behavioral, and program procedures for government administration, as the main issue of Spragens is finding political-social crisis behind motivations of writing every original book in political theory.
In this step, it became clear that al-Mawirdi employed all his themes in his book to solve the crisis, when he carefully drew dozens of structural models, organizational behavior, and government programs for the ruler, Wazir, and some other main figures of government to use them to be well guided throughout the way of governing. Spragens believes that the model of "disorganization - trying to return to order" causes the emergence of political thought in the mind of political thinkers to transition from crisis to ideal.
It seems that al-Mawirdi considered disorder to be the cause of the inefficiency of the government, and he made it possible to achieve an efficient government through a theoretical production of organizational order. From the early Islamic period, the experience of the government system in Sassanid Iran was transferred to the Islamic Caliphate and caused its prosperity. But during al-Mawardi`s lifetime, the government system had suffered from internal problems and degeneration;
The historical books of this period are full of all kinds of narrations about very ridiculous conflicts between government officials, such that due to a little annoyance and greed, the leaders of the government used to draw swords at each other, and the government treasures were easily looted. The Turkish generals, who were considered the special and main troops of the caliph, were also the main threat against the government structure.
In this period, the dominance of the Turkish generals over the usual routines of the Abbasid caliphate, which was previously based on the regulations of Iranian Sassanid manner, had caused the deterioration of the government's performance. Thus, the hierarchy and structure, professional ethics, and organizational behavior were also destroyed in court. In such circumstances, the Qawanin al-Wizarah, focusing on the themes of regulations, had been a theoretical support to overcome this internal degeneration of the government and a response to the needs of the author`s era. The final result of this research has analyzed the relationship between the era and the text which was the solution to the crisis that had been the reproduction of the concept of efficient government.
Political Thought
Sajjad Chitfroush
Abstract
The modern state is among the major political institutions that encompass all dimensions of human life. Despite its useful aspects, this institution, drawing from foundations that may diminish human freedom in its interaction with individuals, ultimately hinders the growth of human thought and the revelation ...
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The modern state is among the major political institutions that encompass all dimensions of human life. Despite its useful aspects, this institution, drawing from foundations that may diminish human freedom in its interaction with individuals, ultimately hinders the growth of human thought and the revelation of the true essence of humanity. The historical experience of Western countries and the subsequent spread of this thinking to other nations have led many thinkers to critically examine various aspects of the Modern State, aiming to reform and evolve it into a theoretical framework. One of the most important critics and theorists of the Modern State, adopting a humanistic approach, is Hannah Arendt.
Some of the most important research on the critique of the Modern state includes:
Steven E. Aschheim, in the book "Hannah Arendt in Jerusalem," examines Arendt's controversial views on the Eichmann trial and also discusses the nature of justice and the Modern State. The focus is primarily on the case study of Eichmann, without providing a comprehensive framework for Arendt's critical thinking on the existence of the Modern state.
Richard King, in the book "Arendt and America," analyzes Arendt's interaction with American political thought and critiques of the Modern State. The emphasis is on the political and societal features of America, with limited philosophical discussions.
Dana Villa, in "The Cambridge Companion to Hannah Arendt" gathers articles from researchers addressing various aspects of Arendt's political philosophy, including her critique of the Modern state. However, direct critiques of Arendt on the Modern state are the focus of only one article, and the overall article leans more towards a review of Arendt's critiques without presenting a philosophical argument.
While foreign research on Arendt's critique of the Modern state differs from the present study in several aspects, the most notable differences lie in the lack of explicit attention to existential aspects of criticism and the relatively limited exploration of the pragmatic aspect and establishing a conceptual relationship between these two aspects in the research. Additionally, the presuppositions of researchers in geography-based or ideologically-specific research have not been explicitly stated, and interested readers can refer to the following sources for examples of such research.
Examining books and articles written about Arendt within the country also indicates limited research on government in her thought. One of these articles, titled "Politics and Existentialism" by Dr. Mostafa Younesi and Ali Tadayyon Rad, explores the connection between politics and existentialism through the discussion of "action" and considers the role of politics and government institutions in creating a space for human growth.
