In the human life cycle after the agricultural revolution, we are witnessing the industrial revolution, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) revolution, and now the digital revolution. The strategic environment at the global, regional, and national levels has undergone significant changes and transformations, and it is interpreted as the world in transition. Globalism is inevitable, and political units, especially the great powers, are seeking globalization and exploiting this process for their own benefit in the world political chess scene. In other words, the global village is being formed, and various theories, such as the two-space theory of the world[1] have been proposed in the field of physical or natural and virtual or the Internet. But in order to complete this theory, from the monotheistic Islamic point of view, we can propose a new theory of the being and becoming three-space of the world and simultaneous attention to the supernatural, natural, and virtual worlds. Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader, has stated that in the era of artificial intelligence, quantum, and the Internet, it is not possible to work with the same tools as 40 years ago, and one of the calculation errors is that man remains limited within the framework of purely material factors and to ignore the spiritual factors, the divine traditions, the traditions that God has announced, those things that cannot be seen with the eyes. An important finding in the proposed theory is the importance of understanding the relationship between Islam, the new strategic environment, Iran, and foreign policy.
Becoming two-space of the world; the worlds of becoming
The first look is at the distinction between the world of modernity (physical) and the globalized world (virtual). In the next step, explaining and differentiating these two worlds are parallel and at the same time intertwined, and multiple globalism within these two worlds should be paid attention to. From this point of view, the most important change in the contemporary world, which forms the basis of future changes in the world, is the competitiveness of the real and virtual world. This world is actually drawn parallel to and sometimes dominates the real world and finds real objectivity. The process of intelligentization in both worlds with globalized computer tools marks the immediate course of life. In the virtual world, all fields of politics and economy, including cultural membership, cultural belonging, cultural identity, and most importantly, cultural and civilizational power, become serious, and in the two-space culture, we are witnessing physical and virtual migrations and physical-virtual migrations under the influence of this space. In other words, we are facing a fundamental change in the concept of life and entering digital life. The future of the world under the title of post-globalism is the dominance of the virtual world over the real world and the formation of the war phenomenon without war, which is the war of symbols and signs; therefore, if we look forward-thinking and with a spiritual approach, the knowledge of good and evil in creating this situation provides many capacities for social conflicts and at the same time multicultural understanding and agreement.
In this regard, other interpretations and theories have been mentioned, which include quantum, metaverse, and artificial intelligence tools. In the quantum paradigm, the world is a dynamic and growing network of communications, and day by day, it witnesses diversity and complexity and the birth of new worlds. Reality in classical Newtonian physics can be sensed and measured scientifically, but in quantum physics, nothing is definitively stated, but reality based on the principle of superposition is a set of actualization or juxtaposition of possible states and possibilities (even opposite and contradictory) at the same time. In the quantum space, with the combination of technology, we see many worlds. Metaverse literally means beyond the universe, but in concept, virtual space is parallel to the real world with infrastructure technologies of communication, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, mobile, etc., based on Maslow's pyramid, it seeks to take place in the real world of humanity by discovering the needs. In other words, the metaverse is a network or an interconnected set of sub-networks, which is asymmetric yet symmetrical, centralized yet dispersed, virtual yet real, individual originality yet collective originality, and competition yet cooperation. In this regard, artificial intelligence as a tool is generally machine learning data and solving specific problems, studying and designing intelligent subjects, and using experiences to perform various tasks. With the increase of information, artificial intelligence is getting closer and closer to the real world, and it can reach from a tool and assistant to a conquering mankind. In other words, the metaverse is data and its connections, the quantum technology of big data storage and the Internet is the means of transmission, and artificial intelligence is the means of analysis.
