Think tanks are increasingly becoming an important aspect of indirect influence on bilateral policies and international relations in the modern world. In recent years, think thanks have grown into significant actors at all levels of policy and policymaking. If think thanks are to be called institutions tasked with creating, repackaging, and selling intellectual ideas to decision-makers and public opinion, then the key objective of any think tank would be to attempt exerting political influence on a range of policies. It must, however, be kept in mind that the function of think tanks is not merely knowledge production or lobbying. Certain among them create and produce specific contributing knowledge. Here, knowledge production means the production of literature on any law or decision-making that the think tank deems essential as a requirement by an agency or government. The more reputable think tanks enjoy a greater level of contribution and lobbying power due to the presence of influential people in them who have held previous high executive positions in the government of the target country. Using think tank diplomacy as a subgroup of public diplomacy can, therefore, be a suitable tool for the IR of Iran to promote cooperation with its neighboring countries in its best national interests against the backdrop of a common culture and civilization. A particular country in this respect is Tajikistan.

The present article aims to evaluate the potentials of think tank diplomacy in promoting and strengthening ties between Iran and Tajikistan. The role of think tanks in international relations will be examined first, followed by a brief look at the relations between the two countries in science and research. The author believes that the potentials of think thank diplomacy in Iran-Tajikistan relations have not been exploited and will continue by pointing out the important factors in this area next.

Think thanks are important actors contributing to the contemporary policy process, advancing foreign policy, and solving certain international and global issues. Although they only date back to the last few decades, they have grown significantly in influence, diversity, scope of issues covered, and catch-up, playing a part in all levels of diplomacy.[1] Think tanks are known as non-governmental policy actors who have been established with or without government funding and evolved in diverse political areas with diverse characteristics. They have paved the way for discussions on new policy ideas while strengthening the existing understanding of global and national policies. As actors in ideation, think tanks interact in a range of policy agendas, be it at the level of establishing a framework or creating consensus in specific policies. Intellectual elites in think tanks provide the opportunity to introduce ideas within policy frameworks, as well as create and inform public debate on foreign policy decisions. Their relations include interaction with policymakers, scholars, traders, social actors, and the media to publish their ideas. As institutions, think tanks are non-state actors who play a pivotal role in creating foreign policy and attract growing attention to the process of state-society interaction in different political environments. [6]

Various efforts have been made to classify think tanks into general groups. For instance, Diane Stone has highlighted five types of think tanks based on their affiliations and primary connections with institutions:

  • Autonomous civil society NGOs
  • Policy research institutes based in or affiliated to universities
  • Government or quasi-government think tanks
  • Think tanks established by business corporations
  • In-house political party think tanks

A comparative analysis of think tanks suggests that “There are no optimal models or paths to develop think tanks” and that the US experience as a progressive country in this area may not be easily generalized to other countries.

The broad range of think tanks worldwide is reflected in their diverse roles in international relations. Here, “international relations” means international and transnational exchanges and interactions, as well as the foreign policy of individual governments. Although the specific roles of think tanks in international affairs may be different in specific national (regional) contexts – and perhaps even different from think tank to think tank – their general roles in this area can still be identified. But regardless of their structure, think tanks have become a permanent fixture in the political landscape so that they are now an inseparable part of policymaking in many countries. The following roles have been identified for think tanks in international affairs.

Firstly, think tanks can provide opportunities (at times regular) for discussions and interactions among scholars, politicians, bureaucrats, media representatives, and businessmen. This is called “salon function”, helping to create national, bilateral, regional, and transnational networks, or even a community of individuals who work in domestic or international affairs. In this sense, think tanks are envisaged as institutional bridges which connect groups of experts in international affairs who have common interests and create “person-centered communications” not only among national foreign policy communities, but also beyond their national borders. In some national or regional contexts, the function of think tanks may even be more important than their political input, because this type of particular function is not undertaken by other actors providing political inputs, such as bureaucrats.

Secondly, think tanks can inform public opinion on international affairs, including foreign policy. They can directly “create” public opinion in this area by ordering and organizing the relevant polls, contribute to discourses with traditional media interventions (interviews and polls), or more modern media (blogs and social media networks), thus informing and perhaps even reshaping public opinion (regenerating).

Thirdly, think tanks can transfer knowledge on international affairs to the general public and spread it. They can achieve this through public forums, publications for larger audiences, and participation in research brokerage. In other words, academic findings and evaluations must be made more accessible to the public in more understandable ways.

Fourthly, think tanks can grow public awareness in (emerging) international affairs and global issues by discussing the topic in different formats, including publications, forums, and media interventions. By bringing such affairs to the attention of the audience, think tanks can regulate the relevant national and transnational agendas, or at least contribute to their implementation.

