The Revolutionary Guards’ information policy on the web: methods and research into the Iranian digital landscape
Title: The Revolutionary Guards’ information policy on the web: methods and research into the Iranian digital landscape
Guest: Sophia Mahroug (Sorbonne Abu Dhabi)
Guest profile : Sophia Mahroug is an Assistant Professor of History of International Relations at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi and holds a PhD from Sorbonne University and the University of Luxembourg (thesis funded by the Historical Service of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of the Armed Forces). Specialising in Arabic and Persian, she has researched the information and cyber strategy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran and, in her thesis, developed several OSINT and online investigative methods. Her work has been recognised with the Thesis Prize in Political Science and International Relations (GIS MOMM, 2025), the IHEDN Scientific Prize (2025), the University of Luxembourg’s Excellent Thesis Award (2025) and the Prize of the Diplomatic and Consular Academy of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (2026). In September 2026, she will publish *The Other History of the Revolutionary Guards: From the Iran–Iraq War to the ‘Soft War’ (1981–2024)*.
Discussant : Maxime Audinet (Inalco)
Abstract : Based on a thesis in contemporary history focusing on the use of culture in the military doctrine of the Revolutionary Guards, this paper analyses the development of an information policy in Iran since the early 2000s. It will demonstrate how this policy developed in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has been shaped over the long term in response to US information strategy in the Middle East, first via satellite broadcasts and subsequently via the internet since the 1950s. The paper will first present the Iranian strategic literature that has sought to examine the non-military aspects of Iranian doctrine since the early 2000s, before going on to highlight the various communication bodies mobilised by the Iranian government – foreign-language news channels (such as PressTV), cultural organisations (museums, archives) run by the Guardians of the Revolution that have an online presence – as well as through individual initiatives, notably via Telegram channels or personal blogs.
Date and times : Tuesday 13 October, 11.30 am–1.30 pm
Venue : INALCO, School of Languages and Civilisations (65, rue des Grands-Moulins, 75013) – Lecture Theatre 3