Pakistan Journal of International Affairs

NATIONAL INTEREST AND STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT IN IRAN’S FOREIGN POLICY: A REALIST PERSPECTIVE

Shokrollah Kamari Majin — 2026-06-08

This article examines Iran’s foreign policy through a realist analytical framework, focusing on the relationship between national interest, domestic political structure, and strategic alignment in the international system. Departing from normative or ideological explanations, the study situates Iran’s external behavior within the constraints of an anarchic international order, where survival, security, and power asymmetries shape state conduct. Drawing on core realist concepts such as anarchy, rational state behavior, alliance formation, and threat perception, the article argues that Iran’s persistent strategic isolation cannot be explained solely by external pressures but must also be understood in relation to internal decision-making mechanisms and their interaction with systemic realities. The analysis highlights how misalignment between material capabilities and foreign policy orientation has reinforced security dilemmas and limited Iran’s strategic options. By applying realism as an explanatory rather than prescriptive tool, the article contributes to debates on Middle Eastern foreign policy and offers a theoretically grounded reassessment of Iran’s position in the regional and global order.

INSTITUTIONALIZING SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT REFORMS: GOVERNANCE MODELS AND ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

Syed Jaffer Samdani — 2026-06-08

Public procurement was once simply an administrative task, but now it has become a more strategic policy tool that can help promote the economy, protect the environment, and create socially inclusive markets. Since many developing countries spend a large part of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with public funds, these countries’ procurement systems can help them achieve sustainable development goals through environmentally credible markets and socially inclusive economies. Although many developing countries have passed legislation that includes principles of sustainability in the area of public procurement, there is still a significant gap between formal regulatory commitments and the actual implementation of these principles. The effective institutionalization of Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) is often limited by administrative weaknesses, limited technical capacity, the complexity of governance structures, and the risks of corruption.

This research examines how the governance models and accountability mechanisms used by developing countries impact the implementation of sustainability in their public procurement systems. The analysis is based on relevant theories of Neo-Institutionalism and Principal-Agent Theory, which are used to analyze the relative strengths and weaknesses of centralized procurement versus decentralized procurement versus hybrid systems of public procurement governance. This article contends that centralized public procurement governance models provide standardization and leverage the market; decentralized models of public procurement governance provide flexibility and innovation; and hybrid models of public procurement governance, which combine central policy coordination with decentralized implementation, achieve the best institutional balance to incorporate sustainability criteria into public procurement practices.

This research provides more information on how the use of accountability measures such as e-procurement systems, digital transparency systems, open contracting initiatives, and civil society monitoring can help reduce information asymmetry, limit the ability to abuse discretion, and increase compliance with sustainability goals. Sustainable procurement reforms were found to work most effectively when they adopted an integrated accountability framework that is based on both internal digital monitoring and external social monitoring.

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIONAL OATH IN JUDICIAL TRANSFERS, AND JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

Prof. Dr. Abdul Saboor — 2026-06-08

Judicial Independence as a cornerstone of Constitutional Governance is enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In this context, articles 194 and 200 prescribe the oath and transfer of High Court judges respectively. The recent transfers of High Court judges in Pakistan, have created a lot of constitutional controversy as to whether or not a judge transferred to a transferee High Court can lawfully exercise jurisdiction without taking a fresh constitutional oath. This is not just a matter of procedure and technique but also concerns general matters of constitutional supremacy, institutional legitimacy, judicial independence and public trust in the courts.

This article explores the constitutional link between the judicial oath and judicial transfers, critically. It brings out the point that all the High Courts have independent constitutional identity and transfer to another High Court is a change in office in a constitutional entity. Therefore, exercising judicial authority in the transferee High Court requires as a constitutional precondition compliance with Article 194, which is achieved by a new oath. The article also argues that the lack of a constitutional formality harms constitutionalism sets a precedent for institutional convenience and risks judicial independence.

This study finally suggests that constitutional procedure is not subject to watering down when it comes to the question of judicial office based on the principles of constitutionality, jurisprudence, comparison of constitutional laws and international principles of judicial independence. The article suggests a step towards the legal and institutional changes that should ensure a faithful implementation of the Constitution, protect judicial independence, and restore people's confidence in the superior judiciary.