This thesis deals mainly with the historical development of the religious institution of Ithna ashari Shi'ism in both its scholarly and political aspects. It is divided into six chapters. The word "school" has been used to describe the place in which such an institution had flourished due to the activities of its fuqaha ' in response to their turbulent history, whether it was in Iraq, in Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria, i.e. Syria and Lebanon) or in Iran. Chapter one deals with the Baghdad School. It includes a study of the scholarly development right from the begining of the fuqaha' institution during Shaykh al-Mufid's times (d. 413/1022) and ending with Shaykh al-Tusi (d. 460/1068). Chapter two follows the development of this scholarly renaissance at the hands of the Hilla fuqaha starting with Ibn Idris al-Hilli's time (d. 598/1201) and ending with Fakhr al-Muhaqiqqin ibn al-'Allama al-Hilli (d. 771/1369), and investigates the relationship between the religious institution and the Mongol invaders of Iraq and the ideological influence of the Ithna'ashari fuqaha' on the leaders of the invaders. Chapter three, on the Jabal 'Amil school, deals in part with the unsettled period of the Mamluk state, its struggle against the Mongols and the internal situation of the Shi'a vis-a-vis the Mamluks. It also deals in part with the influence of the Jabal 'Amil fuqaha' on the Safawid state after these fuqaha' had migrated there. Particular attention is paid to the role of Shaykh al-Karaki (d. 940/1533) and his attempt to build a religious institution inside Safawid Iran, and the opposition that he met. The chapter ends with a study of the Akhbari Movement in its first stage, during the time of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d. 1033/1624). Chapter four focuses on the Najaf School, which had started about two hundred years before as an intellectual school. The development and activities of this school from the beginning of the thirteenth/nineteenth century, are discussed, as is its position regarding the emergence of the Wahhabi Movement, the Akhbari Movement (in its second phase) and the Shaykhi Movement. The chapter also deals with the political activity of the fuqaha' in their struggle against the Qajari state, which had been manifested in the fatwa prohibiting tobacco and in the Constitutional Movement. Chapter five deals with the struggle of the Najaf fuqaha' from the start of the Republican period (1958) until the beginning of the 1990s. This is preceded by an introductory remark concerning the position taken by the fuqaha' towards the British forces who entered Iraq after the First World War and the events of the Iraqi Revolution of 1920. Chapter six has been dedicated to a study of the Qumm school. It looks at the historical development of that city, with particular attention to the role of Shaykh 'Abd al-Karim al-Ha'iri al-Yazdi (d. 1355/1936) in supervising an elite of mujtahids who have participated in the renewal of this city.

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Large scale rural out-migration has gained momentum over the past four decades in Iran, contributing to urbanization at unprecedented rates. In the wake of the Islamic Revolution, it was recognized that in order to reduce reliance on oil revenues and foster self-sufficiency and social equity, it was essential to ensure the viability of agriculture and rural settlements. As a part of this new strategy, a rural infrastructure provision policy (RIPP) was undertaken in order to bring about rural prosperity and to curb out-migration. Yet, the plight of villagers and out-migration persist. This dissertation focuses on the village end of the problem, and on permanent outmigration in post-revolutionary Iran. It investigates the causes of rural out-migration and their impacts on the remaining rural households. Further, it examines the potential of RIPP to reduce out-migration and enhance village viability. In terms of methodology, a cross-analysis was conducted at the levels of individual, household, and community. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. While the latter served analysis needs at the macro-level, the former, which included case studies in five villages in Hamadan Province, served those at the micro- and meso-levels. The macro-level analysis reveals population pressure on agricultural resources and rural-urban disparities as the overriding causes of rural out-migration in Iran. Correspondingly, the micro- and meso-level analyses: (a) highlight the critical importance of the middle strata (MS) for the future viability of rural Iran; (b) identify household insecurity, resulting from precarious and uncertain rural livelihoods as the root cause of out-migration for MS; and (c) suggest that the ongoing migration of youth from MS must be contained to ensure the next generation of farmers. Finally, five roles are identified for RIPP to target the overriding causes as well as those pertaining specifically to MS. While there is need for policy changes in the macro-economic sphere in Iran, RIPP has the potential to reduce rural out-migration. More fundamentally, it suggests that it is not merely the presence of physical infrastructure and its direct role, but rather an effectively functioning social infrastructure and its intermediary roles that are vital to curbing excessive out-migration and ensuring village viability. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Cyber security is quickly becoming one of the most important issues in the field of global politics. For this reason, it is vital to pay attention to topics in this field since they can impact international relations in a major way. Inspired by this, the thesis is focused on analysis, characterization, and categorization of cyber-attacks, which had been aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2007. The goal of the thesis is dual: to provide a complex picture of such incidents, and also to decide whether those attacks can be considered as evidence of hybrid warfare of some states against Iran. Data and reports about cyber-attacks were analyzed using AVOIDIT taxonomy in order to outline their basic characteristics. The characteristics were then contrasted with the definition of hybrid warfare. The final result of the analysis is that the cyber-attacks against Iran cannot be considered as hybrid warfare, because they do not meet the basic tenets of the concept of hybrid warfare. The aspiration of the thesis is to provide a clearer insight into the topic of cyber- attacks and global politics and can serve as a guide for future discussions since the topic of hybrid warfare has become very divisive.

