scientific journal Political Sociology of the Islamic Revolution

Abstract Political participation in general, and electoral participation in particular, have long been compelling and widely discussed topics among sociologists and political scientists. Scholars and researchers in the field of electoral behavior have examined and tested various factors and ideas to analyze voting behavior in different studies.



The present paper, which is the result of research on the electoral behavior of the Iranian people, seeks to investigate the impact of provincial development levels on electoral behavior during the thirteen presidential elections in Iran (1979–2021).



The research data on voter turnout across different provinces in these thirteen elections were extracted from the Statistical Yearbook of the Ministry of Interior. The data analysis method was based on secondary data analysis, using measures of central tendency, descriptive statistics, as well as related tables and charts.



The research findings indicate that in Iran, the level of provincial development has not had a direct correlation with voter turnout. Instead, participation has been influenced by broader structural factors, including political variables and the overall electoral atmosphere.

Abstract The relations between social trust and political participation is one of the fundamental topics in political sociology. Research indicates that in societies with high levels of social trust also exhibit higher rate of political participation. Social capital is playing a key role in this relationship through the component of trust. Social trust not only facilitates individual interactions but also strengthens social cohesion, trust in institutions, and support for the political system. Onthe contrary, the lack of social trust reduces political participation and collective action. The main question is whether a decline in social trust, particularly trust in political institutions, has had a meaningful correlation with declining political participation in the last three presidential elections. The research findings demonstrate a direct and positive correlation between social trust and political participation; in other words, the level of political participation is a function of citizens’ trust in the political system. To analyze this nexus, political participation in the last Iranian presidential elections of 2017, 2021, and 2024 was examined using Robert Putnam’s and Michael Woolcock’s social capital theories. Results revealed that besides the correlation between social trust and political participation, the imbalance in attention to various types of social capital—bonding, bridging, and linking-are among the most important factors contributing to the decline in social trust. This imbalance has led to decreased citizens’ trust in the system and subsequently reduced their political participation. Such a relationship produces a vicious cycle of declining trust, reduced participation, weakened legitimacy, intensifying crises, and further erosion of trust.

Abstract In this article, we attempt to examine the issue of political participation and the functions of elections in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. This article is written in a descriptive and analytical manner and seeks to answer these questions: 1. What are the foundations and status of the political participation of the Iranian people in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic? and 2. What legal steps are foreseen for political participation in the Constitution? The findings of the research showed that the grounds for the extensive participation of the Iranian people in the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini are reflected in the Constitution, and therefore it can be said that the main goal of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic was to realize the sovereignty of the nation with an emphasis on the religious foundations of political participation. The drafters of the Constitution considered one of the duties of the revolutionary and newly established government of the Islamic Republic to provide for the participation of the public in determining the political, economic, social and cultural destiny, and identified and emphasized the legal methods of political participation of the people in various principles.

Abstract The primary indicator of women's empowerment is their political participation in decision-making processes. Women's political participation extends beyond mere involvement in elections and voting; it encompasses an active and effective role for women in all democratic institutions. This research aims to propose strategies for empowering women in political decision-making within the Islamic Republic of Iran. The present study seeks to address the following central question: "What strategies can empower women to engage in political decision-making in the Islamic Republic of Iran?" The research employs a qualitative method, with data collected through interviews. The statistical population for this study includes professors from the faculties of political science, social sciences, sociology, and law. The sample comprised 15 of these professors. The results, following thematic analysis, reveal that the main themes include supportive government, modern education, legal reforms, civil institutions, media collaboration, and the modeling of effective strategies for empowering women in significant political and managerial decision-making processes.

Abstract Problem Statement: Political participation is one of the key factors in political and social transformations. The Islamic Revolution of Iran, as one of the most significant political events of the twentieth century, was rooted in widespread public participation. This participation played a critical role in the revolution itself and later in managing political crises and consolidating the Islamic Republic.

Main Question and Hypothesis: This research addresses the main question: "How did public political participation during the Islamic Revolution of Iran contribute to managing political crises?" It examines the hypothesis that public participation, guided by the leadership of Imam Khomeini (RA), successfully managed crises and institutionalized the new political system.

Methodology: This study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach and employs qualitative historical analysis. Data were collected from library resources and historical documents and analyzed using Charles Tilly's political mobilization theory. This methodology enables the examination of public political participation within a socio-historical framework.

Findings and Results: The findings reveal that during the Pahlavi era, political suppression and the restriction of freedoms led to informal mobilization. In the years leading up to the revolution, political participation escalated into a widespread movement that, under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (RA), culminated in the Islamic Revolution. After the revolution's victory, this participation continued through referenda, elections, and the Sacred Defense, contributing to the consolidation of the Islamic Republic, enhancing its legitimacy, and strengthening national cohesion. This participation established a lasting model for managing both domestic and international crises.

