Smart power

Iran and the United States have experienced hostile and tense relations since the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in 1358. During this time, the White House has not given up on any attempt to change the government in Tehran. The main question is ‘What is the tremendous strategy of the United States to counter the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Biden era?’ The central hypothesis is the U.S. has two new strategies confronting Iran: de-geopolitics abroad and de-legitimacy inside. The present study aimed to analyze these two strategies. The results indicated that according to the teachings of Smart War, the U.S. has two goals for these actions; first, a sinusoidal and erosional process aimed at deprivation and discrediting of the Iranian political system in internal and external levels (de-legitimacy and surrender). The depletion of Iran's strategic and geopolitical capacity in the region to remove power tools from it (weakening to surrender or change the regime).

In the last decade, the concept of “smart power” was invented to guide the US diplomacy system so that the US could have a more assuring achievement process to its goals by using its national and international power capabilities. The concept of “Smart Power” was introduced after the formation of the concept of soft power by Joseph Nye, which refers to the simultaneous application of managed soft power and hard power. The concept of smart power for operationalization requires a variety of strategies designed by the US strategists and decision-making institutions. The question of this article is about the position of smart power in the US foreign policy toward Iran. It seems that with the coming of the Obama administration in the United States, the project of the smart power was operationalized by the diplomatic apparatus of the country, whose obvious example can be seen in the context of the kind of US confrontation with Iran’s nuclear program. With the use of pressure and negotiation strategy, the project pursues the gradual reduction of the nuclear capabilities and the rollback of Iran’s nuclear program. The authors believe that in case of success, this process can be generalized and spread to other areas of conflict and put America at an aggressive stand.

Smart power is one of the concepts and terms derived from the western discourse and the order of liberal democracy, which has specific meanings, meanings and indicators in this discourse. What is emphasized in this article is a different narrative from the Chinese perspective to smart power. Statistical data, documents and current trends all confirm that despite the dominance of the liberal order and its mechanisms on the political and economic structures of the world, Beijing has increasingly expanded its role and influence in different regions of the world, including Africa. This country has become a key country in the international system by taking advantage of the international opportunities provided by globalization along with the fundamental redefinition of national principles and interests. What enables a deep analysis in the text of this apparent conflict is the Chinese narrative of intelligent power, which is rooted in Chinese culture and thoughts, contemporary historical developments, and ultimately the consensus of the country's elites. Therefore, the main question of this article can be posed as what are the coordinates of Chinese smart power and how can the development and influence of China in Africa be justified based on the concepts and coordinates of this concept of soft power?Keywords: China, African continent, smart power, Chinese culture, influence