Another article, titled "Political Order in the Thought of Aristotle and Hannah Arendt and Critique of Its Place in the Present Era" by Seyed Javad Emam Jom'ehzadeh and Ali Tadayyon Rad, argues that political order in the modern era has found a different definition and, contrary to the past, where political order aimed at the excellence and happiness of society, current affairs are mundane and lack a metaphysical position in modern thought. The author aims to challenge modern political order through a reevaluation of Arendt's ideas.
Although foreign articles have extensively addressed Arendt's critiques of the Modern State, this study innovatively focuses on differentiating existential aspects from non-existential ones. The innovation lies in initially critiquing the political philosophy of the new West from Arendt's perspective and suggesting her alternative. This study, using a descriptive-analytical method, first refers to Arendt's most important texts and books to describe her intellectual method (with an emphasis on epistemological discussions). Subsequently, it highlights the main indicators of the Modern state and, as a research framework, compares them with Arendt's theoretical-political views. One of the most important indicators of the Modern state is the existence of a unified authority and power within a specific geographic area. Another important indicator is the control of violent instruments by the Modern State. This political structure implies that superior power is not in the hands of individuals but is entrusted to governance through the use of legal structures and norms. One of the significant indicators of the Modern state discussed in this research is the bureaucratic and administrative structure where individuals are placed at various administrative levels based on their interests and competence. Nevertheless, critics argue that in this space of Modern state and bureaucracy, the freedom of individuals is compromised.
This article attempts to present Hannah Arendt's criticism of the Modern state based on her impartial perspective on government. Typically, the prevailing view of government tends to be biased. Using Arendt's impartial perspective, Pierre Bourdieu argues that the characteristic of this institution is the struggle for power among groups and different interests, often hidden behind a façade of impartiality and objectivity. The article aims to emphasize the importance of political action and the public sphere for human freedom from Arendt's perspective, demonstrating how the Modern state has weakened these values. Additionally, the article explores the conceptual frameworks of civic virtue and individuals' need for participation in public life based on Arendt's views.
Another overlooked point in most domestic research is the examination of Arendt's critique of the Modern state at a macro level, i.e., the critique of the Modern state itself. Arendt's criticisms are often focused on a limited scale, examining actors within political systems such as totalitarianism. However, it is essential to recognize that these criticisms, even when specifically addressing certain types of political systems, are presented under a political system that exists in the modern context. Therefore, the present article innovatively addresses this aspect as well.
This research aims to critique this extensive and significant institution using Arendt's perspective. Findings based on Arendt's principles indicate that modern philosophy has led to the separation of theology from nature, the expansion of positivism, and the excessive growth of a form of individualism. This has resulted in the Modern state becoming an extensive and harsh authoritarian regime, dominating economic aspects over political and cultural facets of human life. Arendt suggests that the only way to reform this extensive, inefficient, and dehumanizing institution is through gradual reform of people's interactions in the public sphere and the utilization of theories such as councils in political structures.
Politics and International Relations
Hasan Sadeghian; Arastoo Fadaei
Abstract
Today, political analysts consider that the concept of "smart power" has developed as a result of the combination of "soft power - hard power". The case study of the current research confirms this claim; This means that Turkey, during the last two decades, to advance its goals and realize its interests, ...
