Ahmad Golmohammadi
Abstract
Purpose: Identity is a kind of self-understanding in relation to others that is accompanied by judgment and feeling. This concept is of a high importance in social life since it allows people to stand out as a member of the society, especially since we live in a society where concepts of self have an ...
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Purpose: Identity is a kind of self-understanding in relation to others that is accompanied by judgment and feeling. This concept is of a high importance in social life since it allows people to stand out as a member of the society, especially since we live in a society where concepts of self have an impact on our relations with others. Identity is not natural and is constructed socially and historically. Alternatively, identity construction is an integral component of social life. This article aims to describe the relationship between politics, narrative and identity through explaining how the state is the managing construction of identity. As a case for studying such a relationship, the article explains how the Islamic government in Iran manages identity construction through policy-making regarding the publication of stories for teenagers. Moreover, the purpose of this article is to answer a question about constructing an Islamic identity (as a favorite identity for the state and as a mechanism for social control) through stories for teenagers. Thus, the article aims to analyze the content of over 280 stories published by the state-owned institution of Kanoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakan Va Nojavanan (hereafter referred to as “Kanoon”). Design/Methodology/Approach: Theoretically, this analysis is based upon Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory as well as the cultural studies approach. The representation theory explains how culture (as a complex of systems and subsystems of meanings) is being historically reproduced and cultural studies revolves around the interconnectedness of society, politics, identity and culture. Methodologically, documentary analysis was utilized as a data collection method. Through this method, the researcher investigated the archive of Kanoon, including 285 storybooks for gathering the available data. All the data was collected from titles, cover photos and cover introduction summary of the books. Afterwards, content analysis was used for data analysis. Findings: First of all, analyzing the collected data lead the researcher to the conclusion that constructing an Islamic identity can be realized through accompanying or pairing signs of Muslimhood (or being Muslim) and goodness (or being good) in stories published by Kanoon for teenagers. This pairing can be realized in three levels or units. In other words, the story title, cover photos and cover summaries of every book included pairing signs of being a Muslim and being good (as being acknowledged, beautiful, kind etc). More than 21 percent of all stories that Kanoon has published for teenagers during three decades are instances of such identity construction. During a time span of 30 years (from 1360 to 1390), Kanoon published 285 story books for teenagers, 61 of which contain signs of being a Muslim and being good. But this pairing was realized differently in the units of analysis: 31 title, 34 cover photos and 41 cover summaries contain pairing signs of being a Muslim and being good. As a result, Kanoon can be considered as a platform for identity construction. Originality/Value: Such findings show the capability of representation theory and demonstrate how one can utilize theoretical and methodological properties of cultural studies. Due to the importance of narrative in the construction of teenagers’ identity, the findings of this research have theoretical and practical value. Although there are valuable articles and books on the relationship between politics, identity, narrative and the state, this relationship in the Islamic Republic of Iran has not been the subject of a study.
Mandana Tishehyar
Abstract
Purpose: The East Asian region includes countries that mostly became independent after the Second World War and were established as newborn countries. Although the traditions of governance in most of these countries are as long as history, these nation-states have followed the policies of political development ...
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Purpose: The East Asian region includes countries that mostly became independent after the Second World War and were established as newborn countries. Although the traditions of governance in most of these countries are as long as history, these nation-states have followed the policies of political development as a part of their developmental policies in general during the last decades. While the Western models of development offered a typical pattern for developing political institutions, the East Asian countries, however, have applied their own models of political development in the political structures of their societies. These models are mostly rooted in the Oriental traditions of governance, and they construct a political identity for the citizens, agents and political elites based on cultural and social values.
The main purpose of this research is to analyze the model of political development of the state in South Korea based on political development theories. The question is how South Korean policy-makers have made a unique model of development based on cultural, social, economic and political heritages of this country.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The author will also examine the level of political development of the state in this country based on the criteria of classical theories of political development, such as the role of political elites, urbanization, literacy level, sociocultural features, the economic situation, foreign pressures and the like.
