Sajjad Sattari
Abstract
Purpose: With a new approach different from the common theories of the social contract, the writer has tried to propose the necessity and possibility of establishing a Middle Eastern tradition of social contract, especially in hydrocarbonic societies in the Middle East, and describe its nature, possibility ...
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Purpose: With a new approach different from the common theories of the social contract, the writer has tried to propose the necessity and possibility of establishing a Middle Eastern tradition of social contract, especially in hydrocarbonic societies in the Middle East, and describe its nature, possibility and existence.
Methodology: The article has used the Explanative approach
Findings: This study has six main findings: first, social contract in the West was the result of the historical need of individual /society/ bourgeoisie to the absolute state (from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth); but social contract in the Middle East, will be the result of the Middle East’s both quasi-absolute and absolute states’ need to individual / society / bourgeoisie in the Twenty-First Century. Second, in parallel with » developments in commodity«, »movement of Consciousness in the Middle East«, and consequently, » structural transformation of the public sphere in the horizon of these societies«, dominant power elites in the Middle East lose the possibility of complete independence from “individual, society and knowledge/ capital /bourgeoisie technology” everyday and more and more. Thus, the historical equation of “strong states/weak societies” is changed gradually especially in the hydrocarbon societies of the Middle East and “empowering societies/ declining states” are formed along with.
Third, With the historical continuity of this process, at a moment of horizon of Middle East hydrocarbonic societies, a balance of power between state and society is formed and thus, “moment of power compulsion”, “Middle Eastern state of exception” and “exceeding tendency to the birth of subjectivity” have happened in the Middle East. Only at this moment and situation, not out of which, it is possible to move towards gradual establishment of a Middle Eastern type of social contract in these societies. Forth, All societies of the Middle East do not reach the moment of society and state power equality at the same time and alike. Nevertheless, in parallel with approaching this situation and moment, dominant power elites in these societies are faced with the dilemma of choosing “course of the violence, revolution and war” or “peaceful course of social contractualism”. Fifth, Success of new contractualism process depends on two fundamental prerequisite: “violence avoidance of the dominant power elites” and “tradition acceptance of change-seekers social forces” in the moment of power compulsion and Middle Eastern exceptional situation. Sixth, Moving toward the three pillars “new legitimate constitutionalism”, “tax Leviathan” and “responsibility-based constitution orientation” is the most justifiable logic compatible with the Middle Eastern social contract. With these pillars, possibility of occurrence of Middle Eastern social contract is practically better, because it guarantees traditional power benefit and new public will both.
Originality/Value: This study provides new and deep-rooted themes for thought, guidance for political action and a guarantee for benefit of traditional power and public good in the horizon of the Middle East hydrocarbonic societies
Vahid Sinaee
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of the present paper is understanding the obstacles and causes of the low level of the cooperation and integration among Persian Gulf countries. Persian Gulf is one of the most important geopolitical subsystems in the world. The countries that are located in this region have ...
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Purpose: The aim of the present paper is understanding the obstacles and causes of the low level of the cooperation and integration among Persian Gulf countries. Persian Gulf is one of the most important geopolitical subsystems in the world. The countries that are located in this region have many indicators for integration. However, disintegration dominates the political relationships. As a result of this situation, conflicts, dark ties, deep crisis, and four wars have occurred only in the last four decades in this region.
Methodology: The origin of the challenges and conflicts in the Persian Gulf region could be studied at different levels, one of them is internal or national challenges and the most important of them is challenges of the nation-state building among countries in this region. In this paper, with the linkage between political and historical sociology and regional studies, the incomplete process of nation-state building and its influences upon regional integration and security in Persian Gulf have been reviewed.
Findings: This article studies the impact of the unfinished process of nation-state building on the growth retardation of the integration in the Persian Gulf region. Tribal and ethnic structures have been powerful obstacles to influence the new ideology, formation of the nation and the establishment of the institutions of the new state in these communities. The incomplete nation-state building process is rooted in the internal structure of these communities but their effects and implications are seen at the national, regional and International level. Cooperation and integration in this region needs the acceptance of civil, political and social citizenship right and the growth of nation-state building and formation of the national state.
Originality/Value: With regards to the importance of regional and political studies about Persian Gulf, this article is taken account as a new step and insight for emphasis upon internal factors for understanding the growth retardation of integration in the Persian Gulf. From this view, for finding the causes of disintegration and understanding the roots of conflict and war in this region, we should refer to the sociopolitical factors of state and society in Persian Gulf countries.