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Today, political analysts consider that the concept of "smart power" has developed as a result of the combination of "soft power - hard power". The case study of the current research confirms this claim; This means that Turkey, during the last two decades, to advance its goals and realize its interests, has combined soft and hard power mechanisms such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, the Public Diplomacy Coordinating Organization, the Yunus Emre Institute, the Radio Organization and Turkish State Television, Anadolu Agency, Organization of Turks Abroad and Related Communities, International Organization of Turkish Culture, Turkish Red Crescent, the Office of Religious Affairs, Turkish Education Foundation, etc. It is a powerful presence and gaining national, regional, and international authority, on the other hand, in the discussion of public diplomacy, beyond these motives, the provision of religious, humanitarian, ethnic, and security goals has been prioritized.In other words, Turkey's soft power has been effective in its various dimensions during the last two decades and has paved the way for the holders of this power [the Justice and Development Party governments] to have both authority, interests, security, and a kind of Cover the self-concept and the deepening of religious and ideological attitudes with the clothes of realization. So that the leaders of this country, realize this in choosing the field, apart from being in the peripheral regions, they also think about distant regions; Therefore, Turkey is one of the countries in the region that has paid attention to almost all cultural climates in the field of Islam and Muslims. Central Asia, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Southwest Asia, the Balkans, the Crimean Islands and beyond, the Horn of Africa, etc., have generally been exposed to the presence and cultural movements of Turkey in recent years.However, the source and origin of Turkey's soft power should be sought in the deep social, political, and economic developments of this country. This in turn is based on an effective combination of political strategies of the ruling political structures, which intensified the focus of politics on the individual, companies, and civil society organizations. This development included redefining the Turkish political language, giving a new role to business organizations and non-governmental organizations, and reanalyzing the relationship between Islam and democracy.It is obvious that along with the economic and social changes in the domestic sphere, the emergence and occurrence of important changes in the international scene, such as "the end of the Cold War and consequently the end of the bipolar system", and "Turkey's membership proposal in the European Union" are an opportunity. It provided new possibilities for Turkey, the most important of which was openness from the perspective of foreign policy and trade policy. Turkey's soft power discourse parallels the rise and fall of Turkey's foreign policy; Therefore, it has gone through different periods.So in the last two decades, when we are facing the single rule of the Justice and Development Party, Turkey's soft power has been influenced by the ups and downs of foreign policy. In other words, according to the political nature of the Justice and Development Party government and the process of domestic, regional, and international political developments, the weight and importance of the aforementioned mechanisms in securing national interests have been different. For example, in the first decade of the Justice and Development Party's rule, i.e. from 2003 to 2013, the role of soft power mechanisms such as Tika and Yunus Emre in smoothing the path of progress and development was much greater. But in the second decade, that is, from 2013 until now, with the beginning of the crises in the Middle East region and Turkish campaigns in areas of Syria and Iraq and the emergence of internal political problems in Turkey such as the Gezi Park crisis and the failed coup of 2016, the role and importance of mechanisms It has become more difficult to secure national interests. The presence and role of Turkish military forces in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Karabagh, and recently in Afghanistan confirms this claim.So, with the reduction of Turkey's decisive foreign policy and the reduction of international credibility, which served the political program of the Justice and Development Party, the credibility and importance of the discourse of soft power has been greatly weakened, and in a way, it has witnessed a shift in discourse, which means the decline of soft power and We are witnessing the emergence of hard power, in which the role of mechanisms such as the Red Crescent, the Crisis Management Organization, and the Armed Forces have increased exponentially. Regional changes and the failure of developmental policies in West Asia, the increase of radicalism and terrorism, the involvement of foreign powers, and the need to deal with increasing combined threats, etc., are the necessary reasons for the use of hard power at the disposal of Ankara. Contract. Turkey's activity in this sense is mainly based on four pillars:- Presidential system with extensive executive power and centralized decision-making process;- a domestic defense industry that increasingly meets the needs of the armed forces locally;- Trying to have strategic autonomy as a great regional power;- A professional army with a long history in multi-front combined wars. (found)The theoretical framework of the current research is based on the theory of "soft power" (theoretical framework) and in terms of methodology, the "process tracing" method has been used from the subsets of case analysis. (Method) In general Four types of "mechanism" definitions have been presented, each of which is concerned with [mostly political-social] issues from a specific dimension:Mechanism as the cause of an effect [the effect of choosing a certain set of preferences and requirements on social outcomes]; 2. mechanism as a mediating process, event, or variable [discovering the nature, substance, or internal structure]; 3. Mechanism as an indeterminate causal process [causal sequences linking events; causal patterns that occur repeatedly and are easily recognized, but operate under generally unknown conditions or with unknown results]; 4. The mechanism is an intangible thing that creates the result [events that change the relationships between some elements and components of the set; A set of interconnected components or elements that create an effect that does not exist by itself in any of the elements alone].In the current study, the definition of the fourth type, that is, "mechanism as an intangible thing that creates the result"; has been exploited. In this way, the main hypothesis is that Turkey's soft power supply mechanisms are considered as a set of interconnected components or elements that create an effect that by itself Does not exist in any of the elements alone. In other words, mechanisms such as Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, Public Diplomacy Coordinating Organization, Yunus Emre Institute, Turkish State Radio and Television Organization, Anadolu Agency, Organization of Turks Abroad and Related Communities, International Organization of Turkish Culture, Administration of the Office of Religious Affairs, Maarif Foundation, Red Crescent, Armed Forces, etc. are an interconnected and at the same time separate complex that the realization of Turkey's soft power depends on their individual and collective actions.