Fifthly, think tanks can organize or participate in semi-official Track 1.5 diplomacy, or the more independent Track 2 backchannel diplomacy. Think tanks are more or less a part of the foreign policy apparatus of governments and their duties range from finding space for official diplomatic maneuvers to signalling imminent political change, and “sniffing” the winds of change on the other side. Overall, think tanks active in unofficial diplomacy can contribute to public relations, which is vital especially when there are still no bilateral diplomatic relations.

Sixthly, think tanks can provide informed second opinions as a guide for policymakers. While policymakers have their own views and assessments in most cases, they are still interested to hear expert views on particular cases or relevant political evaluations – especially if the topic is complicated with high-risk political options which may also come at a high cost.

Seventhly, think tanks can directly affect specific foreign policy decisions or general strategic dialogues on a particular national topic through (legal) interaction with policymakers or by making political recommendations. The “advisory function” of think tanks provides many of them with rare opportunities to directly impact foreign policy and other public policies.

Eighthly, think tanks can contribute to legitimizing the existing (emerging) foreign policies of countries, especially authoritarian governments. In these cases, therefore, by providing an uncritical, rationale endorsement for the relevant policies or political decisions from an apparently neutral perspective, they can be the “intellectual cheerleaders” of their government rather than inform or evaluate specific international public policies.

Ninthly, think tanks may choose the role of exporting — or at least attempting to export — certain plans to other countries. These are usually ideological schemes, such as exporting democracy, “free” markets, and helping aligned organizations such as political parties, associations, and unions. They may also proceed to set up think tanks in environments abroad if they have the adequate funding and personnel.

Tenthly, think tanks can participate in setting up study courses on International Relations and Strategic Studies in other countries. They can achieve this by publishing magazines, employing staff who can move up the ladder to become professors, and providing grants to researchers at home and abroad. For instance, many strategic studies in Japan, where the word “strategy” was taboo in universities post-WWII, may never have been established if it was not for the developmental role of several Japanese think tanks who focused on international affairs. Last but not least, this will take us to the eleventh role envisaged for think tanks in international affairs: they can foster the next generation of experts and scholars in this field. For instance, they can open diplomatic academies and organize educational and training courses in International Relations run by their researchers and faculty members of universities and higher education institutes, to officially supervise PhD candidates and younger researchers.

An important point to note here is that perhaps no think tank focused on or involved in international affairs is able to perform all of the abovementioned roles. Particular roles — or combination of roles – which are played by think tanks are different from one place to the next, one organization to another, and also over time. Regardless of whether think tanks are involved in foreign policy or other public policies, they take on incredibly diverse forms based on the forms and functions they undertake. Nevertheless, it is their duty to stimulate academic and public interest. [4]

Finally, think tanks are effective because this image exists that they can often achieve tasks which are beyond the abilities of state bureaucracies. In particular, think tanks:

  • Perform more realistically in environments outside state research institutes in which the creative discovery of shortfalls in presented schemes are rarely rewarded, and can provide more insight.
  • They may be able to rethink political schemes more freely while bureaucracies thrive in an environment of maximizing security standards for operating procedures. They facilitate cooperation between separate groups of researchers for a common purpose, because they do not have lasting interests in any particular area.

In addition, they are a factor in shifting bureaucratic obstacles, because:

  • They perform better than state organizations in publishing political research within and without the government structure for the political elites, media, and the public.
  • They have a better angle on the cross-section of global politics.
  • They have a better ability to organize meetings and involve stakeholders in the policymaking process.
  • They are better able to telescope the political process and shorten the distance between data collection and knowledge production/policymaking.
  • They can better understand the executive procedure as compared to state bureaucracies who may be divided into specialized departments. [4]

Overall, the rapid growth of think tanks and public policy research institutes has been nothing short of explosive over the last two decades. Not only have their numbers soared, their scope of activities and contributions have also developed significantly. Advances in ICT have considerably expanded the extent of effective cooperation between researchers and institutions. Bilateral and multilateral interactions take place on a daily basis, because technological developments allow think tanks to connect more efficiently and be active across international boundaries. The internet enables think tanks worldwide to connect in ways which were unimaginable a few years ago. Currently, forums, conferences, and global discourses are held regularly on the World Wide Web. Joint research projects between twenty countries are more common events today. The world is working to create global networks to analyze world issues, attempting to shape foreign policy and influence the programs and priorities of international institutions.