Findings: One of the most important elements that played a key role in shaping the political structure of government in South Korea is regionalization of politics in this country. The author has tried to explain the impact of this phenomenon in the process of political development of the state in South Korea.
Another factor, which has a certain degree of influence on the political culture of the South Korean society, especially among political activists and policy-makers, is the teachings of Confucius. As the mentor of millions of East Asian people, Confucius argues that people should obey the governors and the rules must be responsible for bringing peace and stability to the society. This idea was accepted by many rulers throughout history and prepared a suitable ground for creating semi-authoritarian states ruling over this region for centuries. Still, we can witness the impact of such an approach on the South Korean society. In fact, the influence of the political traditions of governance in the South Korean society is undeniable.
The impression of political competitions between the East and the West blocs during the Cold War and the South Korean tendency toward the Western bloc is also evident in the political development policies of the state in this country.
Value: Regarding the above-mentioned elements, the author argues that the historical features and political culture of the South Korean society have played an important role in the foundation of the structure of political development of the state in this country.
Enayatollah Yazdani; Mostafa Qasemi
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of the present paper is to examin the features and characteristics of a failed state with emphasis on the failed state in Libya. The paper seeks to answer the following questions: "Under what conditions does a state end in failure? And what are the criteria of a failed state?" With regard ...
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Purpose: The aim of the present paper is to examin the features and characteristics of a failed state with emphasis on the failed state in Libya. The paper seeks to answer the following questions: "Under what conditions does a state end in failure? And what are the criteria of a failed state?" With regard to the situation in Libya after Gaddafi and the Libyan scene involved in multiple matters, the country can be regarded as a failed state. With the beginning of the Islamic awakening in Tunisia, crisis-prone countries such as Libya faced the awakening of the Muslims. In Libya, after 9 months of conflict between Gaddafi forces and the revolutionaries, the anti-government forces finally gained victory in August of 2011. Following the victory of the Libyan revolutionaries, a new stage began in the socio-political life of the country. At first, it seemed that the process of nation-state building in the country would be taken slowly and with slight ups and downs. However, despite such hope and earlier efforts, after the collapse of the Gaddafi government, not only a powerful state did not take the stage in Libya, two governments, two parliaments, two prime ministers and two ministers entered the scence. During these years, Libya has been torn in fighting between two groups, one of which claimed that they are the genuine revolutionary forces and the other claimed that they have been trying to restore the country to the path of revolution. In the true sense of the word, there is still no government in Libya, and the governments established after the revolution in this country have inherited the inefficiency of Gaddafi's failed state, and are now proceeding along the path of state failure. Considering the situation in post-Gaddafi Libya and many other factors, this country could be regarded as a failed state. Libya is now a country with a government so weak that is unable to provide even its own security. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper is formed and based on the failed states theory, using the destructive method for exploring failed state indexes in order to examine the failed state in Libya in the post-Gaddafi era. Findings: The new achievement of this paper lies within the situation that when there is no ability to perform functions such as security, welfare, civil society, democracy and legitimacy, the government is in a state of bankruptcy and one is faced with a phenomenon known as a failed state. The situation in Libya is an example of such a state. Tribal tendencies, regionalism, weakness of state institutions, and insufficiencies in various areas such as proper military structure, consensus among the elites and the state, democratic culture and civil society, elites, religious scholars and leaders, control over lands, infrastructure for economic, and foreign intervention are all signs of a failed state in the country. Originality/Value: The failed state is a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly. Loss of control, instability, inability to provide public services and interact with other states are the main characteristics of a failed state which is the case of Libya.
Hoda Ghafari; Fatemeh Afshari
Abstract
Purpose: Administrative decentralization seeks to redistribute authority, responsibility and financial resources to provide public services among different levels of the government. It is the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and management of certain public functions from the central ...
