Science Diplomacy as Soft Power: From Global Experiences to Iranian patterns

Today, Science Diplomacy has found an important place among the world countries, and especially the countries claiming world leadership are increasingly using its capacity to increase their soft power and influence in the target societies. The Islamic Republic of Iran has also been more or less concerned with this issue, but due to the lack of a comprehensive and effective model for Science Diplomacy in Iran, in this research, an attempt has been made to review the global theoretical and practical achievements and experiences by analytical-descriptive method and to take a small and elementary step in the direction of moving towards the desired Islamic-Iranian pattern of Science Diplomacy. This research, while examining the existing definitions of Science Diplomacy, deals with its approaches, areas and dimensions and expresses the practical experience of selected countries in Science Diplomacy. In response to the main research question, namely, “How does Science Diplomacy in the desired Islamic-Iranian pattern lead to an increase in the soft power of the country?” using global experiences and Islamic-Iranian principles, we can enumerate six dimensions for this pattern and examine it in this regard: purpose, approach, content, expression, audience and operator. These six dimensions can be extended to different dimensions and areas of Science Diplomacy. The desired pattern of Science Diplomacy and its six dimensions can be drawn as a system A system whose ultimate goal is the establishment of justice and cultivation of Muslims and the people of the world through the realization of a new Islamic civilization and the dominion of Allah, and its other components are placed under this general goal and act.