مطالعات بین المللی

This article discusses the political initiatives of certain states to establish a special tribunal for the prosecution of the crime of aggression which was allegedly committed within the Ukraine situation. The article raises questions about the feasibility of establishing such a court, given that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has within its mandate the possibility to try an aggression case. However, in this article it will be explained why the ICC is not a viable option in this regard, while a new Ukraine tribunal also creates various legal obstacles. The article suggests that the political motivations behind this proposal should be balanced against these legal obstacles, including procedural obstacles related to the crime of aggression and functional immunities, and how proceedings should be conducted in the presence or absence of the accused. The article concludes that a thorough assessment of these legal and procedural considerations must be made before deciding to establish a special Ukraine tribunal.

The rule of law entails that government and the laws it makes serve the public good and facilitates equal opportunities. The requirement that the state conform to the rule of law puts substantial limits on governmental power which serves to protect citizens from arbitrary action or the imposition of unjust laws. The ‘law’ referred to in the rule of law concept is thus not whatever issues from legislatures and courts, but rather ‘a particular kind of restraint on the use of force’ or arbitrary power. It is not an ‘imaginary’ used by the government towards their equally imagined ends and imposed on the people. Likewise, the rule of law is not the sole prerogative of the government but requires the commitment of its citizens to adhere to and uphold the rule of law. Therefore, in rule of law societies corruption is not prevalent and does not impinge on the daily life of the individual. The inception of the rule of law in Islamic societies arose from the fact that God’s Laws were supreme, not the laws made by any man, or group of men, whatever his/their position. Is a return to the rule of Law possible for Muslim societies?

We are witnessing a new phase of globalization that can be characterized as hybrid. This conceptualization follows the concept of hybrid warfare and essentially encompasses the tense process of ongoing globalization and simultaneous local and regional resistance to it. As a result, identities worldwide are becoming uncertain, fluid (Zygmunt Bauman), or even dissolved. This process of dissolution leads to fragmented identities, held together with difficulty by age-old ideologies - or by violence. An alternative way of securing identity in this process of dissolution is the mutual recognition of the world's civilizations, which tolerance necessarily presupposes. Tolerance, however, also implies drawing the line at what is not to be tolerated. It is precisely in a process of mutual recognition that differences must not be overlooked. For example, tolerance is understood as a right in the liberal understanding, but as a task and duty in Islamic thinking. But we must not stop at the differences. In this respect, a perspective of tolerance as a process is developed here and clarified with the concept of an ascending cycle. The concept of Mulla Sadra, the important Islamic philosopher, contains the seeds of a concept of tolerance that is indispensable for intercultural dialogue and preserving identity.

Russia's military attack on Ukraine has had profound consequences not only for the Middle East, but also for the world. The political-security relations of the two countries, have been affected by this war. Since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Tehran has accepted Moscow's rationale for this attack and has shown its political support at the United Nations General Assembly, but Iran has been cautious in fully supporting this war. Iran's approach regarding the war in Ukraine is important in two ways. First, Iran's orientation towards this war affects Tehran's relations with Moscow. Second, this orientation affects Iran's interests in the international system. For this reason, the main question of this article is "What was Iran's attitude towards the war in Ukraine and how did it affect the relations between Tehran and Moscow?" The hypothesis of the authors is that "Iran's approach towards the war in Ukraine has been cautious - it has neither officially condemned nor supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine - this policy is aimed at maintaining and continuing the relations between the two countries. The purpose of this article is to examine the orientations of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the war in Ukraine and its effect on the country's relations with Russia. The authors' method in this research is qualitative with a descriptive-analytical approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the hands of authoritarian regimes. Unlike those who have claimed that the outbreak tends to accelerate the movement toward greater geopolitical competition, we argue that the pandemic has necessitated further cooperation between democratic and authoritarian governments, thus enhancing the longevity of the latter. This explains why the global pandemic has caused no fundamental changes in the regional security dynamics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in part because it has ironically prolonged the rule of authoritarian in the region in the name of providing public health. Despite the rhetoric of religious pluralism, moderation, as well as constitutional reforms, sentiments echoing narrow and virulent nationalism and right-wing populism have simultaneously prevailed. On balance, the persistent use of repression in liberalized autocracies in the region has manifested itself in the form of repressing protesters during tough economic times.  For example, in protests against unemployment in Oman in 2018 or against tax reform in Jordan in 2019, and during Saudi Arabia’s 2017-20 Qatif unrest or in Algeria’s ongoing political protests, such patterns of behavior have been visible.  Even in those regimes that have introduced constitutional reforms in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, when priority has been given to combating a global pandemic, a floundering economy, and other emerging threats, such as the campaign against terrorism, authoritarian regimes have wound up consolidating their rule, thus exploiting such crises in order to grab further power at home and seek geopolitical advantage in the region.  However, it is short-sighted to underestimate the possibility of the spontaneous eruption of popular uprisings that could pose a destabilizing threat to authoritarian regimes at some point in the future.

How did racism creep into the algorithms that govern our daily lives, from banking and shopping, to job applications? Connecting the legacy of enlightenment racism to forms of discrimination in modern day algorithms and Artificial Intelligence, this article examines what data feeds into AI technology - and how this data will shape our future, in terms of both social relations and politics.

