National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Investigating the Role of Software Power

Islamic Republic of Iran as a political system has been -despite every threat from whether inside or outside- capable to get intact by applying a theory of religious democracy as an alternative to the hegemonic Western liberal democracy. As a main question the article is to ask about the reasons and causes by which one is competent to explain continuity in the political life of Islamic Republic of Iran. In order to answer this question the article hypothesizes that the soft power of Islamic Republic as an integral to the Realist-pragmatist security strategy of Iran has been essential to perseverance and stability of the government in an international sphere., a promotion in the soft power of Islamic Republic makes it possible for the Islamic Revolution ideals to proliferate. This soft power, backed by a theory of religious democracy, is based on an objective penetration into the actor's behaviors regardless of causing any threat or a significant cost either whereas the Islamic values are maintained. Nations in this scheme are defined as a strategic depth imperative characterized by cultureless and independence polity. This strategic doctrine has emerged particularly in the ideas theorized by Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei as well. Based on an interpretation of the soft power theory by Josef Nye, this article investigates the very hypothesis. The research method in this paper is based on analytic and descriptive.