International
Studies Journal Vol. 3, No. 9, Summer 2006 Abstracts
Iranian Women: Assessing Achievements and Challenges
Mahmood Monshipouri
9 Int'l Stud. J. 1
The discourse on women’s rights has drastically altered, in part due to the efforts of the former President Mohammad Khatami who placed sexual justice on his agenda, but in part because the image of women has changed chiefly by their own efforts and struggles. Looking back at the Khatami era, one may conclude that Iranian women have achieved considerable success. Yet today nobody denies that Iranian women face many setbacks in their attempts to achieve gender equality. President Ahmadinejad is unlikely to undo social reforms and roll back gains women have made in recent years. It is hard to see how he could disrupt the unprecedented gender solidarity that has taken shape between Islamic and secular feminists. Iranian women have become deeply aware of socioeconomic disparities and gender injustices in their society. No regime can impose legal and behavioral restrictions on Iranian women, while hoping to win their trust and political support in years to come.
The Theory of Regional Security Complexes: Exploring the Options
Arshin Adib-Moghaddam
9 Int'l Stud. J. 25
With “Regions and Powers,” Buzan and Waever have restated and substantially extended their initial argument of securitization. Elevating regional security to a higher analytical status, the authors present a global map of regional security complexes, aiming at synthesising “realist” and “constructivist” insights along the way. Yet, by reverting to a negative interpretation of security, a materialist conceptualisation of structure and the attribution of process to the unit-level, the authors remain committed to (neo)realist categories undervaluing the impact of cultural factors on international life. A cultural approach to regional politics, it is argued in this article, would present an alternative picture, and would complement the methodology and empirical “operationalisation” of Buzan and Waever’s theoretical statement.
Comparing Elections within the Algerian and Iranian Political
System: Electoral Structures or Superstructures?
Rafael Bustos- Luciano Zaccara
9 Int'l Stud. J. 41
The question we intend to address in this paper is whether the Iranian and Algerian electoral systems are really ingrained into their respective political systems and therefore may translate struggles and aspirations for change existing in society or on the contrary they are mere superstructures, that is, non-essential ad-hoc mechanisms aimed at casting legitimacy for the system and preventing any power transfer. Secondarily we look for similarities and differences in both countries electoral institutions and functions. In order to assess the role of the elections in both political systems, we first analyse the interplay between the electoral rules on one side, the state institutions and the abnormal forms of political parties on the other. Due to the defective nature political parties assume in both countries (identity parties in Algeria; factions and fronts in Iran), the question of who and how performs the functions conventionally assigned to political parties becomes all the more important and modifies the salience of electoral processes. We conclude with some unexpected findings on similarities about personal filters and routinization of charisma. We also infer that electoral systems in these countries are important to sustain regime structures but of little relevance to produce regime change.
The Parctice of Mediation in International Conflicts
Mahmood Vaezi
9 Int'l Stud. J. 65
War, conflict, and dispute certainly features in the recorded histories of states. At times thoughout history, societies have attempted to limit the cost of conflicts by formalizing it in some way. In modern times increasing international attention has been paid to peacefully resolving conflicts which led to war. In parctice resolution of disputes is often achieved through political processes such as mediation. Mediation involves a great degree of third party participation to bring the parties together and reconcile the position of them. This Paper deals with the process of mediation focusing primarily on inter-state confilcts and studing the many ways of peaceful settlement of disputes in international law.
Legal Status of Women in Family and the Necessity of Its Amendment
Hajar Siarostami
9 Int'l Stud. J. 95
The role and importance of family in social structure and the impact of it on the corruption or health and the development or backwardness of society is a clear fact and so, family law is one of the most important parts of any country legal system. Establishing the legal structure of family necessitates clarifying the exact rights and duties of family members i.e. husband, wife and children. So understanding the legal status of women in society requires studying legal status of women in family. The question is about the legal status of Iranian women in family. Is it an indispensable and unchangeable part of Islam or it is possible to adapt it with the necessities of the time? For answering these questions, the author considers the legal status of women in family by reviewing related regulations and then criticizes the rules and regulations from the point of view of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discriminations against women. Ultimately she presents her idea about corrigibility of this legal structure and the necessity of improving in women rights in family.
Gender Mainstreaming in Iran Judiciary Sector
Raha - Lucienne Zohadi
9 Int'l Stud. J. 117
The recent 50 years, saw the emergence, in Iran, of a new consciousness of the patterns of the judiciary’s participation opportunities for women. Providing the analysis for realizing women’s access to and opportunities in social and public life including employment, must be done in detailed and comprehensive way, dislodging the assessments from its exclusive focus on political logics. And of course this argument will not be improved as long as the mechanisms of accelerating this participation are not effectively addressed . Such discussion is described in democratic developmental discourse, which targets the matter of participation and non-participation of women in judicial fields and also views the state strategies for the application of the already participatory remedies. The author believes that it should clearly distinguish between temporary special measures taken by the state to accelerate. The achievement of a concrete goal for women of defector or substantive participation, and other general policies adopted to improve the situation of women and combat inequality. That is the functional result in response to the problem.
Freedom, Good Governance and Developments in Iran
Massood Aryaee
9 Int'l Stud. J. 135
Nowadays good governance and freedom are a paradigm for developments. This assumption is more important in south countries as same as Iran. Iran is a centric-state and have a powerful influence in Iranian societies. This article analyzes the reformations of states in three levels: Structure, processes and context. Developments are an historical desire of Iranian society and states, but Iranian governments take the directory of developments, not Iranian civil society, because of its income by petrol and natural sources. Nonetheless, Iranian governments couldn’t develop Iran because of their fails on theoretical and practical capacity. This article proposes that Iranian governments should concentrate on the Iranian knowledge capacity and developments data analyzing. The science of developments could forward Iranian society to a prepare a guaranty for freedom of expression in this regards which is an characteristic for good governance.
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