Foreign Policy Patterns toward the “East” in Post-Revolutionary Iran

김애정,Ibrahim Motaghi 한국외국어대학교(글로벌캠퍼스) 중동연구소 2018 중동연구 Vol.36 No.3

Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini had pursued the foreign policy doctrine of "Neither East, Nor West" and the export of the Islamic Revolution. These two foreign policies stemmed from his aspiration to create an Islamic-led international order based on the Islamic ideology. On the other hand, the Islamic Revolution considered pragmatic national interests in Iranian foreign policy decision-making. During the modern history in post-revolutionary Iran, both the ideology of the Islamic nation and Iran’s national interests have been interrelated in the governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The balance between ideology and pragmatism has been the salient feature in the decision-making process in Iran’s foreign policy. The relative importance of Islamic ideology and national interest in foreign policy decision-making is confirmed according to the circumstances of a particular case. Since the revolution in 1979, Iran's foreign policy has evolved to a paradigm of balancing between ideology and pragmatism among Iranian foreign policy decision-makers (Ramazani 2013, 191). With regard to foreign policy decision-making in Iran, it is also argued that there is a decisive influence of the supreme leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in foreign policy. Since the Islamic Revolution of Iran, these groups have had much greater success in affecting the foreign policies pertinent to regional influences, relations with the West and the United States, and national defense (Negahban, 2017). However, the aforementioned study pays much attention on internal factors in foreign policy making process, ignoring external factors in foreign policy decision making. This research focuses on exogenous variables in the Iranian foreign policy toward the “East.” balance between ideology and pragmatism in Iran’s foreign policy. The hypothesis of this paper is that the geopolitical environment affects foreign policy decision-making by influencing national interests or ideological elements. The goal of the paper is to identify how the formation of foreign policy is attributable to geopolitical changes. In particular, the paper examines how Iran’s foreign policy decision-making is influenced by the national interests of each government in its own unique situations. The paper offers the contextualized framework clearly showing that the development of foreign policy is strongly affected by geopolitical changes.

South Korea’s Renewable Energy Strategy in the Middle East: Convergence of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid

김애정,Ibrahim Motaghi 부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2023 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.7 No.2

Against the backdrop of increasing energy consumption due to population growth and the shift toward renewable energy, the world is undergoing an energy transition from hydrocarbon-based energy to cleaner alternatives. This transition necessitates the transformation of traditional grid systems, which have struggled to accommodate the challenges posed by renewable energy sources, facilitating the integration of renewable energy sources into smart grid systems. As South Korea engages in diverse industries in the Middle East, its energy collaboration has expanded to encompass conventional energy, hydrogen, and green energy, forming an “energy partnership.” Given that the convergence of renewable energy and smart grids entails an fundamental change in the energy landscape, it is crucial to reshape South Korea’s strategic partnership with the Middle East, which has fostered mutual economic and trade relations for decades. This paper analyzes the impact of the development of the renewable energy-smart grid convergence industry between South Korea and Middle Eastern countries on energy and economic collaboration. Based on the principles of the fourth industrial revolution, the study employs a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis method to identify common economic prosperity between South Korea and the Middle East. Based on the SWOT matrix, the paper establishes strengths–opportunity (SO), weakness–opportunity (WO), strength–threat (ST), and weakness–threat (WT) strategies for international collaboration in renewable energy and smart grids by combining and analyzing SWOT.

South Korea’s Export Policy of Nuclear Power Plants to the Middle East: Opportunities and Challenges

Aejung Kim,Ibrahim Motaghi 부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2022 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.6 No.1