Supernatural space: the world of beings or monotheistic system[2]
The view that believes that man is the wolf of man, or the ultimate future of the world will end in confrontation and conflict, and this is completely different from the view that considers man to be a living being or that depicts a clear destiny for the future of the world and the inheritance of weak people (in its Islamic sense). In this regard, what is called creation in the sense of other than God, is under the control of an infinite power named God Almighty. Therefore, all the so-called unjust forces are under the control of this Cairo force and are not in front of him. God Almighty has created many worlds that are in a very regular mathematical relationship both inside and in relation to each other. In every world, including the lowest of these worlds, which is called the world of property or the macrocosm, there is an unbreakable connection between its parts. Therefore, if there is a disturbance in the farthest heavenly bodies, it will affect the flagship of the creations of all worlds, i.e., human beings. Of course, on this basis, the human being also affects all the parts connected with them. In this way, not only every world is governed and planned according to the right, but also all the worlds are connected with each other.
The higher worlds are the planners of the worlds below them and are not simply worlds separate from other worlds. Empirical science, in the common sense, only examines the body of science in a horizontal direction and does not consider its vertical connection with the higher world (and higher worlds). For example, today's economics does not have the ability to understand a topic called blessing or lawful wealth in the field of economics, let alone investigate and analyze its effects; or in the field of political science, one cannot expect to understand and analyze the reason for the uprising of Prophet Moses and Aaron (PBUH) in the weakest possible state against the dominant power, that is Pharaoh; or it is not possible to understand how and on what basis the Supreme Leader says that the fate of the occupying Al-Quds regime is that it will disappear in the near future and the existing system will undergo a fundamental transformation and how should this view be accompanied in the field of practice. At best, many companions are content to say that there is a miracle and a divine order in this context, and what is worse is that they do not follow the behavior of the Prophets (PBUH) because this tradition cannot happen at other times, and interestingly, they do not give a reason for this discontinuity.
The application of being and becoming three-space theory of the world
In the last century, oil and energy security and now data as the oil of the digital age are important in geopolitical equations. In the interconnected, globalized world and uncertainty in forms such as global technologies and media, we are witnessing a change in the concept of diplomacy. Newtonian diplomacy of the 17th century and the negotiations between the two governments have given way to quantum diplomacy and the emergence of new actors. Therefore, a quantum diplomat is a person who manages the two spaces of secret negotiations and open negotiations at the same time with the new tools of the digital age, such as artificial intelligence, and at the organizational level, affected by the chaotic and complex external environment (and not a temporarily predictable), constructive communication is established between the people of the organization (internal) and the external environment with creativity and participation, and looking from the bottom-up and obtaining strategic decisions and solutions will be periodically established. Metaverse or data and connections also cause geopolitics of data and provide the possibility of access or special ability without limitations in space and time. The channel of data flow gives meaning to all geopolitical fields, including friendships and enmities, and shapes the visualization and war of narratives and discourses (generation Z or Internet, generation Alpha or smartphone, and the next generation of artificial intelligence).
By using the four sources of jurisprudence[3], it is possible to extract generalities and principles of foreign policy and political jurisprudence. In this regard, it should be noted that jurisprudence has two meanings, which the audience must distinguish between them (some believe that there are small, middle, and great jurisprudence). As wisdom is also the same; jurisprudence in the terminological sense includes a special field, which is the inference or knowledge of sub-rules of detailed evidence, the subject of which is obligatory action, but jurisprudence, as stated in the Qur'an, is not exclusive to this definition, and when it is said to understand the religion, it means to find a deep understanding and insight in the religion principles and subsidiaries. In the same way, wisdom in the idiomatic sense, according to Mulla Sadra, is equivalent to philosophy, and by definition, it is a science in which the truths of nobles are discussed, while wisdom in a general sense means valuable knowledge that is accompanied by action. Obviously, this distinction in the definition of jurisprudence does not mean that Islam as a religion does not have a school of international relations. In this way, based on the proposed explanations, it is possible to compile and present the theory of foreign policy that is desirable for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, if jurisprudence is meant as a term, it must be acknowledged that foreign policy theories are not completely included in this field.
