رضا سلیمانی

All theories of political science and international relations are inevitably based on specific ontological foundations that one of the main sub-branches of their ontology is anthropology (history). However, anthropological foundations have been neglected in the evaluation of international relations theories (problem). Therefore, it seems necessary to strengthen the approaches interested in examining the anthropology of international relations theories in view of the conceptual gap in the background of this issue (background and necessity). Therefore, this question can be raised: How can the perception of human nature provide an Islamic basis for rethinking the intellectual approach of the main theoretical approaches in international relations (including realism and liberalism)? (Question). It seems that from the Islamic point of view, any stagnation and dogmatism in the absolute pessimistic or optimistic conception of human nature can be considered as a common weakness of idealism and realism in international relations (hypothesis). This article aims to provide a serious rethinking of the anthropological foundations of these two schools, as two major theoretical approaches in the analysis of international politics (goal). The present paper, within the framework of the non-theoretical approach, emphasizes an Islamic reflection on the anthropological foundations of the idealist and realistic paradigms (method). Understanding the difference between the anthropological foundations of the Islamic approach on the one hand and the realistic and liberal approaches on the other hand can be one of the results of the article (finding).

In the last decade, the concept of “smart power” was invented to guide the US diplomacy system so that the US could have a more assuring achievement process to its goals by using its national and international power capabilities. The concept of “Smart Power” was introduced after the formation of the concept of soft power by Joseph Nye, which refers to the simultaneous application of managed soft power and hard power. The concept of smart power for operationalization requires a variety of strategies designed by the US strategists and decision-making institutions. The question of this article is about the position of smart power in the US foreign policy toward Iran. It seems that with the coming of the Obama administration in the United States, the project of the smart power was operationalized by the diplomatic apparatus of the country, whose obvious example can be seen in the context of the kind of US confrontation with Iran’s nuclear program. With the use of pressure and negotiation strategy, the project pursues the gradual reduction of the nuclear capabilities and the rollback of Iran’s nuclear program. The authors believe that in case of success, this process can be generalized and spread to other areas of conflict and put America at an aggressive stand.