The security threat posed by the sprawling Al-Hol camp in N.E. Syria remains a major security concern as an IS recruiting hub for minors as well as a key financial node for laundering funds to fuel its insurgency and because of the IS-affiliated networks’ attempts at exfiltrating detainees to replenish its ranks. Youth in both camps al Hol and Roj have been being exposed to IS indoctrination, training, and abuse under the influence of hardline IS women who crowdfund to keep their activities going. ICSVE' monitoring of the IS-linked financial networks of the past 4 months (November 2022- February 2023) suggest that these entities have prioritized raising smuggling capital for critically ill pro IS women detainees and youth as well as for smuggling young boys out of Camp al Hol before they can be taken to rehabilitation centers where they will be separated and protected from this malevolent IS influence. The crowdfunding networks appear on Telegram primarily, but make use of other platforms as well and some financial transactions take place in plain view even using European banks, others by cryptocurrency and in a hidden manner. 

After twenty years of endeavor to equalize women's rights in the half-dead democracy of Afghanistan, the dream of equal rights for women in the Afghan society was destroyed by the arrival of the Taliban group. This group and its supporters have committed countless crimes during their rule in Afghanistan. In 2021, when this group comes to power, the women's experience of two decades ago will be repeated, and women will be deprived of their most basic rights. Like two decades ago, the Taliban removed the girls from social life by closing schools and imprisoning them at home. The recent actions of the Taliban against women include the following areas: exclusion from education, exclusion from work, exclusion from political activities, and restriction of activities in the public space, all these decrees and rulings against women's activities are from the source of Sharath and religious fatwas. The Taliban has been issued. In this research, we are looking at the influencing factors of the Taliban's thoughts on restricting the rights of women in the society of Afghanistan. In this research, we have compared the differences between the religious thoughts and beliefs of the Taliban, which are adapted from Islamic rulings, and the religious fatwa of the Taliban leaders with Islamic rulings.

The purpose of this paper is to depict the link between human right principles and access to fresh water, which are intertwined and more importantly fresh water access is an integral part of universal human rights. It aims to convey that the provision of fresh water to people needs to be covered by relevant judiciary system, so that it can protect people of any denial/ hindrance to fresh water access and in the case of violation, how they can find legal solution. Consequently, point out how legal venues can be used to address any violations or shortcomings in regard to provision of fresh water to people. The notion that the people are rights holders and governments are deemed as primary duty bearers to provide fresh water safely and affordable requires recognizing the legality of it by local, national or state. In the nutshell, provision of fresh water is not an advantage given to the people, but is the people’s right, albeit observing affordability and safely factors. Every local and national governing bodies has to consider managing the supply of fresh water as well as incorporate the enforcement clauses in their legal system. In case local/national legal system does not have the framework to address the issues regarding potential denial/dispute about supply of fresh water, the Regional Human Right Courts and other remedial mechanisms are another legal venue to ensure that laws are interpreted consistently according to international human rights within the framework of holistic consideration of people’s dignity and equality.

Iran nuclear program had been the main theme for portraying Iran as an imminent threat to international peace and stability. Several United Nations Security Council Resolutions, adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations from 2006 to 2010 identified the Iranian nuclear issue as a proliferation concern and thus a possible threat to international peace and security. With the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 marked the start of de-securitization of Iran nuclear program. During Trump presidency, the United States pursued the maximum pressure campaign consisting of economic, political, and military pressure against Iran, coupled with securitizing speech acts to convince the audience of the necessity of a more comprehensive deal with Iran. Using Barry Buzan’s Securitization Theory and Process Tracing as research method, this study tries to investigate the outcome of Trump Administration campaign for re-securitization of Iran nuclear program, specifically in international political arena. It finds that while Trump policy succeeded in imposing heavy economic cost on Iran, it failed to re-securitize the Iranian nuclear program.

The Arab Uprisings initiated a new phase of security order in the Middle East. In light of these developments, Türkiye is regarded as one of the players who set the stage for shifting its regional stance. Moreover, the Kurds in northern Iraq and Syria were able to express their desire for independence, which led to new geopolitical developments in the North Middle East. In this regard, the attitudes of Turkish politicians toward the Kurds in northern Iraq and Syria demonstrate their different views of the aforementioned Kurdish territories in the years following the beginning of the Arab Uprisings. Now the question here is why the Turkish government behaved differently toward the Kurdish areas of Iraq and Syria both during and after the Arab Uprisings. The Turkish government's divergent actions seem to be caused by two factors: on the one hand, its security concerns regarding the autonomous territories of the Syrian Kurds in the south of Türkiye; and on the other hand, its economic gains from the Kurdish territories of Iraq, including oil concessions. Put simply, the contradictory behavior of Turkish statesmen toward Syrian and Iraqi Kurds in the post-Arab Uprisings is influenced by existential security concerns as well as economic and political interests. This paper aims to use the defensive realism theory to address the double standards of Türkiye towards the Kurds of Iraq and Syria in the post-Arab Uprising era.