Sports diplomacy, a strategy to improve political relations with Saudi Arabia

Subject Areas :

Mohammad Bidgoli ¹ , asghar rajabi dehborzoei ² , Abdullah Iraqi ³

1 - Department of Law, Varamin-Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Education, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3 - Department of Political Science, National Defense University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2023-05-10 Accepted : 2023-06-06 Published : 2023-01-21

Keywords: Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sports Diplomacy, Strategic Requirements, Alexander Went,

Abstract :

The relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia have faced many challenges in the last few decades. The use of sports and sports diplomacy has recorded a documented experience in the history of world sports diplomacy. Based on this, the current research seeks to answer the question of how sports diplomacy can be a suitable strategy for improving political relations with Saudi Arabia. The findings of the research, taking into account Alexander Van Moyd's point of view, are the predominance of Kantian's point of view or friendship over Lackey's point of view or competition based on sports diplomacy. In this article, according to the strategic requirements and regional considerations of Tehran and Riyadh, which want to normalize relations and end several years of hostility and competition, we use a descriptive-analytical method, relying on written library sources and internet articles on sports diplomacy. We have used it as a suitable strategy to improve political relations with Saudi Arabia.