Approaches to Soft Security Provision in the Islamic Republic of Iran With an Emphasis on the Role of Basij Resistance Force

Provision of security and stabilizing it is one of the constant concerns of governments and political actors in the international arena and even at national level. The changing nature of threats against nations and transition from hard threats to cultural, political, and economic threats, which are varyingly entitled ‘soft war’, ‘cultural invasion’, ‘cultural NATO’, etc., have paved the way for the inception of software security. Since the threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran during the last few decades have had mainly soft and cultural nature, formation of soft security and its provision is of great significance for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the set of Iranian cultures and values as soft power generators lay the ground for the regeneration of soft security. Using documentary analysis and introducing the concept of soft security, the present study seeks to answer this question: Which mechanisms can the Basij Resistance Force utilize to realize the software security for the Islamic Republic of Iran and stabilize it?