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The Covid‐19 Pandemic and Iranian Health Diplomacy
Author(s) -
Dolatabadi Ali Bagheri,
Kamrava Mehran
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
middle east policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.177
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1475-4967
pISSN - 1061-1924
DOI - 10.1111/mepo.12592
Subject(s) - diplomacy , pandemic , political science , sanctions , prestige , covid-19 , position (finance) , foreign policy , political economy , development economics , law , sociology , medicine , business , economics , linguistics , philosophy , disease , finance , pathology , politics , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Iran's foreign policy changed with the spread of Covid‐19 in three main ways. First, the pandemic propelled its health diplomacy into prominence. Second, the pandemic altered the customary view of the country's diplomacy. For more than four decades, Iran has regarded this diplomacy from the perspective of humanitarianism and ethics. But the pandemic imparted new object lessons. Third, the pandemic ushered Iran into a new era of cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO). Considering Iran's medical and other scientific achievements over the past three decades, it seems likely that pursuing this diplomacy can improve Iran's position in the WHO and enhance its prestige and influence within this and other international organizations, possibly easing the pressure of sanctions in the future.