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Purpose: Administrative decentralization seeks to redistribute authority, responsibility and financial resources to provide public services among different levels of the government. It is the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and management of certain public functions from the central government and its agencies to field units of government agencies, subordinate units or levels of government, semi-autonomous public authorities or corporations, or area-wide, regional or functional authorities. When governments devolve functions, they transfer authority for decision-making, finances, and management to quasi-autonomous units of local government with corporate status. According to Article 3 of the Constitution of Malaysia, Islam is the country's official religion; therefore, studying the legal system of this country, which has a Muslim background, is essentially important to our country. In addition, given the importance of decentralization in Iran, it is of considerable importance to study the challenges of the decentralization system, even when they are formed in a federal system. The Malaysian legal system, modeled based on the English law, has, after independence of the former country, chosen federalism, and, consequently, the political decentralization system for their government. However, the important issue refers to whether the system of political decentralization has been achieved completely and properly in this country and what are its damages? Decentralization can be a way of improving access to services, tailoring government actions to private needs, and increasing the opportunities for state-society interactions. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper is formed and based on the critical paradigm with the descriptive method, and has been conducted in two sections. The first section of the study investigated the levels of government, and, in the second part, the relationship between federal, state and local governments will be discussed. Findings: Malaysia is one of the three Asian countries and the only southeastern Asian country which has chosen a federal government. The important matter is whether the mentioned federal system results in decentralization? The Malaysian government includes three layers: the federal government, the government of provinces and local government. The provincial and local governments, as the symbol of decentralization in such countries, are determined in Malaysia’s Constitution with their duties, discretions and limitations. Actually, however, the federal government interferes in provincial activities. 91 percent of financial resources are controlled by the federal government. The independent activities of local governments are hindered by factors such as limited responsibilities, federal and provincial governments’ interference in local government affairs, the role of the national association and housing ministry parallel to the local government regarding law and policy-making, existence of unique obligatory policies for all local governments, limited financial resources, and the appointment of local authorities by the federal government. Consequently, the above explanations imply that federalism, as a governmental system, will not necessarily result in decentralization. Originality/Value: Given the large number of studies on the issue of decentralization in the Iranian legal system, this paper, with the aim of observing the originality principle, intends to conduct a comparative study on the legal systems of Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
ali bagheri; hossein ebrahimi
Abstract
Purpose: Seeking development has always been one of the top priorities of developing countries. For this reason, various governments have tried to follow relevant policies as one of the politico- economic priorities. In Iran, given that after eight years of Holy Defense, many industrial, economic and ...
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Purpose: Seeking development has always been one of the top priorities of developing countries. For this reason, various governments have tried to follow relevant policies as one of the politico- economic priorities. In Iran, given that after eight years of Holy Defense, many industrial, economic and agricultural infrastructure were destroyed, the pursuit of development-oriented policy became one of the main slogans of the government of the time to an extent that the government of Hashemi Rafsanjani called itself the Sazandegi (constructive) Government. Considering that achieving development requires cooperation in both domestic and foreign policies, the aim of the present paper is to show the requirements of foreign policy in order to realize the development-oriented policy in Sazandegi Government. In particular, the paper seeks to answer this question: What changes took place in Iran’s foreign policy for adapting itself based on the development-oriented policy? The main hypothesis refers to a changing of foreign policy priorities of Iran and its compliance with internal and international contexts. Thus, Iran, in addition to changing the tone of its speech in the region, attempted to demonstrate new figures to attract foreign investors.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper is formed and based on the theory of economic liberalism with the descriptive-analytic method. The research data is collected from hard and electronic sources such as papers, books, journals etc.
