https://www.spba.ir/ Soft power Studies en daily 1 Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0330 Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0330 https://www.spba.ir/article_244312.html The Islamic Consultative Assembly, as the legislative and supervisory body in the Islamic Republic of Iran, plays a fundamental role in producing, consolidating, and promoting soft power through legislation, efficient supervision, and representation of public demands. The soft power of the Islamic Republic is based on components such as popular legitimacy, justice-oriented, institutional efficiency, political participation, and the Islamic-Iranian model of progress, and the Assembly can strengthen these components with its effective performance. However, challenges such as conflict of interest, lack of transparency, rentier economy, inefficient legislative structures, and the dominance of individual or factional considerations have weakened the function of the Assembly in strengthening social capital and public trust—as the main pillars of soft power. The present study, with an analytical approach and relying on the theoretical foundations of soft power, good governance, and the Islamic-Iranian model of progress, identifies and analyzes these obstacles in political, economic, and institutional dimensions, and offers strategic solutions to enhance the role of the Assembly in strengthening the legitimacy of the system, increasing public participation, and consolidating social trust. Solutions whose implementation can strengthen the position of the Islamic Consultative Assembly as one of the main drivers of the soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://www.spba.ir/article_245020.html The phenomenon of war, an enduring companion of human civilization, continues to represent one of the most significant challenges confronting states in the modern era. Transformations in the levels, nature, and instruments of threats have led to a paradigmatic shift in the character of contemporary warfare—marked by the transition from hard power to soft and smart power. This evolution has redefined the objectives, tools, and strategies of conflict. Within this emerging paradigm, the exploitation of virtual and cognitive domains has become a defining feature of next-generation warfare theories, enabling short, low-cost, and decisive conflicts.Consequently, states are compelled to design and implement adaptive defensive mechanisms to address such non-kinetic threats. The Islamic Republic of Iran, increasingly exposed to cognitive warfare, requires an effective strategic framework to safeguard its national security in this domain. Within this context, the concept of cognitive deterrence offers a valuable theoretical and practical foundation for the formulation of a comprehensive defensive doctrine.Adopting an analytical–explanatory approach and relying on qualitative data, this study seeks to answer the fundamental question: What are the key components of Iran’s cognitive deterrence in response to cognitive threats? The central hypothesis posits that Iran’s cognitive deterrence rests upon the formulation of a cognitive defensive–offensive doctrine, the development of essential policy and strategic imperatives, and the adoption of an active diplomacy. Collectively, these components aim to introduce a novel approach to Iran’s national security and enhance its resilience against the challenges of cognitive warfare. https://www.spba.ir/article_243631.html Managing emerging crises and hybrid warfare requires transcending classical models to establish intelligent command systems capable of integrating hard and soft power. This study elucidates the functional paradigm of Imam Khamenei's strategic command during the crisis of May–July 2025. Using Inferential Content Analysis, the research examines four key strategic messages issued by the Supreme Leader within the theoretical framework of the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act). Findings reveal that the identified model represents an indigenous, cognitive-discursive adaptation of the OODA cycle. Specifically, in the Observation phase, the crisis is reframed beyond mere physical events through a distinct threat assessment. In the critical Orientation phase, the integration of Qur'anic concepts and ideological propositions neutralizes psychological warfare, disrupts the adversary's computational system, and restores national cohesion. Furthermore, in the Decision and Action phases, a strategic combination of ambiguity and operational decisiveness shifts the balance of power in favor of the defense front. The study concludes that this paradigm, by simultaneously managing perception and the operational field, transforms the deterrence doctrine from a reactive stance into a proactive, meaning-generating approach, offering an effective framework for security architecture in future conflicts. https://www.spba.ir/article_245863.html This research analyzes and studies the trade relations between Iran and Russia during the Nasser al-Din Shah period. During this period, the government's failed efforts to industrialize the country, along with the successive failures of sugar, rope, paper, and glass factories, caused Iran's economic development path to become more dependent on agriculture and foreign trade. Relying on archival and library resources and using descriptive and analytical research methods, the present research examines various aspects of Russian trade in northern ports of Iran during the Nasser era and analyzes its economic and social consequences. It seems that Russia was able to consolidate its influence in the Iranian economy by taking advantage of political and economic privileges, including the construction of roads, investment in fisheries, and the establishment of a loan bank. The research findings show that: During this period, the northern ports of Iran, especially Anzali, Astara, and Bandar Gaz, played a pivotal role in exporting agricultural products such as silk, rice, cotton, and tea to Russia. The importance of these ports was revealed not only in supplying raw materials to Russian industries but also in the formation of Iran's economic dependence on northern markets. https://www.spba.ir/article_245021.html 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 https://www.spba.ir/article_247088.html Within the framework of international relations, the analysis of strategic interactions between states and actors requires an understanding of the structure of the international system and the strategies adopted by states to secure their interests in the global arena. Given that the nature of the international system is not defined solely on the basis of the distribution of power, countries with common interests develop coordinated foreign policies by designing purposeful strategies based on specific rules. The two countries have developed relations by relying on political commonalities in opposition to Western hegemony. This convergence, while reducing sanctions pressure on Iran, has facilitated the two countries' access to new markets and transit corridors. The necessity and purpose of this article is to examine the political, security, and economic doctrines of Iran and Russia in light of the conditions of the international system and to answer the question of what are the factors influencing Iran-Russia relations? The existing research extracts the necessary data through library study and analysis of events at the international level. Based on the neo-realist theory, this research studies the texts with the nature of qualitative data and summarizes the material by selecting different propositions. The research findings indicate that factors such as: mutual national interests, including behavioral characteristics of warring countries, achieving a favorable global situation, resolving conflicts in Asian countries, the principle of mutual coexistence outside of ideological battles, the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States in West Asia and Central Asia has been planned in order.