Geography and Regional Planning

Geography and Regional Planning

America's soft power in the Republic of Azerbaijan and its impact on Iran's national interests

Authors
Ali Azizipour 1
Akbar Valizadeh 2
1 PhD student in International Relations, Kish International Campus. University of Tehran. Tehran. Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jgeoq.2026.599809.4534
Abstract
Being in the strategic ellipse of global energy and neighboring countries with Iran and Russia has always increased the role and importance of Baku in Washington's foreign policy. The purpose of writing this article is to answer the question of how does American soft power in the Republic of Azerbaijan affect Iran's national interests? The answer is that the United States, using soft power tools and components in the cultural, institutional, educational, economic and normative fields, has been able to strengthen and consolidate its position in the Republic of Azerbaijan over the past three decades by investing in various government, industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors, for which, of course, it has also adopted long-term plans. Containing and confronting Iran's regional influence in the South Caucasus is one of the most important reasons for its proximity to Baku. Washington officials are always trying to impose sanctions against Iran's national interests and grant concessions to other countries in exchange for complying with these sanctions, in a way that affects the interactions between this country and its neighbors, has a negative impact on the bilateral and multilateral relations between Iran and its neighboring countries, and ultimately, with this approach, affects Iran's position in the international system. In this research, Joseph Nye's soft power theory will be used as a theoretical framework, and the method of compilation will be qualitative with a descriptive and analytical approach, and the method of collecting information will be library and internet.
Keywords
Soft power
national interests
America
Republic of Azerbaijan
Iran
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