Findings: The research findings show that in the state level, Iran, for détente in its foreign relations, improved its relations with the EU, China, Russia and neighboring Arab countries. In regional and international levels, Iran followed the policy of strengthening and revitalization of eco-organization, de-politicization of OPEC, use of the capacity of the Organization of Islamic Conference, and more interaction with the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. To achieve this purpose, Iran reduced its ideological propaganda and changed its tones on export of revolutionary ideals in Middle East. At this time, creating an Islamic Japan was considered the gateway of exporting of the Islamic revolution and the government attempted spend all its energy to improve the economy. On this path, the government even embarked upon reforms in the foreign ministry. Although adjustment instances of Iran’sgovernment in some areas of foreign policy could help to achieve a development-oriented policy, such changes were insufficient and the enforcement of new sanctions against Iran challenged its policy of détente and attraction of foreign investment. In the economic aspect, Iran merged adopted global economy and moved away from the Islamic economic model. The implication of this policy was the growth of liquidity level and the spread of poverty and injustice in the society.
Originality/Value: Trying to introduce the measures of Iran’s government in foreign policy for adapting itself with the development-oriented policy is the first criterion that distinguishes the present paper from other research. Also, the article has concentrated on economic indexes of development-oriented policy, and, in this way, distinguishes itself from other research efforts. Besides these two issues, the paper does not have a black and white viewpoint to successes and failures of the government of Hashemi Rafsanjani and tries to explain the effect of world economy on some politico-economic decisions of the government.
Hamidreza Rahmanizadeh Dehkordi; Mohamad Medi Zanjani
Abstract
Purpose: There are various approaches to study the modern state in Iran including the Marxist approach, Patrimonial approach and the Oriental despotism approach. These approaches, however, often consider the modern state as a full-blown despotism and Reza Shah as an "oriental despot" or an autocrat who ...
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Purpose: There are various approaches to study the modern state in Iran including the Marxist approach, Patrimonial approach and the Oriental despotism approach. These approaches, however, often consider the modern state as a full-blown despotism and Reza Shah as an "oriental despot" or an autocrat who imposed his will upon the society. The critics of Reza Shah claim that he was a dictator: He secularized laws, forced women to do away with the veil, and introduced Western-style dress for men. They state that during his time, there was hardly any political life in the form of opposition. The press was muzzled; the parliament rubber-stamped the king’s decisions, and some of his political rivals and confidantes were imprisoned, some eliminated. Religious protests were put down robustly, and Reza Shah was ruthless with tribal rebellions. Indeed, his style was very brusque. This study aims to show how a seemingly absolute and autocrat modern state, Reza Shah’s State, could be limited by a number of factors including the existence of strong social forces such as tribes, the state’s incapability to exert absolute force, and the intervention of foreign powers. In other words, there have been some social and economic contexts influencing the modern state. In this situation, the Shah could be forced to make a decision and take an action different from his own will. To prove this claim, this study gives some evidence from various sources, including foreign state documents, books, memories, diaries of foreign financial advisers such as Dr. Millspaugh, eyewitnesses who registered their observations etc. Design/Methodology/Approach: The structural approach is adapted to justify the modern state. In other words, it is shown that to understand the concrete reality of The Modern State, one should refer to the context (social forces, geographic situation, and intervention of foreign forces) and, moreover, one should refer to the state and its ability/inability to exerting absolute force in its territory. Findings: Our thesis can be summed up by one typical statement: Social, economic, and demographic situations (including social forces and geographically large countries with dispersed population), that is what is called as a context and some characteristics of the Modern State (including state inability to exert absolute force on the country), prevent the state from falling into full-blown despotism. The study has summarized the other approaches and compared them to the approach of the present paper for highlighting the different dimensions of this approach. Originality/Value: It is the researcher’s belief that this study throws a new light to the debates on Reza Shah’s state as the first modern state in Iran. The critics of this state assert that it was a full blown despotic state, and the defenders consider it as a reformer-dictator state that laid the foundation of modern Iran and transformed the chaotic and desperate conditions of the time. This study shows that, in spite of the fact that there were some suppressions, some structural impediments prevented the Shah to act on his own absolute will.
