Strategic Studies of Culture

Strategic Studies of Culture

macro-strategies for the protection of Iran's cultural heritage with an emphasis on documentary and written heritage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Soudeh Mortajaei 1
Ebrahim Hajiani 2
Seyyed Reza Salehi Amiri 3
Gholamreza Amirkhani 4
1 Cultural management & planning Ph.D Candidate, Department of Cultural Management and Planning,Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran. Email: s_mortajaee279@yahoo.com
2 Associate Professor at the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, (corresponding author). Email: ebhajiani@gmail.com
3 Associate Professor at the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran. Emial: dr.salehiamiri@gmail.com
4 Assistant Professor at the National Library and Archives Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Emial: gamirkhani@yahoo.com
10.22083/scsj.2024.485700.1229
Abstract
Today, the importance and position of cultural heritage and its cultural, social, economic, and political functions are undeniable. It is due to this significance and fundamental impacts that various societies strive to preserve and promote their cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is also one of the most important and essential pillars of identity formation, cohesion, and national self-confidence in any country. Countries with this foundation enjoy high stature and respect in international forums. Iran, with its rich historical and cultural background, houses a vast heritage, making research in the field of cultural heritage in Iran even more necessary. Given this, the protection of cultural heritage is crucial, and in this context, establishing appropriate laws, planning, and taking proper actions to build a present and future based on historical experiences is an unavoidable necessity. Therefore, understanding the current situation of cultural heritage in Iran and seeking suitable policies for the future is the aim of this research. For this purpose, the current state of cultural heritage protection needs to be examined so that strategies can be developed based on this assessment. It is important to note that in this study, “protection” refers to safeguarding the “Iranian identity” of cultural heritage, rather than its “material form.” Achieving this goal requires attention and policy-making from cultural managers at the national level so that these policies can prevent interference, appropriation, or even claims of ownership over Iran’s cultural heritage by other countries. Additionally, this study specifically focuses on a type of cultural heritage referred to as “documentary and written heritage.”
Documentary heritage, which gained global attention after the establishment of the “Memory of the World Programme” by UNESCO in 1992, symbolizes the cultural identity of various nations, forms an important part of national memory, reflects each nation’s contribution to shaping different periods of human civilization, and is a central subject of the Memory of the World Programme. In this program, works that have national, regional, and global significance and meet one or more criteria related to time, place, individuals, theme, form, style, and social or spiritual importance are registered in national, regional, and global lists. The reality is that registering works in the Memory of the World list significantly enhances the status of a heritage. This registration raises awareness among governments, NGOs, foundations, and the general public about the importance of their heritage and increases expert attention to a work from various perspectives, including both its content and its preservation quality. Many universities and research institutions have become sensitive to this and strive for the longevity of these works. Furthermore, World Heritage works are promoted globally in books and UNESCO catalogs. These factors have led different countries to adopt regular and targeted policies to register their documentary heritage in the UNESCO Memory of the World programme, using it as a tool for soft power in their international relations. However, in Iran despite its rich heritage resources-the necessity of such actions has not yet been seriously recognized, and if there is any awareness, it mostly comes from the public and civil society organizations. The written heritage in this research refers to manuscripts, books, journals, and maps, which constitute a significant part of Iran’s cultural, artistic, and scientific identity, or in other words, part of the historical memory of this country.
Methodology: To understand the current state of cultural heritage in the country, the study used a content analysis approach of higher-level documents (including the Constitution, Vision Document, Cultural Policy Principles Document, and Five-Year Economic, Social, and Cultural Development Plans of the Islamic Republic of Iran) and interviews with 10 experts in the field. After analyzing the content of the documents and interviews, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the Islamic Republic of Iran in cultural heritage protection (documentary and written) were identified. Finally, based on the findings, strategic frameworks were developed using the SWOT method. According to this method, the appropriate strategy is one that maximizes strengths and opportunities and minimizes weaknesses and threats. To this end, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are linked in four general categories: ST, WT, SO, and WO, from which strategic options are selected.
Findings: Based on the results, 40 strategic frameworks were developed, categorized into four main areas: “Cultural Policy and Management,” “Cultural Institutions and Organizations,” “Social Awareness,” and “National Identity.”
Conclusion: The results indicate that the opportunities and threats facing the Islamic Republic of Iran in the protection of cultural heritage are in balance, and Iran’s cultural heritage is primarily at risk due to internal strategic factors.
Keywords
conservation
cultural heritage
documentary and written heritage
strategy
اصیلی، سوسن (۱۳۸۹). برنامۀ حافظه جهانی و نقش آن در حفظ میراث مستند، نشریه تحقیقات کتابداری و اطلاع‌رسانی دانشگاهی، 44(52)، 143-159.
بحرالعلومی، محمدحسین و نصراللهی، عبدالله (۱۳۹۴). حفاظت از میراث‌ فرهنگی، سرآمدی بر توسعه پایدار، مجموعه مقالات نخستین همایش «میراث فرهنگی و توسعه پایدار»، تهران، پژوهشگاه میراث فرهنگی، صنایع دستی و گردشگری.
چراغچی، سوسن و شفیعا، سعید، (۱۴۰۳). بررسی مسئولیت عمومی در قبال میراث فرهنگی و میراث طبیعی، مرکز پژوهش‌های مجلس شورای اسلامی، گزارش راهبردی شماره 19869.
