Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Ali Bagheri Dolatabadi

Professor in International Relations, department of Political Science , Yasouj University, Yasuj, Iran

Abstract

For more than two decades Iran's political-military relations with African countries have attracted the hub of media attention and academic research. This is in the conditions that what have played key roles to spread Iran's influence in the African continent is culture and cultural diplomacy. One of the countries that Iran has the warmest cultural relations with it is Uganda. The purpose of current paper is to examine Iran's cultural diplomacy in Uganda during the presidency of Seyed Ibrahim Raisi. We answer to two questions here: what goals Seyed Ibrahim Raisi's administration has pursued in its cultural diplomacy in Uganda? What were the patterns and cultural methods adopted to achieve these goals? The hypothesis of the article is that "Seyed Ibrahim Raisi's administration seeks to export its revolutionary ideals and values alongside spreading religious knowledge and promote Shiism in Uganda." Hagerstrand's diffusion theory has been used to examine the patterns and methods of Iran's cultural diplomacy. We used quantitative and qualitative (exploratory-explanatory). Our findings showed that Seyed Ibrahim Raisi's administration has pursued its cultural diplomacy with the focus on students, teachers, and the religious community in Uganda and applied various educational, cultural and religious programs for perusing its aims. These programs are often followed based on the two patterns of displacement and contagious diffusion, and Iran is facing serious problems in the implementation of the hierarchical pattern in Uganda.

Keywords

• Iran
• Uganda
• Cultural Diplomacy
• Foreign Policy
• Seyed Ibrahim Raisi

Main Subjects

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