فصلنامه آفاق امنیت
پیاپی 8 (پاییز 1389)

The pathology of threats to national security can be considered as necessary for security futurology. Although the pathology of some security threats relates to what happened in earlier periods of time، employing it can provide us with effective and desirable results for pathology of the present and pastthreats. On the other hand، such process will provide the ground for the understanding of the nature of threats، and of how the potential and actual threats can be controlled. This article tries to utilize the method mentioned above for explaining the pathology and typology of the threats to the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The study made on the threats to the Islamic Revolution of Iran indicates that threats have a hardware nature in the first phase، undergoing changes in function، nature، and symptoms in a progressive manner. Hardware threats evolve in line with countering Iran’s political structure. In the second phase، the threats to national security take on a software nature directed at causing erosion in Iran’s national power. The signs of software threats can be considered in the Nojeh coup، and the Iraqi imposed war against Iran. The signs of software threats are related to the restrictive measures against Iran. The mentioned process shows that a specific form of security threats has existed against Iran’s political structure in each historical period. This article’s explanation has been carried out on the basis of a historicalstructural approach. Using the historical-structural approach can be deemed as aimed at establishing between security threat factors and security-buildingprocesses. This shows that structural threats have the potentiality of repeating themselves in different historical periods. Therefore، the pathology of threats is deemed as tantamount to the process of security-building in the futurologist approach. This article tries to take into account the typology of the threats to I. R. I national security in the historical process. By the same token، the threats open to Iran’s political structure in each historical period as differentiated by type. The main question of the article asks the subquestions of ‘what characteristics the threats to the Islamic Republic of Iran have had in the early periods of the Revolution and the imposed war on Iran، how they have been formedand managed?

Living in city borders constitutes a serious challenge in 21st Century. According to statistical records، more than one tenth of the population in Iran live in city borders، a considerable number of which live in the metropolis of Tehran. The marginal settlers، who are mostly rural emigrants with low financial ability، have settled mostly in quality-based and low-priced lands in an informal manner. This type of settlement lacks any kind of standard of living. So، this state has created numerous problems and difficulties from among of which the security problems resulting from it، are of considerable importance. Utilizing the descriptive-analytical research method، this article attempts to answer this question of ‘How is the state of marginal settlement in the metropolis of Tehran، and what effect does it have on its security? ’. The main question was put to test by using the theoretical framework adopted by the approaches of relative deprivation، and expectations-satisfaction. The research findings based on the instruments، documents and evidence specified that- despite measures that have been taken at some junctures- marginal settlement in this metropolis is developing، and that despite the fact that the first generation have accepted the living conditions in these points، the second generation who consider themselves as Tehran-born، begin to contrast their life with that of the reference group (Tehranicitizens) only to feel the state of being involved in relative deprivation. It is at this point that they deem the legal means as difficult to adopt، and so they resort to illegal ways and deviate from the rule; hence، the marginal settlers themselves، Tehrani citizens and the government itself will face many insecurities.

Today، economic power is an important and effective parameter of countries’ national power. Two important aspects of economic power can be reappraised; namely، direct (overt) power and indirect (covert) power. In terms of direct power، America enjoys unique capabilities، and capacities including a natural geographical condition، advanced and various industries، abundant energy resources، and an open economical environment. At the same time، America’s economic performance in recent periods has uncovered major weaknesses like heavy national debts، massive trade balance deficit، which will result in US dollar depreciation. Although this country enjoys important opportunities like the excelling military power، world trade centers، the US dollar hegemony in international reserves، it faces threats like Asian and European strong rivals، and the danger of the collapse of Dollar، and its hegemony، and of losing the centrality of world economy. Finally، this article presents a summarization of the strategic reappraisal of America’s economic power.

The Zionist regime’s security culture in appreciating opportunities and threats has posed this regime at the heart of the regimes that suffer from many obsessions، so that a security way of thinking governs this regime’s courses of action. As an alienated member that is quite incapable of being integrated with the surrounding environment which has ethnic and invasive characteristics، Israel has been constantly involved in severely securityrelated considerations. This environment has caused the Zionist regime toconsider the ethnic-religious minorities in the region as a strategic followup to its own security policies in countering the Muslim countries. Within the framework of its ‘peripheral doctrine’، the Zionist regime has made its plan for establishing alliance with countries and ethnic-religious minorities the top priority of its foreign policy، and established links with the ethnicreligious minorities in the region. This article studies the role and status of the ethnic-religious minorities in Israel’s foreign policy by using the omni balance theory. This article has addressed the developments in Druze settlements، the Maronites in Lebanon، and the Kurd in Iraq.

The popular approach taken by many thinkers is that the development of information technology should create peace، bring humans closer، establish democracy، and promote freedom and civil society. There is another approach that is not in agreement with this consensus، and that poses fundamental critiques of it. This article attempts to explore politics in the age of information from postmodernism’s severely pessimistic perspective: accepting electronic government security، effective information، digital democracy and diplomacy in format، and in content، moving towards radical attitudes which casts a great doubt on the fundamentals، and the optimistic political beliefs in the age of information. From the perspective of postmodernism، the age of information manifests itself through three forms of disciplinary society، control society، and simulated society with metaphysics of code that delineate complex systems of security، control with soft and silent structure.

The occurrence of events like the 11 September، bombing in the world trade center in 1993، and the Tokyo Subway Gas Attack in 1995 are signs that indicate a fundamental change terrorism، which represent a problem now called ‘new terrorism’. Is appears that one of the significant dimensionsof new terrorism is the role of ideology and its effect on the agents in new terrorist measures. Ideology includes a vast range of opinions and ideas from divine religions to a few of man-made principles. The research question of this article is how ideology impacts the formation of new terrorism. In answering this question، the article tries to present a conceptual framework for explaining the way ideology impacts the formation of new terrorism by studying the mainstream approaches to the role of ideology in international relations and phenomena like terrorism. Off course، it should be noted that religion has been considered by main currents as an effective phenomenon in international developments in recent years especially after the 11 September terrorist events. In this way، the viewpoints held by the thinkers of international relations called Eternalists، Instrumentalists and Constructivists and the weaknesses and strengths in each of them have been explained. Finally، it addresses the way ideology impacts terrorism by pointing to a four-stage model.

The present research attempts to study the foundations of American foreign policy towards Latin America during the George W. Bush Presidency from 2001 to 2008، and the security consequences resulting from it. After the terrorist events in September 11، 2001، Latin America، which was oneof the oldest regions under America’s influence، was not unaffected by the consequences of Washington’s policy of “war against terror”، such that in this period، America looked at Latin America as a region that could be used by terrorists in attacking American interests. In other words، the USAforeign policy in the Latin America which was invariably accompanied by continuing security and economical problems، focused on fighting terrorism and operationalizing the American free trade agreement in Bush administration as two of its lines. On the one hand، the execution of the above-mentioned policies led to an increase in U. S. military aid to Latin America to fight terrorism، but on the other hand، the U. S. foreign policy’s concentration on ‘war against terrorism’ together with the adverse effects of the economic reforms carried out in Latin America in 1980s، and America’s radical behavior against Latin America governments throughout the Cold War did not only lead to strengthening of America’s position، but also caused the inclination towards the concept of ‘new left’ among the countries of the Latin America.