Analysis of the public diplomacy discourse of Iran and the United States during the years 1390 to 1392

Dissertation for M.A.

Trend: Social Communication Sciences

Abstract:

Public diplomacy has found a special place in the international system due to the increasing role of multiple actors in international interactions compared to classic and traditional diplomacy. The development of modern information technology has changed the classical diplomacy tool that was based on hard power and has opened a new field called intelligent politics which consists of cultural, media, sports, public opinion, internet, social networks elements on leaders, politicians, journalists, students and governmental and non-governmental institutions. It is safe to say that there is not a day that the atmosphere of public diplomacy and media formed between the two countries of Iran and the United States is not the subject of a news report, film, interview, documentary, editorial, and news commentary in newspapers, news channels, radio and television, domestic and international publications, and internet social networks. Although the relations between the two countries have gone through many ups and downs in the last few decades, however, the media events and political developments that have started in the last 2 years are unprecedented. During the last two years, the discourse formed in the hidden and open corners of most news texts, interviews, movies and news events published by the two countries to persuade public opinion can be seen. Has the new discourse moved away from its former hegemonic discourse and a new form of it is emerging? Considering the two important components of public diplomacy, i.e. media diplomacy and cultural diplomacy, the major part of this research will examine the ruling discourse in the media of the two countries. The research method in this research is discourse analysis, which by using the ideas of thinkers in this field, namely De Saussure's structuralism and Derrida's post-structuralism, and finally Michel Foucault, Laclau and Mouffe, an attempt has been made to present and analyze the concept of discursive discontinuity and historical discontinuity of discourse in the components of public and media diplomacy in the two countries of Iran and the United States. With the help of Laclau Mouffe's discourse theory, who consider the most important work in political studies to be the recognition of discourses, we will discuss the concept of discursive discontinuity and the uncertainty of meaning in political events. According to them, discourse is a system of meaning in which political actions and thoughts are formed. From the point of view of Laclau and Mouffe, discourses have a political construction, they are the creation of political conditions, and politics and political agents find meaning and identity in its form. According to these ideas, what can be seen from the reflection of the media and public opinion of the two countries in the last two years is the approach of the United States in influencing the public opinion of the Iranian people apart from the government of Iran, and on the part of the country of Iran, there is a break in the discourse at the level of the media and public opinion towards the American government and people. The audience of Iran's public diplomacy in relation to the United States is not the American people, but the resident Iranians and Persian speakers, while the main audience of the American public diplomacy is the Iranian people, apart from their government and political leaders. In fact, one of the important reasons for Iran's failure to influence the public opinion of the American people is the fact that in the field of international media, it still considers the audience to be Persian speakers and Iranians living in the American society, and the lack of direct media contact with non-Iranian audiences in the American society causes a lack of proper understanding of their public opinion. It has become one of our national, religious and political realities, and this issue has intensified Iranophobia discourse among them.

Keywords: public diplomacy, media diplomacy, discourse analysis, Iranophobia discourse, anti-American discourse, CNN influence theory.

1-1-Introduction

Following the occupation of the American embassy on November 13, 1358, American President Jimmy Carter in 18 In April 1359, he unilaterally announced the termination of diplomatic and economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. During this period, the two countries have had the most intense clashes in various fields in all military, political, economic, media, cultural and scientific fields. According to Table No. 1-1 during these 35 years, relations between Iran and the United States can be divided into 4 general periods [1]:

Table No.According to Table No. 1-1 during these 35 years, relations between Iran and the United States can be divided into 4 general periods[1]:

Table No. 1-1-1 of the division of the discourse between Iran and the United States during the last 35 years

Time frame

Iran

America

Period of confrontation between Iran and America

1357-1368

Anti-American discourse

Anti-Iranian discourse

Era of balancing Iran-US relations

1368-1383

Negotiation discourse

Negotiation discourse

Intimidation and encouragement discourse

Era of return to confrontation between Iran and America

1389-1384

Anti-American discourse

Anti-Iranian discourse

Islamophobic discourse

Anti-Shiite discourse

Era of interaction between Iran and America