Political Marketing: an Account of the Presented Image of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the International Arena; Case Study of the Years 2005-2009

Today, managing the national image and aligning other international actors with one’s own interests and policies comprises half of the power policies, and to achieve this, the international political marketing seeks to present a favorable image of a country in the international arena. The research question is: What are the dimensions and components of the presented image of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the years 2005 - 2009 in the international arena? Due to its exploratory nature, this research lacks a hypothesis. In other words, here, the researcher seeks to obtain information that can help him understand the subject of the research well. The research method is qualitative using content analysis. The data collection method is based on the available documents about the 9th administration president's interviews with foreign media. Based on this, the sample data, including Mr. Ahmadinejad's interviews with foreign media from 2005 to 2009, were analyzed using content analysis method. The results show that the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran presented to the public opinion worldwide in the years 2005-2009, and in the context of the 9th administration foreign policy discourse, has three identity formation components: religious identity, revolutionary identity, and civilizational identity, having as their core the elements of right-seeking and justice-seeking.