Ebrahim Eltejaei
Abstract
Purpose: Among the widespread views on the role of government in economy, an intermediate view introduces the most important priority for government as creation of institutional infrastructures. According to this view, the government has to create necessary institutional framework to facilitate markets ...
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Purpose: Among the widespread views on the role of government in economy, an intermediate view introduces the most important priority for government as creation of institutional infrastructures. According to this view, the government has to create necessary institutional framework to facilitate markets and private sectors’ operations. This important role is more vital for developing countries especially oil-dependent ones. A century ago, many obstacles against growth were visible in Iran. Among them, the most important ones were the lack of suitable institutional frameworks for market economy to operate efficiently. This paper is to investigate proceedings of Iranian government to establish institutional infrastructures during four decades since 1940. Methodology: This paper has a combined approach of historical and empirical analysis to identify the main proceedings of Iranian government to set up Economic Institutions during near four decades between 1940 and 1978.These years were concurrent to the beginning of economic development process at national levels. Findings: Investigations show that after unsuccessful, interrupted and sporadic efforts of statesmen during the 19th century and first quarter of 20th century, during the second quarter of 20th century, government volition formed to reconstruct and establish modern institutions and to spread them into national sphere. During the next three decades, the government focused on establishing new economic institutions. Among them, six proceedings are the most important: (i), Establishment of Plan Organization, (ii), Nationalization of oil industry, (iii), Land Reform, (iv), Establishment of Revaluation Loan Fund and Specialized Banks, (v), Establishment of the Tehran Stock Exchange and the Central Bank of Iran and finally, (vi), Implementing five long-run development and economic construction plans (including two 7 year plans and three 5 year plans). Value: This paper is to show the most important economic institutions established by the Iranian government at the mentioned period. This article showed that the government of Iran at the mentioned period proceeded to the establishment of important economic institutions each of which had their own sizable impact on Iran's economy. The main feature of these institutions is that, there were many arguments for and against them. It seems that among these institutions, land reform, nationalization of oil industry, establishment of Plan Organization and five long-run development and economic construction plans have got the most arguments for and against, respectively. Even today, many years after the birth of these institutions (although some of them have been transmuted), those arguments are continued. This paper's originality is to show the most important economic institutions established by the Iranian government at the mentioned period.
Abbas Alli Rahbar; Farzad Souri
Abstract
Purpose: Security is one of the major issues that the need for it is felt tangibly and effectively in all aspects of human life and searching for that has an unbreakable bond with the essence of human existence. Political thinkers generally consider security as one of the government’s main tasks. ...
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Purpose: Security is one of the major issues that the need for it is felt tangibly and effectively in all aspects of human life and searching for that has an unbreakable bond with the essence of human existence. Political thinkers generally consider security as one of the government’s main tasks. This issue has been of particular position and importance in Islam and designing it in Islamic system has been noteworthy. The Holy Quran considers the security as one of the goals of God sovereignty and the righteous succession. Security in the Holy Quran has several levels which involves spiritual, personal, social and political aspects. Methodology: In this article, we attempt to examine the concept of political security in epistemic system of Holy Quran by using interpretive works on Quran. This choice is according to division of Islam into three original, theoretical and practical spheres and also known classification of Islam as beliefs, morals and laws, to reach a typology of political security which is theological-intellectual, ethical-psychological and practical-behavioral. Findings: In this article we argue that in modern political thought the government is responsible for security and taking care of it in anarchic atmosphere. In this view, governments are the major subject of security. Also from the perspective of political sociology, political security can be known as product of social interaction which manifests from interaction between individuals, groups and political institutions. In other words, feeling political security is in fact a form of social production and all the social and political institutions are involved in its formation. So it can be said that feeling political security is a multifaceted and complex concept, because the feeling shapes in a mental and intersubjective space, and because this sense of security is in the political sphere which, according to Max Weber, is the area of power. From his perspective, our understanding of the politics would be a set of efforts to participate in power. Value: This article concludes that the most important ways and requirements to achieve political security is the cases such as avoiding tyranny and oppression, establishment of justice in society, coping with domestic disrupters and fighting with foreign enemies. It also can be extracted from the presented arguments that in Quran there is a special attention to the action–behavioral aspect of political security, in addition to considering two other aspects which were mentioned before.
Mohammad Jalali; Mahdi Mahdavi Zahed
Abstract
Purpose: It is the purpose of this article to investigate reasons and types of the evolution of institutions. Social institutions, "Family", "Religion", "Education", "Economy" and "Politics", have fluid nature and therefore have ability to discourse evolution. The changing institution can affect other ...
