سید فرشید جعفری پابندی

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Karabakh conflict remains the longest and most significant conflict in the Caucasus region. This study examines the role of mediation, a key method in international conflict resolution, within international law, focusing particularly on the Karabakh conflict. The hypothesis suggests that mediation, a fundamental necessity for resolving international disputes, plays a crucial role in mitigating territorial conflicts, including Karabakh. Our findings highlight diverse perspectives regarding Iran's role in Central Asia, particularly in the Southern Caucasus during the conflict. Despite attempts by major powers like Russia, the USA, and Turkey to diminish its influence, Iran has maintained a stance of neutrality, asserting its significance as a neighboring state. Mediation, deeply rooted in various cultural traditions, including Islamic culture, has been strategically employed by Iran based on religious doctrines and national interests. Iran's mediation efforts, supported by cultural and historical commonalities, were conditional on the readiness of the conflicting parties and the appropriateness of the geopolitical context. The complexity of the Karabakh conflict is underscored by its multi-layered nature, the continued crisis, the geopolitical agendas of the mediators, and the number of involved actors. Iran's mediation aims to prevent a tripartite alliance among Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey, stave off the conflict's expansion towards its borders, and curb the involvement of external actors like Israel and the USA. Russia, although geographically distant from Karabakh, plays a pivotal role in the region, amplified by its recent diplomatic maneuvers in response to the USA's attempts to reduce Russian influence in the Southern Caucasus.

This research is a collaborative effort, drawing on the theories and perspectives of political science and cultural management experts and the opinions of experts in political and legal institutions. Our goal is to identify the dimensions, components, and indicators affecting political development through public culture, determine their significance, and present a model of political development through public culture using statistical methods and software such as MATLAB, EXCEL, and SPSS. We invite you to join us in exploring the role of public culture in Iran's political development. In the next stage, we determined the current status and evaluated the role of public culture in Iran's political development from the perspective of managers and students. We identified the deviations of the current public culture in each practical component of political development from the desired state. More importantly, we proposed strategies that could significantly improve the situation, offering a hopeful outlook. These strategies were developed based on the country's position and the results of three types of tests. From the experts' point of view, it was observed that the government holds the most importance among the dimensions of Iran's political development, followed by civil society and citizens.