Sociology
Mahdi Malmir
Abstract
Through a secondary analysis of three waves of the Iranian Values and Attitudes Survey, this article endeavors to depict the political, cultural, and economic facets of Iranian society through the lens of identity dimensions, including national, ethnic, and class identities. The findings indicate ...
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Through a secondary analysis of three waves of the Iranian Values and Attitudes Survey, this article endeavors to depict the political, cultural, and economic facets of Iranian society through the lens of identity dimensions, including national, ethnic, and class identities. The findings indicate a positive attitude towards national identity among all respondents. However, when this type of identity is juxtaposed with ethnic and linguistic diversity, varying relationships emerge between the two. While the interaction between national and ethnic identities has been synergistic in most provinces, certain vectors reveal a weakening of national identity and a strengthening of ethnic identity. Moreover, monitoring the trend of social mobility as an indicator of society's economic improvement reveals a declining trend in social mobility, leading to a shrinking middle class and an expanding lower class. The combination of this identity gap (national-ethnic) with economic deprivation and inequality provides an analytical tool for understanding and explaining the social and political actions of social forces and agencies in the current Iranian society.Keywords: National identity, Ethnic identity, Class identity, Social Status Assessment, Survey of Iranian Values and Attitudes. IntroductionSurveys have emerged as a pivotal tool for assessing social conditions. Their widespread application worldwide has made them indispensable for understanding social dynamics. More than five decades have passed in Iran since implementing the first national survey. During this period, numerous surveys have been conducted by both academic and governmental institutions. Among these, the Survey of Iranian Values and Attitudes stands out as the most renowned national survey, garnering significant academic acceptance among social scientists and policymakers. Since 2000, four waves of this survey have been conducted at the national level. This paper leverages the findings of this survey to study Iranian society, focusing on the dimensions of national, ethnic, and class identities.Research Question(s)This article endeavors to answer the following questions through an analysis of the results from surveys on Iranian values and attitudes:How has the social situation in Iran been theorized in these surveys?What are the main components and indicators used to measure Iran's social situation?How is Iranian society structured based on identity components?Conceptual FrameworkThe conceptual framework of value and attitude measurement (Chalabi, 2004) is essentially a conceptual map of society, aiming to provide a comprehensive and complete definition of Iranian society, including the entire society, its components, dimensions, and levels, and their interrelationships. This framework is influenced by general systems theory and consists of three levels of abstraction. The first level of abstraction shows the relationship between three components: action, actor, and the situation of action (the basic elements of the situation of action also include objects, goals, and norms). At the second level of abstraction, four types of action systems and their relationships are presented: the factual system, the preferential system (personality), the social system, and the cultural system. The third level of abstraction combines the four types of subsystems at the second level, forming the general concept of "action system" (Rezaei,2002:5-8). In conceptualizing "value and attitude" or value orientation and tendency, these two variables are considered to be the product of the interaction of the social and personal systems. Based on this, a list of data and outputs of the personal system is proposed for study in the present survey (Rezaei,2002:24). Ultimately, at the empirical level, considering some criteria such as the priority of social issues, theoretical importance, and the generality of the subject, this conceptual framework is limited to the levels of economic, social, cultural, and political attitudes.Materials and MethodsThis study employs a secondary analysis of aggregated data from three waves of a Survey on Iranian Values and Attitudes. The results are extracted and reported both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. For this purpose, aggregated data at the provincial level is utilized. Using a statistical weighting technique, a single score of -2 to +2 was calculated for each province's identity indices. These scales were then standardized on a 0-100 scale to enable comparison of results. A reconstructed table of scores for national, ethnic, and class identity components for all provinces is included in the article's appendix.FindingsData analysis of a two-dimensional vector encompassing national and ethnic identity indicates that a majority of the country's provinces exhibit a high degree of national identity coupled with a moderate level of commitment to teaching local languages. Nevertheless, there are specific instances that reveal an incongruity between these two components. Furthermore, an examination of class structure and mobility trends in Iranian society between 2000 to 2003 suggests a relative improvement in upward class mobility. However, this trend reversed in 2015, with a majority of the population experiencing downward mobility. Additionally, the class gap index reveals a consistent widening of the class gap over this period. This is attributed to a decline in the size of the upper and middle classes and a corresponding increase in the lower class. In summary, the data analysis indicates that over the past two decades, there has been a decline in individuals' class positions, a heightened sense of inequality, and an expanding class gap.ConclusionThis study suggests that Iranian society can be categorized into three types based on their national and ethnic identities. The first type includes provinces with a strong national identity and a moderate ethnic and linguistic identity, which is the majority. The second type consists of provinces with a strong ethnic and linguistic identity but a weak national identity. Lastly, the third type is characterized by a strong national identity and a weak linguistic identity. This categorization is based on subjective assessments and needs further validation through more rigorous studies and empirical data. The study also looked into the social class of the surveyed individuals and examined both the static and dynamic aspects of Iran's socioeconomic stratification system over time. The findings revealed a notable increase in inequality and class divisions within Iranian society. The combination of inequality, class divisions, and specific ethnic and local identities provides a useful framework for understanding and explaining the social and political actions of Iranian society.AcknowledgmentsThe initial version of this article was presented at the National Conference on the Social Situation of Iran, hosted by Allameh Tabataba'i University and supported by the Ministry of Interior's Social Affairs Organization in Murch 2022. The author would like to express their gratitude to the organizers and supporters of the conference for providing the opportunity to present this article and subsequently revise and expand it to its current form.
