Soft Power in Iran–UK Relations: Culture, Media, and Geopolitics

In the new era of international relations, soft power plays an increasingly significant role in foreign policy as a strategic complement to hard power. This research, focusing on the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Kingdom, aims to identify the capacities, tools, and challenges associated with the exercise of soft power by both countries in historical and contemporary contexts. The primary research question is: how, and through which components, has soft power influenced the formation or evolution of political relations between Iran and the United Kingdom? The research hypothesis posits that the Islamic Republic of Iran's purposeful and indigenous use of soft power can help bridge historical divides and lay the groundwork for reconstructing cultural and diplomatic interactions. The research method is qualitative, based on critical discourse analysis, and complemented by a comparative study of the soft power strategies employed by the two countries. In the theoretical framework, Joseph Nye's concept of soft power has been employed and adapted to the discourse of the Islamic Revolution. The findings are examined in three key areas: first, the nuclear conflict, where media and public diplomacy became tools for confrontational narratives; second, the context of sanctions, which demonstrated how economic measures can enter the realm of soft warfare; and third, regional geopolitical competition, in which Britain's soft power is exercised through cultural and media institutions, while Iran's soft power is manifested through networks of cultural civilization. The results indicate that soft power, especially when operating under conditions of structural distrust, can effectively mitigate tensions, influence public opinion, and facilitate new diplomatic pathways—provided that institutional coherence, a clear strategy, and a receptive cultural audience support it.

کلیدواژه ها:

Soft power ، Foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran ، Britain ، cultural diplomacy ، Media Imagery ، Discourse of the Islamic Revolution ، soft deterrence ، strategic interactions