Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf; Abbas Ahmadi Kerch; Yashar Zaki; ehsan lashgari Tafreshi; morteza razavinezhad
Abstract
Abstract
The spatial distribution of political-executive power in countries has different patterns with its weaknesses and strengths. In Iran, a centralized simple model is used; This type of system caused the national unity and cohesion of the country in the first decade of the ...
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Abstract
The spatial distribution of political-executive power in countries has different patterns with its weaknesses and strengths. In Iran, a centralized simple model is used; This type of system caused the national unity and cohesion of the country in the first decade of the Islamic Revolution, but now, it seems has gradually become an effecting deterrent factor for the country's progress and development due to extensive changes and transformations. The main question of this research is what are the most important disadvantages that a centralized simple system has caused to the country? And what is the severity of these? Based on the finding of this study conducted in the descriptive-analytical method with the participation of 185 academic and executive elites of the country, 10 thematic axes were identified and prioritized as the most important disadvantages of a centralized simple system. These were assessed in a one-sample t-test. The main disadvantages of the centralized simple system in the country are, Neglecting the requirements of local characteristics (t:33.00); neglecting of legal and legislative capacities (t:24.00), inefficiency of administrative-bureaucratic system (t:24.00), spatial injustice and unbalanced development (t:23.00), incomplete participation of people in Local Government Office (t:23.00), non-segregation of activities and responsibilities (t:22.00), irresponsibility, lack of belonging sense and accountability of local officials (t:22.00), pressure on the central government (t:21.00), Lack of development of parties(t:16.00), Continuation of authoritarian and flattering political culture (t:14.00). It seems that the Islamic Republic of Iran has to pay enough attention to these disadvantages in order to progress and develop faster. It has to smooth the way for the excellence of society by changing the level of concentration in the context of a decentralized simple system.
Ehsan Lashgari Tafreshi
Abstract
Cognition the political effects on the production of geographic space, is one of the topics that has different interpretation in distinct cognitive schools, including relativism epistemic. In the Epistemic relativism, in the framework of mental ontology, there is no obligation to achieve absolute ideal ...
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Cognition the political effects on the production of geographic space, is one of the topics that has different interpretation in distinct cognitive schools, including relativism epistemic. In the Epistemic relativism, in the framework of mental ontology, there is no obligation to achieve absolute ideal and value. In this cognitive system, there is assumption that the cognition of the political-historical discourses function in the production of various dimensions of geographical space It is not possible to rely on positivist approach. in this research, with rely on descriptive-analytic method in the first phase, for definition of geographical space has been considered a special place for political-ideological discourses. Then, with paying attention to the features of political-historical discourses, is achieved This recognition that there is greater possibility for relativism epistemic for understanding who production of geographic space. Research findings indicate that the changes in the phenomena and processes in the geographic space are largely due to the political-historical discourses changes. Therefore, Geographic space has dedicated features and is non-extensible. In recognizing who production and rebuild the geographic space cannot be use necessarily from inductive and empirical epistemology.
Ehsan Lashgari
Abstract
Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
Geopolitics is one of the geographic sciences branches which can be discussed at various methodological schools. By the middle of the 20th century, dominant geopolitical theories and frameworks were often based on the objective aspects of geography and its impact ...
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Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
Geopolitics is one of the geographic sciences branches which can be discussed at various methodological schools. By the middle of the 20th century, dominant geopolitical theories and frameworks were often based on the objective aspects of geography and its impact on political relations between countries and blocks of power. However, observing the weakness of geopolitical predictions and the lack of response to many contradictions, thinkers moved to new theoretical frameworks in geopolitics. This shift has caused the spread of interpretive methodology to geopolitical studies. However, the excessive use of the idealistic methodology could cause the lack of attention to the issues and challenges in places and regions. However, today, more than past, applied studies in geographic sciences are carried out in positivism method. Therefore, applied geopolitical studies are still more feasible in the positivism school because when the propositions are referred to the objective world, the causation and prediction in dimension of methodology become operational. Now, the question that arises is which applied geopolitics will be closer to the approach of positivism school (inductive or deductive approaches) for better optimization?
