Political Sociology
Reza Rastegarpour; Hasan Shafiee; Mohammad Reza Dehshiri
Abstract
Researchers, political parties and groups, and states have always been interested to understand the behavior and mental processes influencing the political choice, the reasons underlying participation or non-participation, and the behavior and motivation of voters. In addition to the contextual factors ...
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Researchers, political parties and groups, and states have always been interested to understand the behavior and mental processes influencing the political choice, the reasons underlying participation or non-participation, and the behavior and motivation of voters. In addition to the contextual factors (e.g., mass media, groups, political parties, states, ideologies, ethnicity, religions, regions, social classes, and the like), the behavioral processes of feeling, perception, motivation, or emotion can also play a determining role in the political attitude, understanding, and choice—alongside the prevailing conditions, culture, and atmosphere of a given society. This is a legitimate research topic in the field of political psychology worthy of further investigation. In this respect, the present research intends to examine emotion as one of the internal, behavioral states and processes influencing the political choice and the participation level.The motivation behind voters’ participation in elections depends on various factors. The first and perhaps the most important one is the acceptance of sovereignty and state by people, so the legitimacy of the governance system, trust in the health and fairness of elections, and confidence about the candidacy of real representatives of people are the determining factors influencing people’s participation. The second important factor is the general atmosphere prevailing in society, that is, the extent to which the most important issues of the day can motivate and encourage people’s participation in elections. Economic, social, and political crises or the events such as the possibility of war and internal disputes, together with healing and savior-like promises, can be considered as effective issues in the election process. Definitely influencing the participation level, the third significant factor is the candidacy of prominent, popular, charismatic, and influential figures. Moreover, a competitive and partisan atmosphere can increase the participation level to its high. Finally, by helping individuals, parties, and candidates in different ways, advertising and media performs a significant role in their victory or defeat. Besides these important reasons, the findings of political psychology show that in many cases the election result usually depends on emotion as a factor influencing the type and level of people’s participation in elections.Offering a brief overview of the Iranian presidential elections, the present research employs the theory of rational choice as a theoretical framework and the descriptive–analytical method in order to analyze the collected historical documents. The research tries to answer the key question of whether people’s tendency in elections is more influenced by rational choice or by emotion. In other words, which variable has a more influential role in the election process? and what spectrum of society, why, and under what conditions is affected by the emotional atmosphere? Assuming the rational choice as a logical goal, regardless of the positive and negative effects of emotion on the choice, an overview of the Iranian presidential elections confirms the hypothesis that influential events along with the presence of certain figures and competitors at different times can arouse emotion and create a passionate political and competitive atmosphere, leading to a high participation level.The study briefly reviews the results of the Iranian presidential elections from the beginning until now, but it especially focuses on the phases that witnessed the highest and lowest participation rates. The highest rate was seen in the third election (the election of Ayatollah Khamenei), the seventh election (the election of Mohammad Khatami) and the tenth election (the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) while the sixth election (the election of Hashemi-Rafsanjani) and the thirteenth election (the election of Ebrahim Raisi) had the lowest level of people’s participation.There are various reasons behind the decrease and increase in the participation rate. The focus on motivational factors makes manifest the undeniable effect of changes in political emotion on the participation level. As an answer to the research questions, the findings generally confirm the theory of rational choice subscribing to the view that people naturally rely on rational calculations and consider personal interests in each choice, including the political one. However, the study of the presidential elections in Iran made clear that, in addition to motivational factors, other factors such as certain events and the presence of certain political figures at different times could arouse emotion and create a passionate political and competitive atmosphere, leading to an increase in the participation level.
Majid Sharafkhani; Rahmat Hajimineh; Mohammad Reza Dehshiri
Abstract
From the time of mercantilism onwards, international trade has always been an arena of geopolitical rivalry, and the unipolar international order that emerged after the end of the cold war essentially created a special security architecture in the strategic Middle East so that it could maintain its status ...
