Identity Policy-Making in the Macro Policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Associate Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/jppolicy.2025.105204

Abstract

This study aims to analyze identity policy-making within the macro policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this research, identity is conceptualized as a dynamic and continuously redefined phenomenon that plays a crucial role in social cohesion and political legitimacy. To achieve this goal, a qualitative approach and thematic analysis method were employed. Key policy documents—including the Constitution, the National Development Plans, the Twenty-Year Vision Document, and the General Cultural Policies—were examined as the main sources. The findings indicate that these documents represent the official identity through a combination of religious, national, civilizational, and technological components, and they employ instruments such as education, media, family, and art to realize identity-related objectives. Overall, the results reveal that identity in the macro policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not merely a cultural issue, but rather a strategic instrument for governance, legitimacy production, and the organization of social order.

Keywords

References

  1. Abedi Jafari, H., Taslimi, M. S., Faghihi, A., & Sheikhzadeh, M. (2011). Thematic Analysis and Theme Networks: A Simple and Efficient Method for Explaining Patterns in Qualitative Data. Tehran: Institute for Policy Studies. (in Persian)
  2. Ahmadi, H. (2003). Iranian National Identity: Foundations, Challenges, and Necessities. Cultural Research Letter, 7(6), 13–38. (in Persian)
  3. Amirzadeh, M., & Behestani, M. (2014). Examining Identity Politics in Contemporary Iran. Majles va Rahbord, 21(77), 71–106. (in Persian)
  4. Anderson, B. (2016). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (Revised ed.). Verso.
  5. Appadurai, A. (2018). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization (2nd ed.). University of Minnesota Press.
  6. Ashouri, D. (2005). Identity and the Nation-Building Project. Madreseh Journal, (3), 72–73. (in Persian)
  7. Azadarmaki, T. (2020). The Social Theory of the Cultural State in Iran. Tehran: Research Institute for Culture, Art, and Communication. (in Persian)
  8. Bal, N., Pishgah-Hadian, H., & Fatemi, H. (2021). Representation of Identity Components in Iran’s Development Plans. Iranian Journal of Development and Futures Studies, 4(2), 318–340. (in Persian)
  9. Banafi, M., & Norouzi, M. (2013). A Critical Analysis of Translating Iran’s Supreme Documents into Operational Programs: Policy Considerations. Journal of Economic Research and Planning, 18(4), 161–195. (in Persian)
  10. Baratali-pour, M. (2014). An Introduction to Identity Politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Strategic and Macro Policies, 2(7), 141–158. (in Persian)
  11. Bazargan, A. (2008). Introduction to Qualitative and Mixed Research Methods: Common Approaches in Behavioral Sciences. Tehran: Didar Publications. (in Persian)
  12. Brubaker, R. (2015). Transnationalism and its discontents: Culture, citizenship, and community in an age of migration. Columbia University Press.
  13. Butler, J. (2015). Notes toward a performative theory of assembly. Harvard University Press.
  14. Castells, M. (2017). The power of identity: The information age: Economy, society, and culture (Vol. 2, 2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
  15. Cornell, S., & Hartmann, D. (2019). Ethnicity and race: Making identities in a changing world (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
  16. Couldry, N., & Hepp, A. (2017). The mediated construction of reality. Polity Press.
  17. Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (2018). Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (Reprint ed.). University of Minnesota Press.
  18. Fakouhi, N. (2008). Identity and Its Crisis in the Contemporary World. Tehran: Ney Publications. (in Persian)
  19. Farkhi, M., & Ghalandari, F. Z. (2024). Identity Policy of Youth in Iran’s Supreme Documents. National Studies Quarterly, 25(99), 111–134. (in Persian)