Masoud Ghaffari; Habib Rezazadeh
Abstract
First: The current water crisis in Iran is the product of years of inappropriate decisions and management, which occurred due to the increase in water demand from the country's water resources. Agrarian reform policy and the issue of land. The result was the fragmentation of agricultural land, which, ...
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First: The current water crisis in Iran is the product of years of inappropriate decisions and management, which occurred due to the increase in water demand from the country's water resources. Agrarian reform policy and the issue of land. The result was the fragmentation of agricultural land, which, along with the introduction of deep and semi-deep well exploitation technology, led to the digging of wells by small-scale farmers and landowners and the increase in underground water exploitation; because the easiest way for every person who owned land was to dig a well.
Second: New institutionalism does not consider the economic future and the development of societies as a future with unlimited choices; considering that property rights are among the effective institutions; therefore, the policies that target the property rights of the society create major changes in the society. Land reform is a type of institutional change that is carried out by the government to transform the existing ownership structure and transform it into a desirable structure. Therefore, by using the new institutionalism, we can see the historical impact of land reforms, which was the policy of the government institution in changing and redefining the institution of land ownership; it highlighted the current water crisis.
Third: Before land reforms, Iran's land system had three characteristics: 1- the concentration of land in the hands of a number of absent owners; 2- Shareholding as the dominant form of tenancy and 3- The prevalence of old and primitive techniques in production was determined. About the type of ownership of Iranian villages at that time, the information related to land reforms shows that 6,885 were in the care of religious institutions, 1,535 villages and parts of the other 245 were owned by the government and the royal institution also owned 2,167 villages and their lands. These institutions owned about 20% of the villages. In addition, Iran had 2,250 private owners, each of whom had more than one village; these people owned 11,740 villages. About 20 percent of the villages were for rural farmers and the remaining 38 percent belonged to 320,000 owners. However, following the changes in the ownership institution, the ratio of independent farmers to the rural population, which was less than 5% before the land reforms, reached 76% of the rural population after the land reforms. Although agrarian reforms increased the number of land-owning farmers, they could not give them enough land to become capable and self-reliant farmers. Because the average area of the farm in 1353 was 6.6 hectares and 37% of the land was in water shortage condition
Fourth: The issue of land and the institution of ownership after the Islamic revolution
At the beginning of the victory of the Islamic revolution, due to the expectations created among the rural strata and farmers within the framework of the slogans of the revolution era, in the rural areas, the conflict over land occupation had occupied everyone; In addition to local encroachments, the new regime tried to implement a series of land distribution policies. These land division policies culminated in the redistribution of what was mostly government land and the setting of ownership ceilings in each locality, which led to the redistribution of some of the remaining private land to large landowners. The result of the land division policy of the 1980s was to once again destroy the remnants of large-scale private capitalist agriculture and convert it into numerous small farms. At the same time as the fragmentation and scattering of agricultural lands, which was the result of land reforms and changes in the ownership institution; we see an increase in the number of well rings; the new owners began to dig wells for their newly acquired lands using the new well drilling technology. As a result of these events, the number of wells in the country increased from about 47,000 wells in the water year 1972-1973 to about 763,000 wells in the water year 2011-2012, and the amount of harvesting also increased from 9 billion cubic meters to more than 47 billion cubic meters. Thus, during this period, the number of wells has increased 16 times and the amount of harvests has increased more than 5 times
Fifth: Before the land reforms, the number of small farmers was 320,000, who, together with 2,250 large owners, owned 60% of the agricultural land, and the average land of farmers was more than 20 hectares, the number of underground water resource exploitation wells was less than 40,000 wells, and the amount of exploitation was also It is less than 9,000 cubic meters But in 1979, when the number of small owners increased to 1,601,000 operators, the number of wells increased to more than 70,000 wells, and in 1988, when the number of operators increased to 2,800,000 and the average area of agricultural land is less than 3 hectares, the number of wells 221,691 and the amount of underground water extraction is 32,599 cubic meters and in 2003, when the number of users is 3,480,729, the number of well rings is 468,049 and the amount of extraction is 44,895 cubic meters; In the early 1990s, with the number of 3,359,409 operators, we see more than 763,664 wells and the extraction rate of 47,182 cubic meters.
