奥巴马政府对伊朗政策的调整

奥巴马总统执政以来,美国对伊朗的政策轨迹表现出起伏性的变化。在执政初期,奥巴马试图改变布什时期美国与伊朗之间的敌对态势,对伊朗实施了积极接触的政策。但是,奥巴马趋向缓和的调整遭遇了国内外各种因素的挑战。在伊朗大选危机、美国国会坚持对伊朗实施制裁等因素的压力下,奥巴马逐渐回归到对伊强硬的姿态,并重新运用制裁这个工具遏制伊朗。从美伊关系的角度看,两国的领导层都没有足够的战略紧迫感来调整对各自核心利益的认知。双方都只是在建构良性关系的道路上迈出一小步,因此,这种试探性行为在两国国内政治和突发事件的影响下,很容易重新回到过去的对立状态。     

Obama's Pacific Pivot in US Grand Strategy: A Canadian Perspective

Abstract

This article explores the possible long-term trajectory of America's “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific and its implications for Canada's security policy. It shows that Obama's pivot represents the beginnings of a strategic choice on “selective primacy,” which, due to Washington's worrisome fiscal situation and push towards a more specialized force structure, promises to only deepen in the future. In the second half of the article, I examine how Canada will likely respond to America's more sustained strategic adjustment to the Pacific based on a reading of how the country traditionally adapts to American strategic preferences. The article concludes with some thoughts on an expanded Canadian effort at maritime diplomacy and the future of a Pacific-centric Royal Canadian Navy.     

A battle of principles: South Africa's relations with Iran

This paper provides a detailed case study and theoretical explanation for one of the least appreciated bilateral relationships of democratic South Africa. It analyses South Africa's post-apartheid relations with Iran as a case study to illustrate and discuss the contradictory principles that appear to guide South Africa's foreign policy. South Africa's tempered reaction to Iran's nuclear programme is in contradiction with its non-proliferation stance, but can be understood by looking into the ideology of the ruling African National Congress.     

Kasravi: the integrative nationalist of Iran

Sistemul sau întocmirea religiei muhammedane. By Dimitrie Cantemir. Translation, introduction, and notes by Virgil Cândea. Bucure?ti: Editura Minerva, 1977. Pp.lxxiv + 687. Lei 38.

People of Salé: Tradition and Change in a Moroccan City, 1830–1930 by Kenneth L. Brown. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1976. Pp. xx, 265.

Nédroma: L'Evolution d'une Médina by Gilbert Grandguillaume. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1976. Pp. xvi, 195.

The Struggle for Palestine by J. C. Hurewitz. New York: Schocken Books, 1976. Pp. 404, index.

The Shuster Mission and the Constitutional Revolution by Robert A. McDaniel. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1974. Pp. 259. Maps. Index.

The Gecekondu by Kemal H. Karpat. Cambridge University Press. 1977. Pp. 7 + 291, Tables. Notes. Bibliog. Index. £18.

The Limits to Power: Soviet Policy in the Middle East, edited by Yaacov Ro'i. Croom Helm. London. 1979. Pp. 376. £10.95.

Israel, the West Bank and International Law by Allan Gerson. Frank Cass, 1978. Pp: xvii + 285. £16.

The Economic and Political Development of the Sudan by Francis A. Lees &; Hugh C. Brooks. Macmillan 1977. Pp. 172, £8.95.

Trade and Investment In the Middle East by Rodney Wilson. London: Macmillan, 1977. Pp. 152. £12.

Oil and Empire: British Policy and Mesopotamian Oil 1900–1920 by Marian Kent. The Macmillan Press Ltd. and the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1976. £10.

Arabia of the Wahhabis by Harry St. John B. Philby, Second Edition. London: Frank Cass. 1977. Map. Pp. XIV + 422. £15.50.

Iran: Dictatorship and Development by Fred Halliday. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1979. Pp. 348, £1.50.

Iran: the Illusion of Power by Robert Graham. London: Croom Helm, 1978. Pp. 228, £7.95.

The Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean in International Politics edited by Abbas Amirie. Tehran: Institute for International Political and Economic Studies, 1975. Pp. 418, no price indicated.     

Beyond Countering Iran: A Political Economy of Azerbaijan-Israel Relations

In recent years, Azerbaijan–Israel relations have come to the foreground of politics in the Middle East and Caucasus region. Ties between Baku and Tel Aviv have been directly interlinked with their relations with Iran. The nature of the Azerbaijan–Israel partnership must be analysed in order to comprehend the balance of powers and energy security in the region. Even though there have been a number of works analysing the relationship by focusing on its role in regional military security, there is a gap in the discourse in terms of understanding the economic drivers of relations and the implications of the ties for regional energy security. Particular attention will be given to discussing Azerbaijan’s emerging role as a major energy producer that has already made a profound impact on the region as an ‘alternative’ to Iran in the aftermath of the recently imposed sanctions on Tehran's energy exports. It will be argued that the Azerbaijan–Israel relationship is built on solid economic grounds and it would be reasonable to expect the strength of the ties to be further intensified in the future. The article will also demonstrate that new developments in the energy security of the wider Middle Eastern region will affect the evolution of Azerbaijan–Israel ties and their rivalry with Iran in the next decade.