Abstract The purpose of this article is to investigate the role of parties in political development and meritocracy in Iran, emphasizing meritocracy. Due to the close relationship between political development and political meritocracy in this research, the role of parties has been investigated on two variables. The current research is descriptive and analytical and has investigated the mentioned subject by using the library method. The findings indicate that political parties are effective in political development through political participation, political legitimacy, political socialization and management of national conflicts. Also, by creating political development, parties provide the basis for the realization of political meritocracy. In fact, by creating political development, parties create political meritocracy through creating a platform for governance and law enforcement, which in turn helps to strengthen and develop politics. In Iran, however, factors such as weak performance and seasonality of parties, non-acceptance of parties in the political culture of the people hinder the influence of this institution on the process of political development. The result is that a developing political system must create the necessary capacities and capacities in order to absorb and resolve the newly emerging conflicts in a political society by institutionalized organizations and systems within it. Therefore, it is obvious that the strongest development factor is the creation of a party system, and not Every organization and party, but formations institutionalized over time and benefiting from an effective and efficient content, and this is something that is not easily possible in a society and a traditional system.

Abstract The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of political participation in modern democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Modern democracy is considered one of the main parts of political life in most countries of the world today, and it is one of the pillars of democracy. It can play an important role in the participation and supervision of citizens on the performance and decisions of political system workers, the parliament and the parliamentary system and its special role in various countries in the affairs of elections and in the Islamic Republic, hence this question has been raised. Is it possible to consider whether political participation can have a significant impact in modern democracy or not? The main purpose of this article is to explore political participation in modern democracy and in the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, so it can be said that one of the main axes of the process of political developments, especially in countries, especially in Iran, from the constitution .It has been the desire for democracy, in the conditions of democracy, it has been associated as one of the theoretical and important problems of Iranian intellectual-political currents, including socialism, Islamist and liberalism, and these currents speak of the value and desirability of democracy. In this regard, democracy is the result of popular legitimacy and popular and institutional participation based on law and legality and controlled and under the supervision of legal authority and includes political diversity and plurality.

Abstract The current study examines the Studying Political Sociology of the Correlation between Political Intelligence and Different Forms of Political Participation (Case Study: Citizens of Kerman). Today, both from a theoretical and a scientific point of view, special attention is paid to the role and influence of individual components and factors affecting political participation. In this regard, this study seeks to answer this basic question: is there any meaningful correlation between the political intelligence of the citizens of Kerman and the different dimensions of their political participation? The research method in this study is descriptive-analytical. In this study, standard questionnaires have been used to measure political participation and political intelligence. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant and direct correlation between political intelligence and different dimensions of political participation among the citizens of Kerman. Also, data analysis through structural equations indicates that the standardized beta coefficient of the correlation between political intelligence and political participation is equal to (β =0.80). Furthermore, regarding the correlation between political intelligence and different dimensions of political participation according to the the calculated correlation matrix, the variable of political intelligence had a positive correlation with all dimensions of political participation, and among this, it had the highest correlation with participation in political discussions with a score of 0.725 and had the lowest correlation with participation in political gatherings with a score of 0.339.

Abstract Women's political participation has always been one of the challenging issues that political systems have faced in recent decades, and despite the fact that countries have made remarkable progress in this matter and a suitable platform for their presence in the public sphere. provided, some have appeared in the public arena only due to social requirements and especially due to political considerations. For this purpose, the present article aims to investigate the role and political participation of women in the process of political development in the countries of Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, and also based on the type and extent of representation of this role and the reasons for the diminution and the partial emphasis of this role, in search of an answer to this The basic question is "what factors have affected the political participation of women in the countries of Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia in the last two decades (2000-2020)?". This article has investigated the political participation of women in the three mentioned countries with a comparative approach and a descriptive-analytical method. The results indicate that political culture, legal structure and party structure in these three countries have limited women's political participation. And in this regard, against this situation, women have made their political struggles to gain their political and social rights.

Abstract The issue of political participation is general and comprehensive in human communities and it is rarely found a day when it is not talked about human rights and people’s participation in governments’ fate in the mass media, the press, and even everyday conversations. In Iran also, especially after the Islamic Revolution, political participation and specifically voting behavior grabbed particular attention. In the Iranian political and legal structure, the different means of realization of political participation have been accepted, though with some barriers, in the framework of the constitution and the laws in the area of public rights. Thus, the present study aims to analyze and explore the position of political participation in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. To do so, the indicators of political participation and its mechanism in the constitution were expressed using library studies. Besides, the election as one of the components of political participation in the constitution was investigated. the results indicate that the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran as the main document to guarantee rights and freedoms explicitly or implicitly enumerates the people’s political participation as a right for them and determines its boundaries. The Islamic Republic system and its constitution are created by the people’s votes and in the meantime, the election of the Supreme Leader indirectly as well as the president’s selection and selection of members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and participation, in the government administration and participation in the advancement of the country's affairs.