The master thesis' main goal is to analytically evaluate Obama's policy towards Iran in the context of the process of rapprochement between the two countries. In this context, the issue of relations with key US allies (specifically Israel and Saudi Arabia), with regard to the possibility of the United States enforcing its security interests in the region, regardless of their allies is especially important. The thesis is divided into 5 parts. The first part puts up theoretical framework using the approach of realism that is later used to analyze important aspects of the discused problém. The second chapter describes current development in the area in the context of recent waves of instability in the MENA region. The third chapter describes in detail the context of Iran nuclear program its development in recent years and most importantly the nuclear deal that was struck in the middle of the year 2015. Chapter four analyzes U.S. policy approaches in the discussed time period in the context of its important alliances and also in the context of the recent development in the region. The last chapter thoroughly examines how significant were the geopolitical changes and changes in relations between the United States and Iran and also how much influence did these changes have regarding the alliances with...

No description available.

Thesis: M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1975 / Bibliography: leaves 145-156. / by Richard E. Brackeen. / M.S. / M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

Thesis advisor: Christoper Kelly / This dissertation seeks to explain why the two Western political thinkers best known for their thoughts on power came to have an utterly opposite understanding of political religion. In his writings on the Islamic revolution of 1979, Michel Foucault welcomed the leadership of the Iranian ayatollahs in the popular struggle against Western powers. In contrast, Hobbes accused religious authorities of promulgating superstitious doctrines which ultimately benefitted them while engulfing the society in civil wars. This dissertation argues that the two thinkers' contrasting assessments of political religion reflects their deepest theoretical commitments, which prove to be illustrative of modern rationalism, and its subsequent deconstruction by post-modernism. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on the development of the Iranian nation and state from 1811 to 1941. Both of these developments occurred in response to Iran's encounter with the European powers, specifically Russia and Great Britain. Government-led reforms opened the possibility for the development of Iranian nationalism, as Iranian students were in England and brought back the first printing press with them to Iran in 1815. The introduction of the printing press was significant to the development of the Iranian nation-state, as an increase in journals and periodicals introduced contemporary European political ideas to Iranians. This increased the calls to replicate the customs and norms of European society in Iran, ultimately leading to the Constitutional Revolution of 1906. The Constitutional Revolution established a Parliament in Iran that was politically weak and held little power in the provinces outside of Tehran. Tribal authority increased throughout Iran, and the Russians and British eventually occupied Iran from 1911 to 1917. The establishment of Reza Shah's rule in 1921 introduced a new centralized Iranian state that was legitimated by the nation and established its rule over the tribes. It is also during Reza Shah's rule that the conception of the Iranian nation begins to change. / Master of Arts