Foreign policy is the actions and actions and behaviors of a government toward other international actors in the international space based on a plan and program predetermined by the decision-makers to achieve specific and predetermined goals. The foreign policy theory is a set of related, coherent, and logical propositions that explain, prescribe, and describe what, why, and how countries' behaviors, strategies, and decisions are in international relations. There are three theories in the classification of foreign policy theories: 1- Explanatory theory deals with finding the causes of behaviors and functions and examining how the existing foreign policy and decisions and strategies are. 2- Interpretive theory is looking for the ultimate cause, motivational analysis, and meaning analysis, and extracting the reason for the behavior. 3- The prescriptive theory[4] provides advice on the dos and don'ts of foreign policy. With the aforementioned explanation, it became clear that the task of conventional jurisprudence is not like this, as jurisprudence does not have such a function even in the field of religion; that is, so far, it has not been observed that in the field of Shia jurisprudence, the cause (let alone the ultimate cause) of motivational analysis and meaning analysis of rulings has been discussed.
By approaching jurisprudence in the sense of extracting and inferring Sharia law and better interpretation of Sharia rules from sources[5], in the jurisprudential theory of foreign policy, we want to tell him the ruling of the action of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the foreign arena and further create a concept that Iran's behavior in its format can be explained. Therefore, all the Sharia rulings considered in foreign policy do not exist in the book and tradition. But by examining the four sources of jurisprudence, especially by using the source of reason, which in addition to its instrumental role is also considered as one of the sources for extracting rulings, we must first extract the general values and principles of foreign policy from the sources, then based on those generalities, and then extract the desired rulings and finally using the role of government rulings, which some may doubt its acceptance in some fields, but in the field of foreign policy and the government, a major part of determining the foundations is based on the government decree, and it plays a decisive role to create a legal theory in foreign policy. The nature and purpose of the jurisprudential theory of foreign policy is a comparative theory and not an inductive one because, based on that rule, we want to extract a general concept of decision-making from the four sources and then examine whether the Islamic Republic of Iran has behaved this way in practice or not. Therefore, in this theory, we infer how the diagnosis, assignment, description, explanation, interpretation, and prescription of the foreign behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran should be and how it is in practice.
Therefore, the explanation and prescription of human life are subject to understanding the intertwining of the three-space theory and presenting the image, narrative, and discourse of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of foreign policy against the narrative of others at the bilateral, regional and global levels, which some great powers want dominance and supremacy. It is worth mentioning that in this theory, we pay attention to three spaces and their characteristics, and we are not trying to present, for example, Islamic quantum, but in our analysis, we pay attention to all three existing spaces in order to have a comprehensive analysis of the phenomena. In being and becoming three-space theory of the world, the monotheistic or Islamic system means that there is a deep connection between different worlds, including the macrocosm, which is the lowest level of the worlds, with the higher worlds, which we call the world of meaning in a general view, and these worlds have an effect on each other and if this meaning is not understood, many phenomena of this world cannot be interpreted correctly.
Mohammad Khoshheykal Azad and Hamid Reza Arshadhi, senior experts of the Institute for Political and International Studies
(The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IPIS)
[1] Ameli, S.R., (2016). Globalism studies: Becoming two-space and Becoming two-word. Organization of studying and editing humanities books at universities
[2] It is worth noting that this theory is a general view that changes the way of looking at the world and the system that governs it, and in a sense, it is not placed next to other views. In addition, it is very clear that this theory is expressed from the authors' point of view, and it is quite possible that there is a complementary or even contrary point of view. Therefore, it should not be expected to provide possibly practical solutions in the field of foreign policy jurisprudence. Of course, this debate creates a gateway for new research.
[3] For further research, see the website of the Institute of Religions and Denominations: https://eitaa.com/dinvatamadon?before=643
[4] For further research, see the theory of realistic idealism in the discourse of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding grand strategies (author's work).
[5] According to some scholars, Sharia is actually a part of religion that was established by God based on the needs of people's nature, but the knowledge of jurisprudence is made by jurisprudents. In fact, we call the non-infallible inference operation the science of jurisprudence; that is, Sharia in Islam is perfect and infallible because there is supposed to be no new religion, but jurisprudence is neither perfect nor infallible, but it has a state of completeness and discovery in relation to what is stated in Sharia.