divergence

Iran’s foreign policy toward international organizations has always oscillated between divergence and convergence, depending on the status of the country in question and the statesmen's point of the view. This study aimed to examine the status of international organizations in Iran’s foreign policy. A divergent approach to international organizations was adopted during 1981-1988 and 2005-2013. This believe in a domination system in the world, and try to change the status quo and the fundamental rules of the international system. One could argue that the domination of this approach in Iran’s foreign policy undermined the national interests and security. On the other hand, since 1979, it has been revealed that whenever Iran has had a convergent interaction with international organizations (i.e., 1979-1980 and 1988-2005); it has helped Iran's national interest and security. Furthermore, cooperation with international organizations in various fields has provided opportunities for political, economic and cultural ties of Iran.

The League of Arab States (also known as the Arab League) is well past its sixth decade of establishment. However, it has a long way to go to achieve the objectives enumerated in its charter. In a sense, there is much stronger propensity towards disintegration than integration in the League. This article seeks to study the reasons that account for the failure of such integration in the Arab League. Current trends in the Arab Union are studied through the lens of Neorealist Theory. To that end, the paper seeks to find an answer to this question: What are the reasons for the failure of integration in the Arab League? The main hypothesis of this article is that the member states’ main concern is survival, security, and relative gains rather than convergent cooperative behaviors conducive to integration; as a result, six decades after its birth, integration is yet to be achieved.

The importance of the historical study of the Russian and Ottoman neighborhood policy lies in the fact that, in addition to the importance of these two countries in geographical, social, cultural, political and economic dimensions, a large number of Iran's neighboring countries were somehow under the control of these two empires before independence. In this research, the historical process of Iran's relations with these two important neighboring countries has been studied using the descriptive method and discourse analysis of Lacla and Moufe with the approach of historical institutionalism. The results show that during the lifetime of the Ottoman Empire until the disintegration of this empire, coinciding with the Safavid to Qajar governments, we witness two neighboring discourses. The discourse of the first period, the discourse of structural divergence, later with the change of political, economic and social geography and the requirements of the world system, this discourse turns into the discourse of minimal convergence. The discourse of "structural divergence" was formed on the centrality of the neighborhood policy based on the tyranny of the kingdom. The discourse signs of structural divergence included geographical dominance, expansion of religious ideology, political divergence, economic divergence, and world trade. The minimal convergence discourse is based on the centrality of the political signifier based on the court's understanding of global realities. The semantic system of this discourse is based on the main signs of acknowledging the existence of the neighboring country, the unbalanced weight of different aspects of the relations between the two countries, and the continuation of divergence alongside convergence. However, in comparison, the central sign of the discourse of the neighborhood with Russia is tsarist imprudence and court tyranny, and the main signs are passivity against Russia's expansionism, "military weakness in exercising territorial sovereignty, weakness in attracting the Iranian peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus, and giving in to disgraceful agreements." they give. With the formation of the Soviet Union and the beginning of a new discourse, Russian expansionism in Iran in its territorial form ended and the chapter of ideological confrontations between communism and capitalism began. The discourse of Iran's neighborhood policy with the Ottomans and Russia is like two pieces of a puzzle that are both complementary and effective on each other's growth. If Iran's neighborhood policy regarding Russia and Ottomans had the same importance for Iran's ruling body, it is possible that a different historical path would have been established for the region and Iran.

After losing the Battle of Chaldiran, the Safavid administration had a difficult time in integrating the al-Tawaifi court system under the central authority. Feudalism of Shah Ismail was able to subjugate the local authorities and unify a portion of Iran's territory with the help of the Qizilbash force. Due to territorial and theological disputes, the Safavids and two Ottoman and Uzbek kingdoms engaged in several conflicts as a result of making Shīʿīsm as official faith in Iran. Following the Safavids' loss at Chaldiran, centrifugal (local) forces became more powerful and eclipsed the influence of numerous rulers. The Safavid era turned out to be significant historically. The study's findings indicate that the central Safavid government faced a significant challenge in concentrating power following the defeat at Chaldiran, and this challenge persisted with only a minor variation during later kings until the end of Mohammad Khodabande's reign.

The formation of Islamic civilization based on its universal achievements is considered one of the most important turning points in the history of mankind. Throughout history, this civilization has experienced many ups and downs. The elements and factors shaping Islamic civilization have always tried to revive this civilization and universalize it throughout the time. With the collapse of the bipolar world order and the strengthening of regionalism in the international arena, Islamic countries are provided with a good opportunity to restore Islamic civilization and raising the concept of Islamic Ummah as an important pillar of power in the future world. The realization of this issue, however, requires the unification and integration of Islamic countries as main players of the revival of Islamic civilization.