Abstract The political culture of a society is a set of ideals, attitudes, and more or less fixed attitudes about power and politics, which are formed under the influence of the ideas, symbols, values, and beliefs of individuals and in the context of their history and collective life, and are related to political behaviors and interactions in The existing political system gives directions. The purpose of this research is to measure the political participation of the people in the model of Iran's political culture from the perspective of the elites. The research method in this study is a mixed method (quantitative-qualitative). The statistical population of elites includes 140 professors and political experts of political science faculties of state universities and Islamic Azad and Payam Noor universities of Tehran province, and the population statistical population consists of 704 citizens living in 352 neighborhoods of Tehran. The sampling method in this research is purposeful and completely non-probability. The data collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire with items taken from library studies and Delphi interviews of experts. The face and content validity of the questionnaire has been confirmed and the reliability of the questionnaire has been emphasized by Cronbach's alpha. Data analysis has been done through descriptive and inferential statistics. According to the findings of this research, the model of Iran's political culture from the perspective of the elites can be presented in three dimensions: macro, medium and micro and western, Iranian, Islamic-revolutionary components, society and governance space, individual and elites and 43 separate indicators. did The results showed that the participation of citizens in the mentioned model is high in many indicators and there is a significant relationship between social bases. Also, there is a significant difference between the attitude of citizens and intellectual elites in the ranking of indicators.

Abstract Students have always been introduced as a critical class in society; Criticisms that, if properly presented and properly exploited, can pave the way for faster development of the country, especially the executive affairs, which are the most important and effective actions of the government, and if not properly presented, can spread immorality and destruction to foreign media propaganda against the country's executive structures. With this assumption, the present study randomly seeks the opinions of 274 students until they reach scientific saturation regarding criticism of the decisions and actions of the twelfth government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and then examines their opinions through content analysis. The conclusion is that the lack of constructive criticism can be divided into two categories of structural defects and individual weakness. Of course, satisfaction is also a factor that has prevented the formation of constructive criticism.

Structural factors are divided into a sense of ineffective criticism, a sense of not hearing criticism, a sense of fear, and a lack of a legal solution to criticism. Inability to criticize, ignorance, indifference and apathy are among the individual weaknesses of critics, and satisfaction with living conditions, more attention to opportunities and acceptance of government decisions are factors that prevent the formation of constructive criticism by creating satisfaction.

Abstract One of the most important ways to achieve development is the participation of all members of society, and this is possible through the establishment of desirable and just social relations. Women's political participation is one of the important issues that is an important indicator in the process of sustainable development of any society. The more humane and just society has social relations, the more and better the participation and cooperation of individuals. In fact, disability participation is the structure and function of social relations and the distribution of facilities, resources, division of labor and responsibilities in society. Changes and developments that have occurred in recent decades in the political and social field of women in Iran, increasing the level of education, participation in various social, political and economic fields and in general their efforts to gain different roles in society show the activation of the role Women are in different fields. However, it can be seen that the presence and participation of women in senior management has serious problems. In the meantime, the question arises whether the victory of the Islamic Revolution had an effect on the quality of women's political participation? What are the barriers to women's political participation? The results show that the teachings of the Islamic Revolution emphasize on independence, oppression, social justice and gender justice, and these concepts have played a key role in women's equitable participation and less attention has been paid to independent participation. The traditional structure and texture that is woven into the fabric of thought and thought of the people of the society is influenced by the political culture of the Iranian society and seems to be a serious obstacle to the realization of women's rights and participation.

Abstract The present article examines and explains the socio-political participation of women in a comparative way. With this approach, that women are the actors and agents of society, general and specific goals can be considered for the article, which is one of the main goals of this article, answering questions about women's participation. The development of women's participation and the resulting developments over the past few decades have reproduced questions. In this study, using a library and documentary method and with an analytical-descriptive and inferential approach, the answers to the questions are tried to be analyzed based on the existing discourses. The results show that before the revolution, women's political participation was the result of discourses resulting from the conflict between the constitution and legitimacy (constitutionalism) or between tradition and modernity (Pahlavi), and after the revolution, the struggle between equality and inequality prevailed. Given the impact of ideology on the meaning and direction of discourse, with the change of ideology in the order from traditional to modern and then constructive and technocratic discourse, gradually more familiarity with citizenship rights and participation with serious demands and diversity of demands And provides the ground for a return to self and inner freedom and innovation and creativity.

Abstract In the present study, we seek to answer the question that what role did the components of religious democracy in the Islamic Revolution of Iran play in increasing political participation by emphasizing the two components of people's rights and the rule of law? In response to this question, the hypothesis that the components of religious democracy of the Islamic Revolution such as the recognition of people's rights and the rule of law have increased political participation, but there is a difference between these components in increasing political participation, is examined. The theoretical framework of this research is based on a combination of Western and Islamic theories about the role of components in increasing political participation. In line with this framework, information and data are collected qualitatively using library and documentary sources and descriptively. Analytically, reviewed and analyzed. The results showed that each of the components of the religious democracy of the Islamic Revolution has somehow increased political participation in the Islamic Republic, but between these components there has been intensity and weakness in increasing political participation in different periods. It should also be noted that the component of people's rights has been more effective in increasing political participation than the component of the rule of law. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that more measures should be taken to improve the status of these components regarding the text of the laws, because these components can provide grounds that increase or decrease the political participation of the people.