فصلنامه مطالعات عملیات روانی
پیاپی 41 (پاییز و زمستان 1393)

The unprecedented spread of using smart phones and, of course, the utilization of avariety of social network software in these phones, their ease of use and low cost have amazingly increased the users’ access to this technology and its applications. Given the important role and function of human interactions in the formation of personal and social identity, the norms governing the actions of individuals and, in short, the culture of a nation, on the one hand, and the design, expansion and management of virtual social networks by certain well-known authorities, the relatively young population of Iran and the thriving use of this communication means in the country, on the other, it appears that the study of the damages and negative impacts of virtual social networks on the cultural soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the pioneer of fight against injustice in the world, and with lofty goals and ideals for establishing a new Islamic civilization, is of great significance. Hence, this article, authored on the basis of the descriptive-analytic method and literature review, attempts to answer this major question: "What are the damages of the widespread use of virtual social networks to the soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran?".

Demographic, linguistic and tribal heterogeneity has been one of the outstanding features of Iranian community during the centuries. Although the two features of being Muslim and Iranian have had such a desirability and cohesiveness that have mostly put Iranian ethnic groups under a single umbrella and Iranian ethnic groups have always lived in conformity with each other and the central political system, at some points during the contemporary history, it is observed that that the interference of enemies and superpowers has led to some ethnic crises in the country and turned ethnic convergence into divergence. The enemy’s involvement in creating crisis and ethnic conflict in Iran can be divided into hard and soft measures. In the field of hard measures, providing political, economic, military and logistics support for some Iranian ethnic groups, the enemy has sought to bring them into conflict with each other and the political system, so that they can put the political system under pressure and impose their illegal demands on it. However, in the field of soft measures, which have been observed especially after the Islamic Revolution, the enemy seeks to change the minds and hearts of the ethnic groups. Using various soft war methods, tools and tactics, especially in the context of media warfare, the enemy seeks to create an atmosphere of pessimism, despair, hopelessness and distrust toward the political system in the minds of Iranian ethnic groups, so that they can deprive the Islamic Revolution of the great social capital creating social gaps among Iranians. Reviewing the enemy’s soft war measures aimed at creating a gap between Iranian ethnic groups and the governance, this study offers suitable steps to deal with these measures.

Undoubtedly, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been founded on the basis of a genuine interpretation of Islam whose fulfillment in the society requires various aspects of security. Security is said to pave the way and be a necessary prerequisite for all kinds of positive social advancements and developments. Hence, security provision is the most important duty of the administrators of the Republic Islamic of Iran. To achieve this, we need to have a comprehensive picture of soft security discourse in Islam in practice the vivid example of which is observed in the Prophetic Rule. Stressing the Prophetic Rule, this paper attempts to deal with Islamic soft security. During the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH), soft security was utilized as a means to support the Muslim community of Medina, safeguard the governance and minimize environmental challenges posed by other actors. To clarify this issue from the viewpoint of Islam, first, soft security is defined and matched with the era of the Prophet (PBUH). Then, the origins, principles, tools, nature and function of soft security in Islam are dealt with. Finally, in order to draw some practical and applied conclusions from the present research work, soft security in Islam and the programs and practices of the Islamic Republic are compared and some strategies are offered for the establishment of soft security in Iran.

By gaining awareness of the way in which media, especially the Internet, produce information, even children will be able to have greater autonomy in their world. In addition, the teachers and professors who gain the skills of media literacy can become influential information disseminators and eliminate the gap between educational and social programs and ultimately become vigilant and critical consumers and addressees. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study and explore the role of the media in creating conflict and emotional gap between generations and how to fill this gap by enhancing media literacy. Drawing a conclusion at the end, the paper offers some recommendations aimed at enriching the educational system and elevating teachers as cultural role players.

Cultural challenges have taken on new status and the ideas, practices, dos and donts, norms, values and the belief system of the community consisting of traditions, customs, religions, ideologies, rituals, heritage, language and all the other shared habits and views are being attacked by external forces and balancing it has become difficult and passing through the current situation requires difficult and decisive efforts. Accordingly, the wide-spread use of computer games due to their interactive features, ease of access and entertaining attractions among users has becomeinevitable. Produced and put on the market by Western companies, most of these games reflect their cultural setting and a majority aim at the mischievous goal of devastating the ideological, moral, social and cultural foundations of other nations, especially the Muslim community and they have created serious cultural challengesin these communities. Although the beneficial effects of this phenomenon cannot be ignored, making the most use of their potentials and benefits and receiving the least influence from their devastating physical, psychological, social, and cultural consequences requires careful planning by the cultural administrators and producers of cultural and artistic programs on the basis of Iranian-Islamic lifestyle and alertness on the part of Iranian users. This article attempts to review various aspects of the effects and consequences of computer games and pathologizing them, it presents some strategies aimed at reducing the negative impacts of these games and helping to learn how to benefit from their advantages.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has intended to formulate a new framework for imposing and delimitating power since its inception. Criticism of world management and the hegemony of liberal democracy, support for Islamic and humanitarian movements and fight against oppression in Iran's foreign policy doctrine justify paying attention to public opinion at international level. Nearly four decades after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Iran has credibility among countries in the region and the world. This paper aims to evaluate and pathologize the role of the Islamic republic of Iran’s media diplomacy as one of the tools and methods of public diplomacy in Islamic awakening. The main focus of the article is on Iran’s media diplomacy and how it has managed to follow its goals and utilize its tools and competence with respect the Islamic Awakening amid the developments of the twenty-first century. This article is an analysis on Iran’s media diplomacy and its mechanisms in the international arena with the objective of integrating public movements in the Arab world. Finally, some strategies are offered to make Iran’s media diplomacy more active.

Given the considerable size of the audience of the mass media, they are said to be among the most influential tools in the field of culture and the religious beliefs of people of various social strata. Among the existing media, satellites and the Internet influence personal and social life of communities more than other media due to their global nature and the impossibility of controlling their users. In Iran, some concerns have arisen with regard to the cultural assault of foreigners on the religious and national culture, especially among the younger generation, because of the abnormal and growing use of satellites and the Internet as well as the increasing rate of the utilization of directly-broadcast satellite programs. Despite the negative impact of satellites, especially the Internet, on the national culture and beliefs, utilization of this medium is inevitable in practice because of its benefits and largescale applications. Hence, considering the country's nearly 60% of young population who make up the majority of the Internet users, we need to adopt certain measures so that its negative and destructive effects can be minimized and, instead, the way can be paved for its useful and appropriate utilization. In this paper, using the descriptive-analytical method, the role and influence of the media, especially the Internet and satellites, on the religious beliefs of the youth have been studied.