درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The Islamic Awakening and the power vacuum after 2012 have been key factors motivating Arab states to invest in sport as a soft power tool to assert regional dominance. While Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games and the 2034 FIFA World Cup for the first time. This study aims to explore the role of sport in governance within West Asia. In recent years, an expanding body of literature has deepened our understanding of sports in the Middle East. Under the leadership of Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS), Saudi Arabia has entered a new era of sports investment but has faced accusations of 'sportswashing.' Meanwhile, Qatar and the UAE, two smaller states in the region, have played pivotal roles in supporting high-profile sporting events. This study employs qualitative content analysis to assess the achievements of the Persian Gulf States-namely the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar-in soccer. The analysis draws from articles and reports published between 2000 and 2024, sourced from scientific databases such as Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, DOAJ, and Web of Science. While sport plays a crucial role in enhancing the international prestige of the Persian Gulf States, soccer has emerged as the primary focus. Unlike Saudi Arabia, which has sought to dominate the region through soft power initiatives, particularly in soccer, Qatar has pursued a distinct strategy, positioning itself as a peacemaker and friendly nation in the Middle East.

One of the most important issues in the economy is the role of government in the process of eco-nomic growth and development. Production is a complex and social activity that requires all its con-texts and resources to achieve proper production for society. Therefore, the issue of importance is the manner and quality of government intervention in matters related to the economy and the wel-fare of the people, not the extent of this intervention. In Iran, there is always disagreement among thinkers on which institution is responsible for development. For some, the government has a duty to take the lead in development and to push it forward, but for others, the government is not a good institution to promote development. These groups play a minimal role for the government. This study, by comprehensively examining these two different approaches, examines the views and ideas of three prominent scientists and experts in the field of political economy and focuses on the role of government in development. Azimi introduced development in a more general way and believed that complete development is not possible without the development of all structures. According to him, in the developed world, structural guidance (structuring in the presence of technical domi-nance) is unnecessary and short-term guidance is necessary. The importance of the government in the development process is so great in the idea that the main and most important institution of de-velopment is the "government based on democracy"; And he puts the judiciary and the media in the next ranks. Reiis Dana considers the state to be class in nature and does not examine the state sepa-rately from the global relations of capitalism. This lack of attention has always caused development in a fragmented, unbalanced and unsuccessful country. According to Reiis Dana, development in Iran is due to the development of capitalism, because capitalist development in the world is growing unevenly. Nili believes that government intervention in development, in addition to inefficiency, deprives people of their freedoms. Therefore, Nili looks at the issue from another angle and defends government restrictions on the economy and development by prioritizing freedom over social jus-tice.

Due to different interests, ideologies, and geopolitical goals, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have long been in competition, which occasionally got severe. After a seven-year rupture, on March 10, 2023, the two states agreed to restore diplomatic relations to reduce tensions. This research examines the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia and tries to answer this question: what are the future scenarios of the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement? To tackle the question, this research tends to analyze the Iranian-Saudi relationship and shed light on the future scenarios of the deal from an Iranian perspective. Three scenarios are presented: the first one is the cynical one and pays attention to challenges and the driving forces that can deteriorate the present de-escalated relations. The second scenario considers the positive potentialities of the deal and the situation it can make for more stability and peace. The third one regards both elements of tension and compatibility. Ultimately, the third scenario is considered the most logical one based on the framework presented as the Balance of Interests.

By the advent of various political currents in the realm of power, the Islamic Republic of Iran has witnessed the emergence of sub-discourses that preserve the principles and propositions of the Islamic Revolution's discourse but differ in the subordinate propositions and inter-discourse developments. The latest is a "Moderationist sub-discourse" that has overcome other sub-discourses as the eleventh state started working in Iran. An important aspect of these sub-discourses is the impacts on foreign policy, especially toward the neighboring countries. In this way, Georgia gets significant importance due to its geopolitical features and the great deal of historical, cultural, and civilizational commonalities to Iran. However, due to regional and international changing conditions along with coming up various foreign policy sub-discourses, the relations between the two countries have had lots of ups and downs. On the other hand, after the Russo-Georgian 2008 war, the Russian Federation has exerted great influence on Georgian foreign policy, including relations with Iran. Therefore, this paper seeks to answer the question that, regarding the Russo-Georgian 2008 war, how has the Moderationist foreign policy discourse affected Iranian-Georgian relations? Findings of the study show that the presence of the Moderationist subdiscourse of Hassan Rouhani affected Iranian foreign policy and the pessimistic subjective impressions of the Georgian leaders toward the previous Iranian government regarding Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia. As a result, we have witnessed a relative improvement in the relations between two countries in 2013–2017 compared to the relationships of the 2008–2013 period. This research uses the descriptive-analytical method.

Undoubtedly, the process of nation-state building has been one of the most significant challenges faced by many countries across the world, particularly in Islamic nations, over the past century. This issue is so critical that it can be argued that the primary root of insecurity and instability in many of these countries lies in the weakness and ongoing crisis of nation-state building, especially in states that function as quasi-states or post-colonial entities. In such circumstances, the inability of these states to provide the basic functions of statehood has paved the way for insecurity, instability, and both internal and international conflicts. Iraq stands as a prime example of a failed state, struggling to transition through the process of nation-state building, and as a result, it has faced multiple domestic and foreign challenges. This paper seeks to evaluate the complexities and obstacles of nation-state building in Islamic countries, with a particular focus on Iraq. The analysis highlights several major challenges hindering the successful establishment of a cohesive nation-state in Iraq, including the historical roots and barriers preventing the formation of a unified national identity, the deep ethnic and sectarian divisions, external interventions, and the failure of governance, particularly in the post-Saddam era of consociational democracy.

Since 1970, Turkey has started a series of dams under the name of GAP project during six pe-riods with the aim of developing its southeast regions. This plan has reduced the water re-sources coming out of Turkey and has had destructive consequences on the ecosystem of the countries that are in the path of the said water resources and has caused environmental, eco-nomic and social damages. Although Iran is not directly in the path of the outgoing waters, it has faced such threats as a result. Using the descriptive-analytical method and library and me-dia sources, this research is looking for an answer to this question: How will Turkey's GAP plan cause a big crisis in the region? With the completion of Turkey's GAP project and the continuation of this situation, the consequences of this mega-project under the title of five threats to security (environmental, social, economic, political and military) from the perspec-tive of the Copenhagen School of Security Studies have caused the following and threaten the lives of the people of the region. The drying up of the downstream rivers, floods, intensifica-tion and increase of the micro dust center, lack of water, unemployment, outbreak of disease, deepening of social damage, migration, damage to historical monuments, etc. The findings show that by implementing the GAP project, Turkey has turned water into a pressure lever in the country's foreign policy and one of the main factors of geopolitics and strategy in the Middle East. And contrary to their claims, this project is not in line with sustainable economic development and has caused threats and consequences in the countries affected by the project.