Educational Diplomacy of Islamic Republic of Iran as the Soft Power Strategy in the Middle East

Abstract

Nowadays, many countries are trying to increase their soft power authority using the university communication facilities. Educational exchanges and the creation of university branches in different parts of the world, especially in countries where there are common cultural fields, give these countries the opportunity to interact with elites and students expand their influence. The university sector, as the most important and effective branch in creating the future of a country, will have a great impact on understanding and cultural alignment between nations.

In this regard, one of the important regions that have a lot of common cultural identity with the Islamic Republic of Iran is the Middle East region. This article aims to answer the question of how the Islamic Republic of Iran can use its academic capabilities as the educational diplomacy in order to promote its position as soft power in the Middle East. Accordingly, Iran can use the cultural capacities, the Persian language, the common background of civilization and the capability of its higher education, especially in the field of university exchanges to empower its soft power authority in the region.