President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan sent a congratulatory message to Hujjat al-Islam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi on 19 June for winning the 2021 presidential election of the IR of Iran. He pointed out the cultural, historical, and civilizational ties between the two countries and the enduring wish of his country to develop and strengthen friendly relations and positive cooperation based on bon rapport, good spirits, and mutual trust. The new Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, also traveled to Tajikistan to participate at the SCO summit and meet President Emomali Rahman to expand ties between the two countries.

Relations between the IRI and Tajikistan have always been pursued seriously, due mainly to the historical, cultural, and language ties between the two. Iran was one of the first countries to officially recognize the independence of Tajikistan, following which significant economic and political ties were established between them. The zenith of their relations during these years was reached when Iran mediated to put an end to the domestic crisis in Tajikistan. Reciprocal cooperation in different areas over the years became a nursery bed of convergence for the two countries.

In any event, despite a number of tense years in Tajikistan-Iran relations and the rise of misunderstandings between officials in Dushanbe and Tehran, ties between the two countries appear to be taking a turn for the better. On a positive note, senior Tajik officials have endeavored to compensate for shortfalls in relations with Iran since 2019 and stressed on the importance of strengthening ties with Tehran. The realistic positions of both Iran and Tajikistan have prevented a crisis in relations.

The IR of Iran foreign policy towards Tajikistan is based on convergence in politics, economy, and culture, as well as opportunities to work in the energy sector, food security, solving communication deadlocks, exploiting Iranian port facilities for Tajikistan, and technical and scientific cooperation. Also, the points of divergence such as the challenges and threats of border infiltrations by religious extremists and terrorists, and the role of certain regional players to weaken the Iranian position and influence, have invariably affected Iranian policy orientations towards Tajikistan.

In the meantime, the cultural space is a cornerstone for Iran to promote the level and volume of cooperation with countries in this region and create further foreign policy convergence while reviving its geoculture in Central Asia. “Soft power” and “public diplomacy” are key factors for this achievement. Given the existing areas of cooperation between Iran and Tajikistan, soft power can be evaluated as one of the optimal ways for the IR of Iran to expand its regional influence. Meanwhile, the role of think tanks in promoting better relations between the two countries is worth considering – a step which has been less considered by the policymakers of both countries.

Scientific, cultural, and research interactions between Iran and Tajikistan have more or less existed throughout these years, including the cultural, economic, and scientific MOUs signed in 1990 for literature, the arts, and exchange of meteorological and energy experts; the cultural cooperation MOU signed in 1991 for cultural exchanges; the scientific, cultural, and arts MOU signed in 1992 to cooperate on scientific, cultural, artistic, and cultural heritage developments; the cultural MOU singed in 1995 for mutual cultural-educational cooperation, exchange of professors, and grants; the cultural, scientific, and educational MOU signed in 1996 for professor and student exchanges and a joint commission for the evaluation of academic degrees and grants; the scientific and educational MOU signed in 2011 for cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Education, professor and student exchanges, and grants; and the linguist exchanges MOU signed in 2014 for cooperation between the Academy of Persian Language and Literature and the Committee of Language and Terminology of Tajikistan. [2] Nevertheless, we have witnessed little interaction between research centers and academic think tanks in these two countries. A bill comprising an introduction and 17 articles ratified by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 6 April 1997 for cultural cooperation MOUs between the governments of the IR of Iran and the Republic of Tajikistan commits both parties to encourage academic and research relations, including seminars, conferences, academic and research forums, as well as cooperation between universities, scientific, educational, and research institutions. [3]

Examining the role of think tanks in international relations earlier indicates that interactions in this area as part of public diplomacy play a prominent role in improving bilateral ties. Some of the points in using think tank diplomacy between the two countries are discussed next.

In diplomatic relations, levers must be used for stable relations. The stronger the levers are, the more stable the relationship will be. Given Iran’s scientific and technological potentials as a leading country in these fields, the potential of its scientific and technological institutions can be used as a motivation lever to support Tajikistan. Doubtless, the Iranian scientific knowhow in nanotechnology and biotechnology will greatly contribute to the promotion of scientific and technological interactions between the two countries and help reconstruct their fragile connection. This can also act as a prestigious soft power approach for Iran.

Diplomacy, particularly cultural diplomacy, is a lengthy process. The mutual academic projects undertaken by the think tanks of both countries will take a long time to take sustainable effect. In turn, his lengthy process and long years of research and cooperation in particular areas will familiarize both sides with their reciprocal cultures and reduce tensions between them. Based on this, expanding work between research institutes in Iran and Tajikistan and defining mutual projects, especially exchanging researchers, can guarantee improvements in their relations, even when this type of cooperation cannot be generalized to other sectors.