Politics and International Relations
Hamid Hakim; Emad Helalat
Abstract
Soft power is a tool utilized by different actors in the evolving international system based on their capabilities. In this transformed international system, soft power becomes a vital element in increasing influence over international outcomes, as it makes it more difficult to coerce countries and non-state ...
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Soft power is a tool utilized by different actors in the evolving international system based on their capabilities. In this transformed international system, soft power becomes a vital element in increasing influence over international outcomes, as it makes it more difficult to coerce countries and non-state actors through traditional hard power tools that mean threats and force.
The People's Republic of China is one of the influential actors in the realm of international relations. Its large economy, ranking second in the world, has enabled the country to utilize its economic power as a tool to advance its goals. According to most experts in the field of economics and international relations, China is projected to surpass the United States as the world's leading economy by 2030 and establish itself as a dominant economic power on the international stage, although Joseph Nye disputes this notion in his book "The Intelligent Power."
Over the past few decades, China's foreign policy has pursued different dimensions and forms of power in the international arena, in line with its domestic environment and international circumstances. China's bitter historical experience in dealing with Western powers and enduring the era of humiliation, as well as the ideological components stemming from the Communist revolution, shaped its foreign policy during Mao's era with a strong hardware-oriented approach to power and a focus on win-lose dynamics. With the emergence of Deng Xiaoping, China's foreign policy outlook shifted towards a process of power acquisition and security enhancement. Since the 1990s, significant changes have occurred in China's domestic and international conditions, as the emphasis solely on one dimension of power made the country vulnerable to long-term interests. It was in the mid-1990s that soft power gained a special position in China's foreign policy. Jiang Zemin believed that due to various internal and international reasons, China had to incorporate new dimensions of power, including soft power, into its agenda to change its position and ensure security.
Among the influential regions targeted by China, which shares over 1,800 kilometers of border with it, is Central Asia. This geographical proximity has fostered economic, political, and even cultural links between China and the countries of this region. The historical Silk Road, which originated in China and extended through Central Asia and Iran towards Europe, has strengthened these connections. In this regard, Chinese elites also strive to showcase their soft power on the global stage and in the direction of defeating enemies by utilizing the country's traditional culture, values, and teachings, combined with modern culture.
The main objective of this research is to highlight China's development-oriented policies in the Central Asian region. The significance of this research lies in the fact that Central Asia is considered part of Iran's cultural sphere, and Iranian culture and art have a significant presence in this region. This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to answer the question of how the Chinese government employs soft power as a tool for its development ambitions in Central Asia. The article argues that by utilizing its soft power tools in cultural, political, and economic dimensions, the Chinese government influences the countries of the Central Asian region. However, it also faces challenges that hurt its soft power. This research examines the soft power of China, its capacities, tools, and challenges by addressing the concept of soft power and the Chinese government's utilization of it in Central Asia.
Based on this, the research is structured into three main sections. The first section provides an overview and theoretical framework of the research. The second section explores China's soft power in Central Asia, including the existing tools and capacities of the Chinese government in this domain. The third section discusses the challenges faced by the Chinese government in leveraging its soft power.
