نشریه مطالعات خاورمیانه
سال دهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 34، تابستان 1382)

US invasion of Iraq has caused many different speculations. In this article, in light of this event and subsequent occupation of Iraq by the coalition forces, the author examines and analyzes the relevance of conspiracy theory for the explanation of this event. In other words, the main question includes how far such thinking conforms to realityand whether conspiracy theories are of ability to analyze the crisis in question? According to the author, what gives shape to this thinking is the feeling of inability on the part of one of the involved actors or the advocates of such actor, and opponents to the other party or their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the crisis. Studying viewpoints based on conspiracy with respect to the Iraqi crisis, the author aptly demonstrates that these theories lack such conceptual soundness that can serve as the basis of an objective analysis.

Iraqi neighboring countries, within the recent decades, have consistently been exposed to this country’s expansionist policies and aggrandizement. This characteristic, in spite of several changes in the Iraqi regime during the past 80 years, has ostensibly persisted as a constant principle in the country’s foreign policy behavior. Examining this fact which resulted in the rise of serious border disputes and even the start of two major wars in the region, the author addresses the hypothesis that geopolitical factors and Iraq’s geographical location represent the most important factors accounting for the expansionism in the country’s foreign policy behavior and other variables have just played a part in the strengthening, weakening and the quality of influencing such behavior. To verify this hypothesis, the record of Iraq’s relations with its neighboring countries are examined, and objective and psychological requirements in the Iraqi geographical location are discussed, presenting different viewpoints. Finally, the author offers certain points on the consequences and repercussions of geopolitical logic in the Iraqi foreign policy.

The causes leading to US invasion of Iraq is among the important and lively subjects that still gains the attention of scholars on regional issues. According to the author’s hypothesis, the invasion of Iraq is largely of a political dimension and such dimension is more important than economic and security factors. In other words, by invading Iraq, the United States seeks to design a new order in the world and declare a new phase in international relations under which any country wishing to behave out of this context may face harsh and even military reaction by the United States. On the other hand, obviously military occupation of Iraq will mainly affect national security of countries such as that of Iran and Syria, and Iraq will serve as a base for controlling these countries. Given these factors, the author addresses issues such as the Bush administration’s foreign policy, US positions toward Iraq and the security consequences of military occupation of Iraq.

Following the collapse of the Iraqi political system, the future of the country and the impact of its security on the Middle Eastern issues are among the topics of which analysts offer their views. In this article written from a strategic perspective, the author provides an account of the goals and threats faced by the coalition forces in the post-Saddam Iraq and makes suggestions for the realization of goals and reduction of the problems. Indeed, the author mainly intends to find solutions for securing desired stability in the new Iraq. The author sees the establishment of security in Iraq properly as linked to the new security arrangements in the region, so he recommends the incremental replacement of NATO forces and the intensification of UN role in order to reduce the problems faced by the coalition forces. However, from a wider perspective, the threats in the post-war Middle East include regional terrorist disturbances, the friction of military forces and the failure of diplomacy. The author views rapid reconstruction of Iraq as the most efficient way to resolve these problems.

The incidence of two widespread wars in the early 1980s and 1990s continue to affect the developments in the Middle East and international relations for many years to come. The main question of the article is why Iraq decided to go to war with its neighbors in the early 1980s and 1990s. According to the author, security considerations have played a crucial part in the decisions made by the Iraqi leaders and other interpretations such as aggressive realism or economic crises are incapable of exploring and explaining the causes of the aforementioned wars. In other words, the driving force behind Saddam Hussein’s decision to go to war with Iran and Kuwait involved his belief in the alien forces’ efforts to destabilize the Iraqi Ba’ath regime. Saddam maintained that despite such efforts, Iraq enjoyed a good chance and capability to win the wars.

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the increase in the number of ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) members in the early 1990s, a suitable ground was generated for the expansion and extension of thise Organization’s activities. In this article, formulated with the goal of assessing the degree of integration among the ECO member countries, the author has drawn on the Cantoury and Spiegel’s theory as the conceptual framework. On this basis, he examines four variables including personal communications, public communications, elite exchanges, and transportation and studies relationships among the member states. In the author’s opinion, the statistical data demonstrate that within the recent years, relationships have grown in all four aspects. Therefore, it can be established that this trend has resulted in the enhancement of integration in the ECO region.

Three decades have passed from the start of the activities of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and this trans-regional organization has made many efforts to establish harmony among diverse Muslim countries. This article, focusing on women’s question, proposes the question that which are the obstacles to women’s social, economic and political participation in the Middle Eastern countries member of the OIC? In this respect, varying statistical data are mentioned on demography, literacy and education, health, employment and political participation of women in such countries. According to the hypothesis, in the past, traditional culture governing Muslim countries caused women’s social seclusion and cultural impoverishment, but today the grounds are provided for women’s participation in various fields with the promotion of literacy and education.

The developing countries have proceeded to design and implement various plans for growth and progress during the past decades and have achieved different results according to various domestic and foreign factors. Looking at the experience of developing countries, particularly in the Middle East, the author pays attention to the issue of state intervention in the economic realm. In the first part, certain references were offered regarding five-year plans and annual budgets and the perspective of economic theories toward the role of state in economic growth and development. Now, in the second part, the experience of eight countries including Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Algeria are taken into consideration with respect to economic planning and the outcomes achieved.