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From the time of mercantilism onwards, international trade has always been an arena of geopolitical rivalry, and the unipolar international order that emerged after the end of the cold war essentially created a special security architecture in the strategic Middle East so that it could maintain its status quo. Powers inevitably have to choose between two options to work within the framework or to challenge it. This paper examines the competition between the US and china in the form of strategic hedging and under the global value chain structure. The authors will seek to answer the question: What is china's middle east economic strategy in competition with the US? The research hypothesis is that China's middle East economic strategy in competing with the US is targeted influence through the most effective sections of the international value chain. The research findings are based on its explanatory-analytical method, that in the Middle East look, China according to the United States' efforts to build a unified trade front to counter Beijing's state-owned capitalism and in order to reduce its energy security risk, has focused on technology security at targeting growth in the value chain hierarchy and gaining a foothold at its highest levels.
Mohammad Reza Dehshiri; Mohammadreza Ghaedi; Seyed Mehdi Habibi
Abstract
The main question of the present article is "How has Covid-19 affected the globalization discourse in the current crisis? And what will be the scenarios facing Corona and the globalization discourse?" The results of a future research method show that the discourse of globalization is hurting by the central ...
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The main question of the present article is "How has Covid-19 affected the globalization discourse in the current crisis? And what will be the scenarios facing Corona and the globalization discourse?" The results of a future research method show that the discourse of globalization is hurting by the central sign of liberalism and by floating signs such as the free market and global trade before the Corona crisis. Corona's oversight has intensified, with states continuing to tighten their policies, such as blocking borders, controlling and restricting information and news, disregarding social justice and human rights, the spread of nationalism, authoritarianism and severe censorship. This practice gradually challenged the rest of the floating signs. Seems that there are five scenarios for the future of the globalization discourse, which are as follows: A) Favorable future: the return of globalization to the past and reunification between states. B) Probable future: 1. Reducing the speed of the globalization process and turning states to utilitarianism. 2. Reducing the speed of the globalization process, and temporarily shrink the international environment. C) Possible future: stopping the discourse of globalization, the failure of capitalist ideology and the emergence of new ideologies.
mohammad mahmoodikia; mohammad reza dehshiri
Abstract
This research attempts to answer this questions that what is the ratio between ideology and pragmatism in the Iran's Foreign Policy? And, which of this is more authentic in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran? The result showed that although in many countries values and ideologies are ...
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This research attempts to answer this questions that what is the ratio between ideology and pragmatism in the Iran's Foreign Policy? And, which of this is more authentic in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran? The result showed that although in many countries values and ideologies are influential in some way in the practice of foreign policy, these values and ideologies have a significant contribution to the policy and implementation of the foreign policy of Iran. In fact, despite the prevailing view that Iran's foreign policy is a pragmatic policy, the main hypothesis of this study is that the essence of Iran's foreign policy is ideological and the pragmatic approach to foreign policy -is based on the existence of conflicting interests in the international system and the constraints in national power sources- can be comprehend based on a tactical approach rather than strategic approach. This research with using a descriptive analytical method and library resources seek to examine the ratio of ideology and pragmatism in Iran's foreign policy behavior in the framework of a triple interactive model including national interests, ideological preferences, and the nature and structure of the international system.
shayan jozani kohan; Shahin Jozani Kohan; Mohammadreza Dehshiri
Abstract
China has mostly the capacity to put under question the politics of United States, because this country possesses important economic power, immense infrastructures and ammunitions, political power and has impact on the countries of East Asia region. Specially, in recent years, China's military modernization ...
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China has mostly the capacity to put under question the politics of United States, because this country possesses important economic power, immense infrastructures and ammunitions, political power and has impact on the countries of East Asia region. Specially, in recent years, China's military modernization has persisted along with its economic growth. Because the United State disregarded East Asia Region during George w. Bush presidency, China intensified its influence in East Asia region and increased its interests and extensive economic interactions with the countries of this region.The present research elaborates on the main discrepancies between Beijing and Washington in East Asia region and on the effect of these discrepancies on their mutual relationship. What is the effect of discrepancies between China and United States on their relations? To answer this question, the authors believe that political, economic and security- military discrepancies, especially during the Obama administration, caused ascending tension between the two countries in regional and international arenas.After explaining the conflicts between China and United States in three main political, economic and security arenas, this article scrutinizes the impact of these conflicts on the relations of these two countries.
