Underestimated and Ignored: Iran’s Current Afghanistan Policy between Soft Power and Hard Measures

Iran’s soft power in Azerbaijan: shifting cultural dynamics in the post-Soviet era

“…Despite this rich body of scholarship, and with the exception of a handful of works examining Iran's religious influence in Azerbaijan, Iranian soft power in Azerbaijan remains under researched (Constantin-Bercean 2017;Jödicke 2017;Rubin 2014;Valiyev 2017). Indeed, while there is a large body of literature on Tehran's overall soft power strategies and influence in Muslim countries in the Middle East and South Asia (REMOVED;Akbarzadeh, Shahab Ahmed, and Ibrahimi 2021;Wilde 2013;Wastnidge 2015;Watkins 2019), the topic of Iran's soft power in the Caucasus, in particular in Azerbaijan, is neglected. Given the significance of Iran as a regional player entangled in complex power relations with other regional and global powers, as well as its deeply-rooted history of cultural exchange with the South Caucasus region in general and Azerbaijan in particular, it is imperative to understand the means of soft power at Iran's disposal.…”