The First Biennial International Conference on
“Regional Order and Social Structure in the Middle East: from Theory to Practice”
Perspective
The emergence of a pervasive wave of the Arab Spring in the first half of the previous decade can be known as the starting point for transformations in the region’s social structure in general and the four dimensions of the regional order, in particular. At the complex level of state-society, the Middle East witnessed the collapse of the previous Social Contract. The experts have emphasized the need to establish a new social contract in the modern Middle East within the same context. At the level of transnational identity, however, the Middle East has witnessed two seemingly coherent but controversial processes: On the one hand, the rise and fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the previous decade manifested the role of a new form of transnational Islamic identity. On the other hand, the U.S. inability to defeat the Taliban over the last two decades prepared a fertile ground for the formation of Doha peace negotiations between the Taliban and the U.S and the implicit acceptance of this group. At the regional level, with the changes in the position of actors of the international relations in the post-uprisings Middle East, the rivalries between the protagonists (Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia) has entered a new stage, so that all the actors are seeking to turn into the main power and hegemon of the Middle East. Finally, at the international level, with the increase in the influence and dominance of regional actors, the Middle East is witnessing a decrease in the roles of international actors. The reasons behind this claim are the passive roles played by the U.S. and other significant global powers in these unrests and the Middle East after those events.
Due to the amount and range of these transformations, the International Relations Committee at the Iranian Political Science Association (IPSA) plans to hold an international conference on this topic in May 2022 with the presence of renowned national, regional and international experts.
Conference Board
Dr. Kiyomars Ashtarian (Chairman of the IPSA)
Dr. Mojtaba Maghsodi (Member of the Board of Directors at the IPSA)
Dr. Masoud Mosavi Shafaei (Member of the Board of Directors at the IPSA, and the Scientific Secretary of the Conference)
Dr. Mehdi Zibaei (Chairman of the International Relations Committee at the IPSA, and the Executive Secretary of the Conference)
Co-organizing Institutes
Iranian House for Humanities Thinkers
Tarbiat Modares University
Allameh Tabataba'i University
Kharazmi University
Iranian Peace Studies Scientific Association
Iranian Regional Studies Association
Iranian Association of Geopolitics
Objectives of the Conference
The conference objectives can be divided into theoretical purposes and practical ones. From a theoretical perspective, the conference aims to provide acquaintance with the scientific capacities of the academic and research centers in the Middle East in the area of International Relations and to transfer the Iranian international-relations attitudes and perspectives to the neighbors. From a practical viewpoint, the conference seeks to gain more awareness of the various aspects of the contemporary Middle East order through promoting Iranian national interests in the region amid the existing unstable conditions.
Conference Topics
Position of the Middle East in the International Relations Theory
Role of the Middle East in formulating a general theory of International Relations
Contribution of regional events in strengthening political analysis
Impacts of the academic and research centers in the region on the mainstream of the field
The absence of lack of cooperation between active scientific centers in the region, in the area of International Relations
Redefining the Relations between the Middle Eastern States and Citizens
The need to form a new social contract
The relations between the modern state and the existing governance models
The position of different social classes in the ruling political systems
The dominance of authoritarian power over infrastructural power in the societies of the region
The New Role of Transnational Islamic Identity in the Middle East
The roles of Islamic identity and national identity
Establishment of Islamic states’ power bloc in regional relations
Changing attitudes and the treatments with the Taliban (or other Islamic currents)
Intensification of sectarianism in the light of regional developments
The Middle East as an Arena for Role Playing of Regional Actors
The movement of power in international relations across the region
Intense rivalries between superpowers to obtain hegemony
Reasons for the lack of a comprehensive convergence and cooperation among the actors
Actors’ security concerns in the wake of the wave of unrests
Role and Status of Transregional Actors in the Middle East
Dependence of some regional actors on external powers
The need for multilateralism in the roles played by external powers
Reasons for the decline in the U.S. role in relations of the region
Resistance Front and the international actors’ antagonistic stance towards it
Political Economy of the Middle East in the light of international pressures
Economy’s role in the regional actors’ political dependence on the international environment
Impact of the Covid19 pandemic on the actors’ political economy
The U.S.-China confrontation in the international political economy of the Middle East
Global economic pressures as tools for imposing patterns of political order
Keynote Speakers
Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS University of London
Stephan Stetter, the Bundeswehr University of Munich
Einar Wigen, University of Oslo
Important Dates and Deadlines
Deadline to submit abstracts: February 14, 2022
Notification of accepted abstracts: February 21, 2022
Deadline to submit papers: April 9, 2022
Conference Dates: May 10-11, 2022
Submission and Publication of Papers
Please send your article’s abstract and original version in Microsoft Word 2010 format to the conference secretariat at hamayesh@ipsa.ir. Abstracts should include 150 to 250 words and be prepared in both Persian and English. The first page of the original article must consist of the Full Title, followed by the author/authors’ name and surname, affiliation, telephone number, and email.
The “Keywords” section must include three to five words.
The “Introduction” section has to encompass the topic, objectives, and a general introduction of the research.
Research method
Research history
The article’s main body must include the theoretical foundations, review of the previous studies and research, together with the findings and the conclusion.
The Latin equivalents and necessary clarifications about the significant terms and other research contents must be indicated with numbers in the text and shown in[brackets]at the end of the paper.
All the sources to which there have been references in the article must be enlisted in the ending References section, with the Persian and non-Persian sources separated and sorted alphabetically according to authors’ last names.
Submitted manuscripts should not have previously been published in journals or presented at conferences.
The responsibility for the content of the articles lies with the author or authors.
The Scientific Council of the Conference is free to accept, reject, or rectify the articles.
Manuscripts should be original and provide the results of the author/authors’ research (Research Papers).
Participation Fee
The total fee to participate in the conference is EUR 250. The fee includes meals, refreshments and conference materials.
Executive Committee
Mehdi Zibaei, Ph.D. in International Relations, Faculty Member at Imam Khomeini International University
Hossein Miri Ramshe, Master’s degree student in Political Science, Kharazmi University
Mohammad Eskandarloo, Political Science Graduate, Islamic Azad University
Gisoo Mehri, Master’s degree student in Regional Studies, University of Tehran
Maryam Hasheminejad, Master’s degree student in Regional Studies, Allameh Tabataba’i University
Kamand Bahrami Yarahmadi, Student in Political Science, Imam Khomeini International University
Further Information
Conference participants will have the opportunity to discuss relevant topics with other researchers. Keynote speakers might change until the conference date. Due to the spread of the Covid19 pandemic, the conference will be held both in virtual and physical formats. For more information, please contact the Executive Secretary of the conference, Dr. Mehdi Zibaei, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Imam Khomeini International University, via email zibaei@soc.ikiu.ac.ir.