Analysis of the effectiveness of cultural diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Central Asia; A case study of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan

The Central Asian region is one of the regions with strategic, geo-economic and geo-cultural importance. Most of the countries in this region were part of Iran until the Qajar period. With the occupation of these areas by Tsarist Russia, these countries became part of the territory of Tsarist Russia and then the Soviet Union. The Islamic Republic of Iran has important historical, cultural and identity commonalities with the countries of this region. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of these republics, the parties sought to establish bilateral and multilateral relations for various reasons. The relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and these republics have been affected by various factors and components since the beginning of independence until the present time. In line with its goals and national interests, the Islamic Republic of Iran has planned its foreign policy cultural strategies in the region in order to achieve its foreign policy goals. The findings of the research, by examining the multiple cultural drivers affecting the relations of the parties and using an "interdisciplinary" approach and based on descriptive-qualitative method, indicate the importance of the cultural diplomacy strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the group of Central Asian countries (Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) at the beginning The independence of these republics had highlighted the dominance and cultural influence in the minds of the rulers of this country, but with the passage of time, the friendliness of Iran's "civilization-oriented" cultural diplomacy became apparent to the people and statesmen of these republics and is slowly developing.