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Purpose: It is the purpose of this article to investigate reasons and types of the evolution of institutions. Social institutions, "Family", "Religion", "Education", "Economy" and "Politics", have fluid nature and therefore have ability to discourse evolution. The changing institution can affect other social institutions. Five basic social institutions can affect law, and the main question in this article is about this same problem. This article seeks to answer these question: What significant relationship is there between the changes in social institutions and the rule of law in Iran? Is the evolution of social institutions of family, religion, education, politics and economics effective in transition to rule of law? The main premise of authors is the existence of changes in social institutions, laying the groundwork for the formation of individuality and as a result, plurality of values systems.
Methodology: This article surveys evolution of social institutions. Most simply, it is a first step in an attempt to discuss the nature of Rule of Law. Then, by examining changes in social institutions and their impacts on the infrastructure of the state, we discuss the rule of law in contemporary Iran. This study goes beyond the traditional classification of Public Law in the areas of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Financial Law and Labor Law and is among the sociology of Public Law.
Findings: The findings of this study imply that the evolution of social institutions' discourses lead to the formation of "individuality" and value pluralism, and deepen the "democratic culture" and "social democracy" among the Iranians, because the authors believe that "Democracy" is not static, but an ongoing process. Democratic social structure affects the political system. Therefore, this article seeks to analyze the sociological process of formation of the modern democratic state in Iran. So, from another perspective, this paper is located in the realm of "Iranian and Persian Studies". This article is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of Iran.
State and social institutions have dynamic interaction with each other. Therefore, the evolution of an institution can change other social institutions. Thus, there are the meaningful relationship between the evolution of social institutions' discourses & the formation of the rule of law that imply the connection between sociology and Public Law, because Public Law is the legal system of the state and Sociology of Public Law is responsible for explanation of impact of social institutions on the formation of the government.
Originality/Value: This article is one of the first attempts to understand the role of social change in the rule of law in contemporary Iran, because this study examined the steps of understanding, creating and delivering values by social changing processes in citizen’s mindsets. These changes have affected Family", "Religion", "Education", "Economy" and "Politics" in contemporary Iran. This study is focused on analyzing how democratic culture can impact in the rule of law, because we believe the existence of the rule of law is the foundation of a democratic system and mutually democracy promotes the rule of law. In this article we are going to be examining the dialectic of society and government in contemporary Iranian society
Seyed Shamsedin Sadeghi; Masoud Naderi
Abstract
Purpose: After World War II, what was considered as security generator was the existence of high military capacity. With the collapse of soviet, various levels of security appeared which did not reduce security studies to military dimension. Today, multiple issues of security have significant position ...
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Purpose: After World War II, what was considered as security generator was the existence of high military capacity. With the collapse of soviet, various levels of security appeared which did not reduce security studies to military dimension. Today, multiple issues of security have significant position in contemporary world and is interesting to many researchers. To understand the security issue and take action to ensure it, we must have numerous looks at it.
Also, due to various changes in the era of globalization that is the era of change and variation, it is possible that cases and issues that are considered common and normal, in near future, enter into the area of security cases and be considered a security gap that accurate recognition of them is very difficult in order to achieve national and international goals. In Iran like all countries, security is composed of various dimensions. For this reason it is said that the areas of threat will be very different.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to survey the most important challenges facing the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 21st century and then to survey the role of these challenges on the national security of Iran. By analysis of available information, we can discover the reasons of their increasing importance and the way of their effect on national security. A topic that is discussed in this study is the existence of situations that each one of them is involved securitization capability and thus imposing costs on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Methodology: The research method in this study has been based on positive paradigm and analytical-explanatory approach (Copenhagen School and its broad vision) to assess the challenges and their impact. The reason of choosing Copenhagen School as framework of this research is that this school, due to its security view to issues, provides context in which various security discourses can be discussed. Also, it should be noted that in the era of globalization, following the complexity of the threats, various security levels have been complicated and according to the researchers, this school has the ability to cover the various levels, as well.
Findings: These findings show that Islamic republic of Iran is faced with different types of security challenges of current era. These Challenges have military, political, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions and need urgent solution by statesmen. Therefore, government and governmental organizations must pay attention to new trends in security to reduce the amount of damages in the future.
Originality/Value: Since, so far, no research in this domain has dealt with the most important security challenges facing the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 21st century, we can say that innovation of this study is to investigate the most important security challenges that the Islamic Republic of Iran faces.