Considering that the main question of the research was how the Chinese government uses soft power as a tool for its expansionist ambitions in Central Asia, it is argued in this research that the Chinese government influences the countries of Central Asia through its soft power tools in cultural, political, and economic dimensions. However, it faces challenges such as the presence of regional and extra-regional powers (such as the United States, Russia, and India), Islamic fundamentalism, and cultural unattractiveness, which hurt its soft power. It can be concluded that China has been able to introduce itself as an influential variable in this region through its economic relations with Central Asian countries, both through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other frameworks. China has attempted to exert its influence on the development and progress of these countries by tying their economies to their own, creating consumer and transit markets, and utilizing the energy resources available in these countries. The Chinese government has placed economic tools as the foundation of its global and regional movements, particularly in Central Asia. In the cultural sphere, despite scholarships for students and the promotion of the Chinese language and Confucian culture, different perspectives, especially in neighboring countries, indicate that Russia and the United States have a relatively more desirable position in terms of China's soft power and influence. In the political sphere, there is authoritarianism in Central Asian countries, similar to China, but civil society and the general public in Central Asia do not find China's soft power politically appealing and prefer the liberal democracy model of the United States. Despite China's efforts to achieve its goals through initiatives such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Belt and Road Initiative, it faces challenges that have affected these initiatives. Russia considers Central Asia its domain and China's presence and influence in this region pass through Russia's channel. The United States identifies China as the biggest threat to its national security and seeks to have an influential presence in the region as an international player. Islamic fundamentalism (terrorism) is another challenge for China. The presence of Chinese semi-military forces in Syria in the form of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and their return to Central Asia and China, creating security crises, makes Central Asian countries a potential center of terrorism in the future. Overall, it can be stated that despite all the progress China has made in this region, the existence of these challenges has affected China's soft power.
Political Thought
Ali Babaei; kamal pouladi
Abstract
AbstractExamining the special place of Mirza Taghikhan Amirkabir in the contemporary history of Iran requires attention to his perception of the "Janus face of modernity". According to historical sociology, modernity has a dual and interconnected nature, whose positive, civilizational or objective aspect ...
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AbstractExamining the special place of Mirza Taghikhan Amirkabir in the contemporary history of Iran requires attention to his perception of the "Janus face of modernity". According to historical sociology, modernity has a dual and interconnected nature, whose positive, civilizational or objective aspect emphasizes the development and progress of civilizational, economic, scientific and technical elements, and its psychic, subjective and subjective aspects emphasize the importance of achievements. Cultural, corresponding to the freedom of mankind, equality, democracy, pluralism and law, which is manifested in the philosophical language of Kant and Hegel in the concept of "reason itself". In this article, we are going to find out how Amir Kabir, as the great reformer of our society, has thought about the relationship between the elements of modernity. Has Amir Kabir believed only in the positive and industrial aspects of modernity, or has he become aware of the importance of its cultural aspects, including the "law"He has gained faith to the same extent as his predecessors Qaim and Abbas Mirza? The rule of Amir Kabir with the beginning of the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar in 1230 AH is accompanied by extensive changes Our hypothesis is that Amir Kabir's emphasis on the "fantasy of constitutionalism" reflects his understanding of the need to apply the dual achievements of modernity. Accordingly, We have critically examined the place of "law" in his intellectual and practical system.
The State
Mostafa Kavakebyan; Azim Matin
Abstract
In explicating the essence of a modern state, one must navigate a theoretical landscape defined by a set of characteristics, criteria, and requisites that differentiate the theory of the modern state from alternative paradigms, notably the absolute state. This theoretical realm, characterized by a prescriptive ...
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In explicating the essence of a modern state, one must navigate a theoretical landscape defined by a set of characteristics, criteria, and requisites that differentiate the theory of the modern state from alternative paradigms, notably the absolute state. This theoretical realm, characterized by a prescriptive understanding of modern governance, serves as a guiding force, prompting governments worldwide to emulate its structural blueprint. This form of governance, intricately woven into the fabric of contemporary political landscapes, commands loyalty from its constituents. It wields influence both directly and indirectly, orchestrating societal affairs through a bureaucratic apparatus that intricately affects diverse aspects of citizens' lives.
