Soft power Studies

The Islamic Revolution’s Soft Power Approach in Confronting Cognitive Warfare: Designing a Native Model of Public Diplomacy in the Era of Transnational Platforms

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Hosseinali Mehrnia

Department of Islamic Studies, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
In the contemporary era, transnational platforms have emerged as a critical arena for power struggles and cognitive warfare, where the perceptions and beliefs of audiences are the primary targets of attack. Relying on the discourse of soft power and civilizational values, the Islamic Revolution requires a redefinition of its public diplomacy patterns to confront this new media configuration. The main objective of this research is to design a native model of public diplomacy within the context of transnational platforms to counter cognitive warfare. Adopting a qualitative approach and a descriptive-analytical method based on documentary and theoretical studies, this research extracts the soft power components of the Islamic Revolution—such as justice-seeking, anti-imperialism, and revolutionary rationality—and analyzes their functions within the platform environment. The findings indicate that to transition from reactive and negative approaches, the ideal public diplomacy must be rooted in the “popularization of content,” “civilizational networking,” and “proactive storytelling.” The proposed model in this study, titled “Cognitive-Civilizational Diplomacy,” is developed across three levels: strategic, operational, and tactical. While preserving native identity, this model possesses the flexibility and influence necessary to penetrate global platform layers. The article concludes by emphasizing the necessity of shifting from traditional state-centric models to network-centric models in cyberspace to neutralize enemy narratives while reproducing and consolidating the discourse of the Islamic Revolution in the transnational sphere

Keywords

Cognitive Warfare
Public Diplomacy
Soft Power
Islamic Revolution
Transnational Platforms
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