Iran's "heroic flexibility" in the Western Balkans

Due to similarities in culture, religion, and discourse, Iran considers the Western Balkans as the "Eastern World in the West." Even in difficult conditions of confrontation with many leading players in world politics and the major beneficiaries of the Balkan regional agenda, Tehran managed to develop an effective strategy for penetrating and maintaining its presence in the Western Balkans. Iranian "investments" lie in education, culture, theology, and philosophy. Its public diplomacy draws all possible on the few commonalities that historically connect the country with the region (even finding the key to using the Turkish heritage for its purposes) and keeps forging new ties. Numerous Iranian research centers and institutes in the region have been focusing on this work for over thirty years. Iranian foreign policy structures regard cultural diplomacy as a crucial factor in decision-making between countries in various fields and rightly believe that Tehran has all opportunities to advance in this direction. The Iranian strategy in religious matters is similar: Tehran not only exports Shiite knowledge and revolutionary Islamic discourse but also attempts to interpret the baggage of Balkan Islamic mystics as a Shiite heritage. The combination of the active dissemination of the Iranian narrative among the Western Balkan Muslims with a focus on the formation of a loyal Islamic intellectual elite has justified itself. However, relations between Iran and the Balkan states go far beyond religious frames: the rapprochement with Orthodox Serbia and the ongoing political “clinch” with almost the same faith Albania illustrate that

Ancient history · Economics · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · History · Turkey's Politics and Society