As mentioned previously, think tanks and research institutes have more room to maneuver around bureaucratic obstacles and thus be more futuristic and efficient in their evaluations. Hence, it is vital for both countries to consult with research and military institutes and develop the cooperation potentials between their officials at the same time.

The scientific and technological knowhow in Iran is a good opportunity for Tajikistan as a Persian-speaking country to work with Iranian scientific and research institutes. Iran can use this potential to accommodate the presence of Tajik researchers and students of higher education in technical and research disciplines and improve relations.

Improved scientific exchange is another area that can be investigated between Iran and Tajikistan. Given the high potential and high educational level of many Iranian universities and no language barriers for Tajik students makes it easier to set up the infrastructure for their presence in Iran to connect the two countries and become familiar with their elites. The alumni can also stay in touch and continue their respective cooperation with Iran from Tajikistan, paving the way for further convergence between the two countries.

Scientific and technical cooperation are two areas where political alliances can be formed. This requires certain commonalities, including the convergence of minds. As such, the cultural and linguistic commonalities between Iran and Tajikistan are factors contributing to political convergence between the two countries. In this common cultural context, research institutes and think tanks can act as political leverage to help promote diplomacy and boost ties.

Exporting technical and engineering services with the prominent presence of private and public research institutes are also considered a positive interaction to boost ties between Iran and Tajikistan. To this end, Iran completed the construction of the Sangtuda 2 Hydroelectric Power Plant in Tajikistan, leaving behind a positive insight of its expert technologies in Tajik memory.

The role of think tanks as expert technical consultants on domestic requirements during bilateral negotiations for the signature of bilateral agreements and political, economic, cultural, military, etc, MOUs, is another area of contribution to improve ties between Iran and Tajikistan.

Providing educational and research grants as well as living and travel expenses for the elites of both countries, opening joint research centers, and defining joint research projects by research institutions are other measures which can be taken to increase interaction and improve ties between the two countries.

Conclusion

In the policy of prioritizing ties with neighboring countries, Central Asian holds a special place, whereas it was mostly marginalized in the policies of previous governments. In addition to reduced trade ties with the countries of this region, political differences also governed over Iran’s relations with them. Nevertheless, two trips taken to the region by the Iranian president indicate that this country is making efforts to open up new opportunities for full-scale cooperation with these regional countries. To achieve this, using all political levers and methods, including think tank diplomacy, to advance the new Iranian policy in this region are deemed necessary as this has been neglected by its diplomacy apparatus to date. In fact, a major criticism directed at the diplomacy of the IR of Iran is a lack of serious belief in using the potential of effective persons (prominent retired diplomats, particular intelligence areas, former official functionaries) and think tanks to connect with effective persons and think tanks abroad.

Today, countries which are successful in diplomacy and foreign policy boost part of their information requirements and knowledge management of the international stage in different ways, including cutting red tape. They also use the potentials of their study institutes, private think tanks, or those affiliated to particular companies and other entities. In the world today, think tanks are significant political actors in many political spheres at the national, transnational, and global levels, aiming to inform and influence public policy. The potentials of think tank diplomacy can be used by the political apparatus of countries to direct foreign policy goals, facilitate political, economic, cultural, and military cooperation, and contribute positively to relations between countries.

Widespread relations with Tajikistan are a main objective for Iran in its relations with this country and it will use all available routes to expand its ties with the government in Dushanbe. The situation calls for the IR of Iran to communicate with the authorities of the countries with which it has diplomatic relations, including Tajikistan, and use its communication channels, such as think tank diplomacy, to talk with Tajik elites and other citizens. It is anticipated that the authorities of both countries will establish mechanisms to unroll the concept of think tank diplomacy and adopt strategies to promote cooperation in this area. This cooperation can be extended to other sectors and strengthen the fragile ties between the two countries.

 LITERATURE

 Andrew Selley, A Strategic Guide to Policy Impact by Think Tanks, Translator: Behzad Ahmadi-Lafuraki, Tehran: Tehran International Studies and Research Institute (TISRI), 2014.

  1. https://dushanbe.mfa.ir/portal/generalcategoryservices/4122
  2. https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/92833
  3. James G. McGann, “Think Tanks and the Transnationalization of Foreign Policy,” The Quarterly Journal, 2010.
  4. Patrick Köllner, “Think Tanks: Their Development, Global Diversity and Roles in International Affairs,” German Institute of Global and Area Studies, No. 6, 2011.
  5. Stuti Bhatnagar, Think Tanks and Foreign Policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

 

ABED AKBARI,
Managing Director of Tehran International
Studies and Research Institute

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