Elements of Iran's Soft Power and Strategic Depth in Syria and Iraq after the Emergence of ISIS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and political SCIENCE, University of Tehran

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran

Abstract

The power and influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran have increased significantly since the victory of the Islamic Revolution through a complementry combination of internal and external factors. Reinforcement of integration and identity self-awareness, Islamic revivalism and awakening, the development of a the discourse of resistance and confrontation with the domination system, and presenting models for multiple Islamic movements can be considered as manifestations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's soft power at the regional level. Syria and Iraq can be introduced as countries where the manifestations of Iran's soft power and soft strategic depth are particularly prominent. Iran's power and influence were not only noticeable in the pre-ISIS period, but can also be observed in the post-ISIS era upwardly. Hence, the main question of this study involves how the explanations of the increase in the soft power and strategic depth of Iran in Syria and Iraq after the emergence of ISIS could have been possible. The findings indicated that the development of soft power and soft strategic depth of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria and Iraq after the emergence of ISIS can be attributed to the following factors: promotion and reproduction of resistive culture, giving inspiration and increasing the role of Iran in the policy of Iraqi and Syrian governments, enhancing cultural and economic exchanges and making alliances with regional and trans-regional powers, and strengthening the frontier movements to confront the dominating powers. This is a descriptive-analytical research whose data is collected through library method.

Keywords

References

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Security Horizons
Volume 12, Issue 43
September 2019
Pages 33-55

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History

  • Receive Date: 03 August 2019
  • Revise Date: 06 October 2019
  • Accept Date: 24 November 2019

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