In stark contrast to premodern governance reliant on tribute and force, the modern government garners economic sustenance directly from its citizenry, levying taxes to fulfill its distinct responsibilities. At the core of the modern state lies the imperative of nation-building, an endeavor necessitating the homogenization of social identity. However, the crux of our inquiry lies in the intricate relationship between us Iranians and the modern state. Delving into the historical narrative of the modern state as an experiential journey and scrutinizing it as a malleable theoretical model emerge as imperative undertakings.
The overarching purpose of this research is to meticulously examine the historical trajectory underpinning the formation and stabilization of the modern state in Iran. Anchored in the intellectual currents of Western thought, this scholarly pursuit aspires to enhance our understanding of the state's essence and its nuanced position within the Iranian milieu. A discerning analysis of the country's policies and orientations naturally unfolds as a byproduct of this historical exploration.
Guiding our intellectual journey is a theoretical framework rooted in historical institutionalism. This approach, a beacon in the study of state building in Iran, focuses on unraveling the intricate tapestry of social, political, and economic behaviors, tracing their evolution over time. Institutions, elevated to the status of independent variables, emerge as architects shaping individual and collective actions alongside the broader panorama of social and political phenomena. Recognizing that institutions not only mold actors' strategies but also sculpt their objectives, historical institutionalism, with its attention to structural variables such as class position and mediating entities like political parties and unions, provides a nuanced lens through which to study the formation and construction of the government in Iran.
The research methodology, a dual-pronged approach, employs the content analysis method to scrutinize definitions of the modern state put forth by Western thinkers. This analytical approach, eschewing the exploration of attitudes and beliefs in favor of dissecting produced messages, is complemented by the historical research method. This method involves a meticulous examination of specific past events within a defined temporal scope, integrating historical facts through a rigorous regimen of data collection, evaluation, and verification.
Tracing the historical trajectory of government formation in the West, political scientists posit that the foundations of the modern state or nation-state were laid in the late Middle Ages, influenced by the Catholic cultural context. The formation of modern national states was shaped by factors such as religious reform movements and conflicts among European countries. The Treaty of Westphalia in the 16th to 18th centuries is considered a pivotal event in the emergence of the modern state. From the 19th century onward, the modern government model gradually supplanted other political systems globally.
The indicators and criteria of modern governments encompass a legitimate monopoly on controlling the means of violence, a specific territorial territory, sovereignty, centralized power, a codified constitution, the use of impersonal power, nationalism, a public bureaucracy, authority/legitimacy, citizenship, and provincial tax.
The historical exploration of government formation in Iran reveals nuanced epochs, beginning with the Safavid era's establishment of a robust central government to counter threats from the Sunni Ottoman Empire. Shah Abbas I marked a zenith, unifying the country politically, relocating the capital to Isfahan, fostering a unified religious identity based on Shiite Islam, and expanding diplomatic relations. Subsequent governments, such as the Afshariya and Zand, did not significantly alter national and state organizations. The Qajar dynasty witnessed an expansion of central government power, albeit rooted in the Illyrian system. The constitutional revolution of 1285 emerged as a historical turning point, ushering in constitutionalism and paving the way for a more structured political system in Iran. The subsequent Pahlavi absolute government, while characterized by economic nationalism and centralization of power, laid the foundations for absolute rule.
In conclusion, this historical exploration, spanning from the Safavid era to the Pahlavi period, unveils Iran's trajectory of independent political thought and the evolution of a nation transitioning to citizenship. Constitutionalism emerges as the cornerstone of modern governance, establishing a balanced relationship between the government and the nation. The era of Reza Shah, marked by economic nationalism and the consolidation of government power, signifies a fundamental shift, laying the groundwork for absolute rule. This scholarly endeavor sheds light on the nuanced tapestry of Iran's political evolution.