2. Theoretical Framework
Geopolitics is based on the role of geography in the international relation which analyzes the domination of actors and governments in this context. From a geopolitical view, governments and political actors compete to gain opportunities in geographical space. They try to expand their influence on important spaces.
Deductive approach discusses the necessities for scientific recognition and the definition of "coherent systems" that exist in geopolitical studies. The logic behind deductive approach consists of definite arguments while the logic of inductive approach is based on probable inferences. In this methodology, the condition for the applicability of geopolitics is based on inferential and rational methods for studying geopolitical developments in different places and regions. Based on this methodological framework, there are fixed collections based on which it is possible to explain and predict the geopolitical changes while, some indexes such as the kind of political system are also influential in geopolitical studies that eliminate inductive generalizations. Obviously, in accordance with the conditions of international relations, the combination of these two features leads the dimensions of geopolitical studies towards a rational proof-making methodology. From the deductive perspective, inferential rationality has potential to identify and distinguish historically the spatial policies in geopolitical studies.
3. Methodology
This article intends to explain the optimal functions of deductive methodology in descriptive-analytical approach. In the first stage, it tries to explain the deductive methodology and geopolitical concept. Then, the epistemological ability of deductive methodology has been analyzed in comparison with interpretive and inductive methods in Geopolitical studies particularly after the cold war.
4. Results and Discussion
The Findings reveal that the content of geopolitics has some conceptual principles that exclusively require a deductive methodology. The most important principles are as follows:
A: Deductive explanation, and differentiation in the geopolitical value of places and regions
According to the views of many geopolitical thinkers, identifying the important regions and places in the world has been one of the studying goals. It has been done based on a rational positivist approach. Intrinsically, the distinction between the geopolitical significance of places and geographical areas is inherent in the geopolitical structure of the world. In the first step, the importance of geographical places should be highlighted in the deductive approach to predict the political behavior of governments and actors. Basically, in the transnational scale, the spatial threats are not considered as the impartial stimuli and these are often explained by deductive logic.
B- Deductive explanation and connotation in geopolitical studies
The deductive approach could help to predict the geopolitical developments in the world. With this method the scholars of international relations and geopolitics do not explain the historical events merely. Because such statements directly refer to the external conditions and express the real and objective characteristics.
C- The end of the Cold War and the increasing value of the deductive approach in geopolitical studies
After the Cold War and with the end of the ideological competition, the ideological value of the regions did not merely cause competition, security, and strategy, but they were the resources available in the geopolitical structure of the world that credited them. From this perspective, the competition model has a completely geopolitical, objective, and predictable content. Therefore, although a super authority is not dominant over the global system, there are self-regulating mechanisms that can be explained in geopolitical systems and the behavior of governments and affecting actors in the transnational area can be explained based on the deductive rationality.
5. Conclusions
Most of the applied geographic studies have recognized the causes of these phenomena in geographic space as objective phenomena. Geopolitics also studies the objective concepts in space that produce political action between countries in transnational scale. Of course, unlike the national scale, there is no centralized political power and sovereignty for governing the space in the transnational scale. Thus, the deductive methodology should be applied to study geopolitics, because anticipating and monitoring the behavior of states and actors based on the quantitative techniques in the transnational scale are not possible. Politics has a qualitative and variable nature and it is necessary to use a deductive approach.
Ehsan lashgari Tafreshi
Abstract
Extended abstract
1. Introduction
In geographic sciences, one of the most important schools of methodology is the school of positivism. This school has had a special function in conceptualizing geographic sciences, including political geography. Political geographers affected by the positivism ...
