The modalities of Iranian soft power: from cultural diplomacy to soft war

Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft power's potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran's public diplomacy is used to promote its soft power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage

It’s complicated: a timeline of Australia–Iran relations in a historical perspective

This paper seeks to contextualise Australia’s bilateral relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and at a time when the potential for military conflict is escalating.It canvasses key milestones and events in the bilateral relationship from 1945 to the present. It argues that one of the key continuities in the post-1945 relationship has been the difficulty involved in balancing what has traditionally been a relatively strong bilateral trade relationship with Australia’s broader non-proliferation and global security interests.  Concern over the nuclear program and state-sponsored terrorism in recent years has shifted the balance in favour of a focus on security issues and, consequently, towards the position of Australia’s key partners (especially the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Canada and the European Union (EU)) on sanctions. This ‘rebalance’ will only be sharpened (and the scope to follow a more independent policy diminish) if Iran continues down the nuclear path and the likelihood of a military solution increases. Iran’s continuing resistance to provide appropriate assurances about the objectives of its nuclear program is increasing inter-state tensions in the volatile Middle East region, prompting Israel to strengthen its military capacities in the lead-up to the potential conflict. &nbsp

The Islamic State as an empire of nostalgia

Primary empires were the product of internal development and self-sustaining through the exploitation of their own resources, but there were also historically a large number of “shadow empires.” These were imperial polities that were the products of secondary empire formation, which came into existence as a response to the formation of primary empires elsewhere and could not exist except in interaction with them. One unusual subset of these were “empires of nostalgia” that claimed an imperial tradition and the outward trappings of an extinct empire, but did not themselves meet the basic requirements of an imperial state such as direct control of territory, true centralized rule, or significant urban centers. The most famous European example was the Carolingian Empire established by Charlemagne and its long lived successor, the Holy Roman Empire, which survived as an institution for a thousand years. The Islamic State’s proclamation of itself as a reborn caliphate is now a contemporary example built on nostalgia in the Islamic world for a long-dead empire that still exerts a strong cultural attraction upon many Muslims. The Islamic State justifies its actions and ideologies by attempting to ground them in a lost golden age that they propose to restore

The Effects of Self-perception on Students' Mathematics and Science Achievement in 38 Countries Based on TIMSS 1999 Data

Earlier studies based on the analyses of data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) identified an interesting but conflicting finding for the effects of three self-perception measures on students' achievement in the two subjects at two different levels: within-country data generally show a positive correlation between the three measures and students' actual achievement, while at the country level, the direction is just opposite. The three measures of self-perception include how much students like the two subjects, how difficult they perceive the two subjects, and how well they think they are doing with the two subjects. Because TIMSS' sample design was a two-stage stratified design, this study uses Stata's svyreg procedure to replicate earlier analyses. We find that on individual level, when the number of books at home, school resources and indicators of school management are controlled for, the three self-perceptions demonstrate positive effects on students' achievement for most countries; while at the school level, the picture becomes mixed; For most countries, the effect of perceived easiness of the two subjects became negative. We suggest this inconsistency reflects differences in culture and in academic standards from country to country.

Efficacy of Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aureofaciens SH2 and Pseudomonas fluorescens RH43 isolates against root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) in kiwifruit

The Root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., are parasites of many crops and orchards, including kiwifruit trees. The Islamic Republic of Iran is among the leading kiwifruit producers in the world and M. incognita has been found as the dominant species responsible for severe loss of this crop. In order to evaluate the eff ectiveness of antagonistic bacteria on larval mortality, number of galls per plant and egg masses of nematode reduction, fifty local bacterial strains were isolated from root surrounding soils of kiwifruit plants in the northern production areas in Iran. Bacterial antagonists were characterized by morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular methods. Two representative strains, showing the best nematicidal activity, were identif ed as Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aureofaciens (isolate Sh2) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (isolate Rh43). They increased the percentage of larval mortality to 56:38% and 54:28% respectively in assays in vitro and showed excellent performance also in vivo with consistent reduction of number of galls (67:31% and 55:63%, respectively) and egg mass (86:46% and 84:29%, respectively) in plants. This study indicates that Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aureofaciens isolate Sh2 and Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate Rh43 are good potential biocontrol agents for containing root-knot nematodes in kiwifruit trees.peer-reviewe