Soft power and its effect on geopolitical developments of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Résumé

One of the factors shaping and continuing the relationship between nations on the international stage is power. Power can be defined as the use of various facilities, ways and means to influence the mind and behavior of others in order to achieve the goals. The nations and, consequently, the states seek their own interests and desires in the international area, and the achievement of these interests is a function of the level and degree of national power, especially in comparison with other countries. If a country has a high national power, it can meet its demands unhindered. Governments seek to pursue and achieve their interests through cooperation, competition and conflict. But it is clear that national interests are not achieved on their own and in a vacuum, in order to achieve it, it is necessary for governments to enjoy national power at an acceptable level. The more a country can increase its power, the more it can ensure its survival and security and, on the other hand, the more it can pursue and fulfil its goals at the regional and international levels.
There are several ways to influence the behavior of others: they can be forced into an action by threats or by the use of force; the use of economic resources may force others to follow; or they can be attracted and made to accompany by taking advantage of the software components of power (Harsij and Tuyserkani, 2009: 172). The formation of relations between countries and the social order at the regional and international levels and the continuity of relations, as well as the role of each country in the international events are under the influence of power. Therefore, some consider the power as the most important component of the relationships and status of countries in the field of international relations (Pishgahifard et al., 2011: 192).
During the last decades, especially with the start of the 21st century, and the rule of globalization in international relations, the sources of exercising power have also been altered, and the governing equations of societies have been undergoing profound transformations, so that the intangible forms of power have become important. So that the means of power and achievement of interests and goals in international politics have changed, and the origins and methods of exercising power have changed from hard power to soft power. In other words, however the military and economic power that may have been formed on the basis of a lure or threat, often forces others to change positions, is called hard power. On the other hand, societies and governments peruse their powerfulness, not depending on the merely material resources of power, but also on the ability to change the behavior of other states, and this aspect of power is called soft power which is the product and outcome of an international credit gain and indirect effect coupled with satisfaction on others.

Currently, most of countries have made significant investments, even at regional levels, to improve their soft power resources. Undoubtedly, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been not immune from the effects of this spin to the manifestations of soft power globally. With its geopolitical position, ideology, Islamic religious culture, the Islamic Republic of Iran has considerable resources for exercising the soft power, which are well achievable in the case of accurate knowledge and appropriate investment. In this paper, we first attempt to identify the sources of soft power from different perspectives, and will further examine the effects of soft power on the sources of power for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the developments of these resources.