خجسته، فردوس؛ عصاره، علیرضا؛ حاجیانی، ابراهیم و عراقیه، علیرضا (۱۴۰۱). آینده‌پژوهی هویت ملی در نظام آموزشی ایران، فصلنامه مطالعات راهبردى فرهنگ، 2(2)، ۹-۲۸.
https://doi.org/10.22083/scsj.2022.360976.1066
زارع شیبانی، مریم (۱۳۹۱). میراث فرهنگی در سیاست‌های فرهنگی جمهوری اسلامی ایران (1389-1357)، پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد، دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی.
زینلی، رویا (۱۴۰۲). عوامل مؤثر بر ثبت آثار مستند در فهرست بین‌المللی برنامه حافظه جهانی یونسکو توسط ایران از دیدگاه متخصصان، پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد، دانشگاه الزهرا (س).
صادقی جقه، سعید (۱۴۰۱). سیاست حافظه، خاطره جمعی و امنیت ملی، فصلنامه مطالعات راهبردی، 25(3)، 7-51.                     https://dor.isc.ac/dor/20.1001.1.17350727.1401.25.97.1.2
فدایی‌نژاد، سمیه و حناچی، پیروز (1393). بررسی و تبیین سیر تحول سیاست‌ها و برنامه‌های حفاظت از میراث فرهنگی بازۀ زمانی سال 1357 تا 1391، دو فصلنامه معماری ایرانی، 2(5)، ۲۱-۳۷.
گوردن، کریستوفر و ماندی، سایمون (۱۳۸۱). دیدگاه‌های اروپایی سیاست فرهنگی، ترجمۀ هادی غبرائی، تهران، دفتر پژوهش‌های فرهنگی.
منوری، نوح و آزاد ارمکی، تقی (۱۳۹۰). ارائه مدلی برای تحلیل محتوای سیاست‌های فرهنگی، فصلنامه مطالعات فرهنگی و ارتباطات، 6(20)، 47-76.
یگانه‌راد، معصومه (۱۳۹۵). ارزیابی اقدامات مقابله‌ای برای حفاظت از نمادهای ملی و ارائه سیاست‌های مناسب، پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد علوم و تحقیقات.
 Asili, S. (2008). “The Memory of the World Program and its role in preserving the documentary heritage”, University Library and Information Research Journal, 44th year, number 52. [In Persian]
 Bahr al-Uloomi, M H., & Nasrolahi, A. (2014). “Protection of cultural heritage, leading sustainable development” in the collection of articles of the first conference “Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development”, Tehran: Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism. [In Persian]
 Chiragchi, S., & Shafia, S. (2024). “Investigation of public responsibility towards cultural heritage and natural heritage”, Research Center of the Islamic Council, Strategic Report No. 19869. [In Persian]
Fadainejad, S., & Hanachi, P. (2013). “Examining and explaining the evolution of policies and programs for the protection of cultural heritage from 1357 to 1391”, Iranian Architecture Quarterly, No. 5. [In Persian]
Gordon, C., & Mandy, S. (2002). European Perspectives on Cultural Policy, translated by Hadi Ghobrai, Tehran: Cultural Research Office. [In Persian]
Hajura , S .(2021). Shared Heritage Diplomacy of Indonesia and alaysia as Soft Power in The Southeast Asia Region, Jurnal Hubungan ,Internasional, E-ISSN: 2503-3883
 Khojasteh, F; Osare, A; Hajiani, E and Araghieh, A, (2022), “The Future Research of national Identity in Iran’s Educational System”, Journal of Strategic Culture Studies, second year, 2(2), 28-9. https://doi.org/10.22083/scsj.2022.360976.1066 [In Persian]
Kublashvili , T. (2016). Cultural Dialogue between Georgia and Turkey Contributing the Preservation of Common Cultural Heritage, Publisher: International Black Sea University, “HISTORY, ART, LITERATURE and CULTURE IN BLACK SEA REGION and SOUTH CAUCASUS’ .
Monavari, N., & Azad Armaki, T. (2019). “Presenting a model for content analysis of cultural policies”, Quarterly Journal of Cultural Studies and Communication, 6(20), 47-76. [In Persian]
Nakano, R. (2018). A Failure of Global Documentary Heritage? UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World’ and Heritage Dissonance in East Asia, The published version can be found in Contemporary Politics, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.
Nakano, R. (2018). Heritage Soft Power in East Asia’s Memory Contests: Promoting and Objecting to Dissonant Heritage in UNESCO, Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia Vol. 17.
Nakano, R. (2018). The Unintended Consequences of UNESCO’s Documentary Heritage Program: Shaming without Naming, CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Special on Heterodoxy in Global Studies Vol.5 No.2
Sadeghi Jegheh, S. (2022). “Memory politics, collective memory and national security”, Strategic Studies Quarterly, 25(3)., 7-51. https://dor.isc.ac/dor/20.1001.1.17350727.1401.25.97.1.2 [In Persian]
Taman , D. (2023).” Heritage Diplomacy as a Tool for Protecting Cultural Heritage”, Journal of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels-University of Sadat City, Vol. 7, Issue(2/2).
UNESCO .(2024). available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world?hub=1081
Yanık , L K., & Subotić , J.(2020). Cultural heritage as status seeking: The international politics of Turkey’s restoration wave, Cooperation and Conflict, journals.sagepub.com
Yeganehrad, M. (2015). “Evaluation of Countermeasures to Protect National Symbols and Provide Appropriate Policies”, Master’s Thesis, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Unit. [In Persian]
Zainali, R. (2022). “Factors affecting the registration of documentary works in the international list of the UNESCO Memory of the World Program by Iran from the experts’ point of view”, Master’s thesis, Al-Zahra University (S). [In Persian]
 Zare Sheibani, M. (2013). “Cultural heritage in the cultural policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran” (1978-2010), master’s thesis, Allameh Tabatabai University. [In Persian]