published on Horizons: Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development
date January 1, 2026
Authors: Mohammad Javad Zarif, Sasan Karimi
Issue 33, Pages 50-57
EVENTS in the global environment are largely concrete, yet their interpretation depends on analytical frameworks that subsequently shape action and, in turn, future realities. Theoretical perspectives—whether realist, liberal, constructivist, or otherwise—do not merely describe the world; they function as interpretive lenses through which external realities are classified, understood, and acted upon. Understanding global phenomena emerges from this reciprocal interaction between empirical experience and value–conceptual frameworks. Neither the external world can be meaningfully separated from the actions and assumptions of agents, nor can cognition be viewed as independent from lived experience.
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