The Role of Higher Education Soft Power in Achieving the Goals of the Islamic Revolution

With putting specific affairs in higher education as its base, this paper has aimed at explaining the efficiency of the soft power of higher education in order to achieve the goals of the Islamic revolution. Hereby, two basic questions are raised: what is the place of higher education soft power in Iran? What are the functions of higher education in achieving the goals of Islamic revolution? To explain the situation and answer these two questions, we have implemented the theoretical pattern of “functionalism”. On this basis, in addition to enumerating the specific affairs in higher education and the efficiency of soft power, the most important functions of the higher education soft power in achieving the goals of the Islamic revolution have been mentioned and explained. They include: creating national power, strengthening the legitimacy, enhancing the attractiveness of the Islamic revolution, rise of the rank of Iran in science production, increase of Iran’s national credibility and creation of the sense of independence and self-sufficiency.