Prioritizing urban diplomacy policy in Mashhad; From goal setting to policy making

By increasing role of cities as the core of communication in global governance, efficient urban diplomacy as a tool for the development of economic, cultural, scientific, religious, health relations in order to secure urban and national interests has become more significant. Among the cities of Iran, Mashhad, with its cultural-religious background and distinct geographical location, has multiple functions and opportunities in urban diplomacy, which makes it necessary to have targeted urban policy making in this region. Therefore, in this study, the focus group method has been used to identify and prioritize desirable goals and policies in the Mashhad urban diplomacy based on its main problems. The findings indicate that the goals and policies aimed at solving internal problems (problems related to the lack of knowledge and wisdom, the disorder of political economy and conservative centralist governance) have more priority in the formation of successful and progressive urban diplomacy in Mashhad compared to the policies aimed at solving externally problems that imposed by international sanctions. Also among the policies related to internal problems, the policies aimed at self-awareness regarding the capacities and opportunities of Mashhad (such as “Creating appropriate communication contexts and platforms for the mutual recognition of cultural, scientific and economic actors regarding common capacities and opportunities”, “Improving the level of awareness and recognition of citizens to the historical background of Mashhad and its diverse cultural and economic capacities and resources”, “presenting a coherent narrative of the city" and etc.) are of higher importance in urban diplomacy.