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Extended abstract
1. Introduction
In geographic sciences, one of the most important schools of methodology is the school of positivism. This school has had a special function in conceptualizing geographic sciences, including political geography. Political geographers affected by the positivism school believed that the interactions between politics and space will lead to particular spatial form and processes which can be studied only within the framework of this school. One of the consequences of applying positivism is to create the potential for classifying and enclosing space and constructing a geographic scale based on the performance of a government or country. In this research, has been struggled to introduce a new category of how to understand the relationship between politics and geographic space in the positivism methodology within framework of scale.
2 .Method
In this research that has applied the fundamental approaches in the philosophy of geography valid documents and bibliographic sources have been used to collect data. In this study, in the first step, the concepts of space and cognition were defined using descriptive and analytical approaches. Then, the definition of space has been accorded with characteristics of the positivism cognition school.
Results and Discussion
The conceptual content of politics has a special feature which makes it possible to achieve the recognition of space in a specific pattern of positivism. In addition, the political construction of a geographic scale of two national scale, including a state / country and transnational scale, including the transnational scale makes different patterns for studying the relationship between politics and space. The results of these approaches are as follows:
A- Political Geography as Territorial Governance
National sovereignty remains as the most influential force in knowing how national and sub-national areas operate. Because the prioritization and allocation of resources influenced by the ruling political institutions do not follow similar processes among different countries and generalization, inductive thinking about it is not feasible. Because with the change of political perspectives and with the advent of new leaders, gradually, the natural and human dimensions of the geographic space on the scale of the country are changing and evolving, this view sought to combine space studies with development topics and emphasize on the fact that spatial structures have discoverable features that can be used in spatial organization. But, one of the philosophical foundations of changes in various dimensions of space is the change and rebuilding of policies, and the replacement of new forces in decision making and implementation of these policies in all levels, especially, in the level of nation-state. This process is considered by studying political geography.
B- Geopolitics as a territoriality of sovereignty in transnational scale
In the territory of a country, the sovereignty is the highest power of ordering, which is based on the social contract theory to organize and control the territoriality behaviors of human and social classes in competition with each other. But, there is no such organizing force in the metropolitan area, and the victory in power-based competition determines the extent of state domination. In the international space, there is no such organizing force, too, and victory in competitions determines the limits of state domination. Thus, the most territoriality behaviors and objectives are organized by states. From this perspective, human-made and natural data in relations between countries can create the motivation for territoriality and these behaviors will not be stopped unless the other could be stopped from acting. Geopolitics provides the geographic framework for understanding the conflicts between countries and regional blocks and explains territoriality behaviors of countries based on natural and human geographic data, and finally, leads to studying the consequences of these processes. On the other hand, because of the geopolitical conceptual nature, geopolitical experts cannot necessarily use the empirical approach in recognizing this relationship. In other words, geopolitics in its content has not a quantitative nature and experts should use deductive approaches. Because, in recognizing the geopolitical importance of the regions, qualitative factors such as political economy, ideology and social origins of political leaders also have an effect that does not have the capacity to become quantitative indicators. Historically, the views of many geopolitical scholars have shown that their geopolitical explanations have been created by deductive approaches. Therefore, gaining more power by governments depends on how they pursue the appropriate geopolitical policies.
4. Conclusion
The findings of this research reveal that the element of geographical space has a systematic nature in the positivism, but two national and sub-national scales have different contents with transnational scale. In other words, in the context of positivism, the study of the political dimension of the geographical space is different from two national and transnational political scales. In a national scale, recognizing the relationship between politics and space within the borders of a country includes national and sub-national scales, but in the transnational scale, the relationship between sovereignty and space is the result of a kind of territorialism that exists between countries and builds geopolitical concepts and ideas. Moreover, since politics, both national and sub-national and transnational, contains elements and components that have little quantitative capability, consequently, researchers should pay more attention to positivism. Therefore, applied geopolitical studies have been more widely considered in the positivism methodology as the explanation in the methodological dimension takes on operational dimensions