In the wake of the latest nuclear accident of the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor in 2011, there have been rising safety concerns regarding nuclear energy, leading to the decline of nuclear power development in many developed countries around the globe. In response to negative public perceptions on nuclear power, South Korea also transformed its nuclear energy policy from progressive development to gradual termination, such as the nuclear phase-out policy in 2017. This phase-out policy runs in parallel with nuclear export policy including with the Middle East, which generates heterogeneity in nuclear energy policy. The nature of heterogeneity manifests two distinguishable elements: termination of domestic nuclear reactor generation, and proliferation of nuclear reactor production abroad. This research investigates the factors that affected the South Korea’s nuclear export policy in the Middle East by using a techno-economic-socio-political interdisciplinary approach. The study also examines both opportunities (i.e., export-oriented economy structure and spillover effect to other regions) and challenges (i.e., international competition and nuclear proliferation issue) for South Korea in carrying out the nuclear export policy in the Middle East. Taking multiple factors such as politics, technology, and economy into account when considering nuclear energy policy, the success of South Korea’s nuclear export policy in the Middle East is contingent on the balance of various factors, and an effort to offset the ineffectiveness associated with the heterogeneous nature driven by two distinct policies of “phase-out” and “export.”

Effect of Evening Primrose Oil on Postmenopausal Psychological Symptoms: A Triple-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

( Faranak Safdari ),( Bahareh Motaghi Dastenaei ),( Soleiman Kheiri ),( Zohreh Karimiankakolaki ) 대한폐경학회 2021 대한폐경학회지 Vol.27 No.2

Objectives: Psychological symptoms of menopause may impose a negative effect on the quality of life of menopausal women. Thus, the management of these symptoms can improve the quality of life and psychological health of such woman. The present study aimed to determine the effect of evening primrose on psychological symptoms in menopausal women. Methods: In this triple-blind randomized clinical trial, the effect of the evening primrose oil on postmenopausal psychological symptoms was investigated. The subjects were 100 menopausal women, referred to a healthcare center in Dastena city (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran), who were randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention group used two 1 g pearls of evening primrose oil daily. The study instruments included a sub-scale of Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Menopause data were analyzed using an independent t -test and Friedman test by the SPSS software. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The two groups were balanced in demographic characteristics and psychological disorder severity before the intervention. The median (interquartile range) MRS score in the intervention group before the intervention and 2 and 4 weeks after the intervention were 11 (10-12), 6 (5-7), and 3 (2-4), respectively, and in the placebo, they were 11 (9-11), 10 (9-11), and 11 (10-12). A significant reduction was observed in the intervention group compared with the placebo group 2 and 4 weeks post-intervention. Conclusions: The use of evening primrose oil can decrease postmenopausal psychological symptoms.

이란 혁명후 “친동(親東)” 외교정책 패턴

김애정 ( Aejung Kim ),에브라힘모타기 ( Ibrahim Motaghi ) 한국외국어대학교 중동연구소 2018 중동연구 Vol.36 No.3

1979년 이란혁명 이후의 외교정책 결정과정을 살펴보면 이데올로기와 실용주의 사이의 균형을 이루고자 하는 패러다임 현상이 이란 외교정책결정 과정에서 나타나고 있다. 외교정책결정에서 이슬람 이데올로기와 국가 이익 사이의 상대적인 비중은 특정한 상황에 따라 결정되는데 이를 바탕으로 이란의 대외정책 발전을 위한 요인(지정학적 환경, 국가 이익, 이데올로기적 요소)들을 자세히 살펴보고자 한다. 특히 1979년 이슬람 혁명 이후에 수립된 라프산자니 정부, 하테미 정부, 아흐마디네자드 정부, 로하니 정부의 “친동(親東)” 외교정책 사례연구를 통해서 특정한 지정학적 환경이 국익과 이념적 요소에 영향을 미치고 이란의 친동(親東)” 외교정책에 중요한 역할을 한다는 가설을 검증하고자 한다. 이란의 외교정책에서 이데올로기와 실용주의 사이의 균형에 기여하는 외부적인 요소들에 대한 연구에 중점을 두고 있으며, 연구의 목적은 외교정책의 형성에 지정학적 변화가 어떻게 기인하는지를 규명하고 이란의 “친동(親東)” 외교정책의 발전이 지정학적 변화에 영향을 받는다는 것을 보여주는 맥락화된 틀을 제공하는데 있다.

RADIOIDINE THERAPY OF PAPILLARY AND FOLLICULAR THYROID CANCER

Mafi, S. Nezam,Djazaeri, M.,Motaghi, R. 대한핵의학회 1984 핵의학 분자영상 Vol.18 No.1