درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- Due to its special geographical location in the arid and semi-arid climate belt of the world, Iran suffers from water scarcity and limited usable water resources, notably considering the population growth and increasing demand for water and food. High water consumption in agriculture as one of the main water use sectors is estimated as 90% of total water, thereby necessitating consideration of water conservation methods. However, there are a number of barriers to use the current water conservation practices. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies in Shahrabaad rural district, Bardaskan city. Design/methodology/approach- This is an applied study in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method, carried out using the random sampling method. The sample size was 338 households in the research area which was determined using Cochran's formula. Data were collected based on field and library studies. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by university professors and experts. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.78 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Moreover, the TOPSIS fuzzy model was used to rank the villages in terms of the effect of barriers to using the new irrigation technologies, and SPSS software was used for analyzing the research questions. Findings: Results showed that the economic dimension was the most important barriers to using the new irrigation technologies. In addition, low-socioeconomic status of the farmers and small loans are the most prominent barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies in the research rural district. Research limitations/implications - unavailability of statistical information when referring to the agricultural jihad and the governor’s office, and completing the questionnaire, depending on the subject at the village level, is one of the main challenges of the present study. Practical implications - Given the specific research findings, it is necessary for agriculture and water policy-makers take serious measures concerning the incentive (low-interest and long-term loans, micro-land integration and the like) and punitive (imposing restrictions on traditional land users and stipulating other supports to change the irrigation method) instruments, because otherwise water restriction and the consequences of water scarcity will be challenging in  many areas and even may lead to a serious crisis. Originality / value: This study is prima facie significant in terms of statement of the reasons for the barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies from the users' perspective and then, in terms of a more detailed analysis of the research findings to change the implementation of traditional irrigation methods.

What broke out as the Arab Spring in Tunisia in 2010 stroke Egypt and shed its light on the Middle East, including Syria. During the first few days of demonstrations in Syria, the spring turned into a bloody fall and a full-scale civil war. Political-security crises and economic and social problems that had dominated the country during Assad's family rule left the state in deep defeat. Meanwhile, the arena of war turned into the scene of conflict between different political forces and their regional and international supporters, caused Syria to encounter immense foreign intervention. In this regard, this article attempts to figure out the answer to this question, "What are the causes for the Syrian state of failing during 2010-19?" The authors hypothesize that "the state in Syria has failed since the beginning of the protests due to persistent social, economic and political-security crises that led to the militarization of the country by the opposition and insurgent groups." The findings also indicate that the Syrian state faced historical crises after 2010 in economic imbalance and decline, demographic and environmental pressures, political-administrative corruption, and weak public services, which deepened after 2011, and it spread to other areas such as ethnic-religious violence.

Strategic policy is tantamount to a method for foreign policy analysis. The foreign and strategic policies of Iran have been in line with multilateral cooperation in regional crises. The key indicators of Iran’s policy comprise mechanisms of identity and revolutionary actions in international and regional relations. Iran’s strategic policy has generally been formed on the pillars of multilateral cooperation with regional countries and in line with the unity of the Muslim world. Iran has accepted many of the rules of the Westphalian system, and has therefore based its strategic policy orientation on the doctrine of adaptability to the world order. Iran’s policy of managing regional crises has generally been based on cultural tenets, historical experiences and structural consequences. Each of the latter components has played a crucial role in Iran’s Westphalian order paradigm for protecting the territories of other countries. The experiences gained by Iran during the Holy Defense [Iran-Iraq War] and its acceptance of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 are indicative of the fact that Iran has employed pragmatic mechanisms with regard to regional conservative countries. Iran’s nuclear diplomacy can be regarded as another sign of its structural action which aims to deter threats and manage crises. The acceptance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and Iran’s efforts toward peacemaking in the regional order of the Persian Gulf and Middle East can be considered as actions taken by Iran toward confronting terrorist groups and organizing regional order under such circumstances as violence, crises and chaos.