Culture, the Core of Soft Power: An Overview of Irans Cultural Component of Soft Power

Focusing on relatively successful soft power policy of Iran, the paper has examined ‘culture’ as the cornerstone of Iran’s soft power. The paper argues that the success of Iran’s soft power despite continuous international pressures, economic sanctions and efforts for Iran’s isolation is due to a much stronger and enduring factor which is ‘culture’. The paper considers two pillars for Iran’s cultural structure; the Persian civilization and Islamic culture. These two have been the main driving force which has enforced other components of Iran’s soft power such as economy or foreign policy. The paper has briefly introduced some important attributes of the Iranian culture and provided examples on the use of these components to exert soft power.