  20. Flick, U. (2011). An Introduction to Qualitative Research (Trans. H. Jalili). Tehran: Ney Publications. (Original work published 2009). (in Persian)
  21. Foucault, M. (2019). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (Reissue ed.). Vintage Books.
  22. Giddens, A. (2017). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age (Reprint ed.). Stanford University Press.
  23. Golmohammadi, A. (2002). Globalization, Culture, and Identity. Tehran: Ney Publications. (in Persian)
  24. Hall, S. (2017). The fateful triangle: Race, ethnicity, nation (Collected writings, Vol. 6). Duke University Press.
  25. Imanipour, M. T., & Rouhani, A. (2013). Islamic Identity and Rival Identities (Global, National, and Ethnic). Cultural Research Quarterly, 6(1), 85–103. (in Persian)
  26. Jenkins, R. (2014). Social identity (4th ed.). Routledge.
  27. Kakavan, R. (2008). The Discourse of Cultural Policy in Iran. Presented at the National Conference on Culture and Art Development. Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. (in Persian)
  28. Karimi, K., Ebtahi, M., & Matlabi, M. (2020). Ethnic Policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Its Role in National Security and Cohesion. Iranian Journal of Political Sociology, 3(2), 889–905. (in Persian)
  29. Karimi Malleh, H., Balbasi, M., & Karimi, A. (2016). Examining the Prominence of Iranian National Identity Elements in the 20-Year Vision Document (2025). Rahyaft-e Enqelab-e Eslami Quarterly, 27, 89–116. (in Persian)
  30. Kasayi, M., & Ghaderi, M. R. (2015). Characteristics, Goals, and Strategies of Iran’s 20-Year Vision Document. Tehran: Pars Zia & Elm-Afarin Publications. (in Persian)
  31. Kazemi, A. (2000). Authoritarian and Democratic Cultural Policy. In: Cultural Policy in Contemporary Iran. Tehran: Center for the Study of Islam and Iran. (in Persian)
  32. Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (2014). Hegemony and socialist strategy: Towards a radical democratic politics (2nd ed.). Verso.
  33. Mayer, V., & Thomas, P. N. (Eds.). (2017). The new media and the politics of identity. Routledge.
  34. Mohammadpour, A. (2013). Anti-Method Qualitative Research. Tehran: Sociologists Publications. (in Persian)
  35. Mosleynajad, A. (2022). Meaning, Myth, and Narrative in Identity Policy. Politics Quarterly, 52(4), 975–999. (in Persian)
  36. Molipir, R. (2014). Public Policy (Trans. M. R. Malekmohammadi). Tehran: SAMT Publications. (in Persian)
  37. Ong, A. (2016). Flexible citizenship: The cultural logics of transnationality (Reprint ed.). Duke University Press.
  38. Panahi Shari, M. R., & Arabiyan, A. (2025). Identity in the Constitution. Public Law Studies Quarterly, 14(1), 51–74. (in Persian)
  39. Ramazani, M., Partovi, A., Eivaz-zadeh, H., & Jafari, F. (2019). Cultural Policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Background, Patterns, and Challenges (with Emphasis on the Concept of Authority). Social and Cultural Strategy, 8(32), 69–96. (in Persian)
  40. Rezaei, S. M., & Jokar, M. S. (2009). Revisiting National Identity in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. National Studies Quarterly, 10(40), 53–88. (in Persian)
  41. Rutherford, J. (2015). Identity: Community, culture, difference. Lawrence & Wishart.
  42. Skey, M. (2019). Nationalism, belonging and everyday life: A critical theory. Palgrave Macmillan.
  43. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2017). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In J. C. Turner (Ed.), Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory (pp. 33–47). Psychology Press.
  44.  
  45. Tajik, M. R. (2004). Identity and Globalization: Rethinking Iranian Identity. National Studies Quarterly, 5(2), 28–39. (in Persian)
  46. Tolouei, A., & Davoudi, M. (2008). Identifying Parallel Activities of the Islamic Propagation Organization and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Pajouheshnameh, (37). (in Persian)
  47. Woodward, K. (2016). Questioning identity: Gender, class, ethnicity (2nd ed.). Routledge
Iranian Journal of Public Policy
Volume 11, Issue 4
December 2025
Pages 133-149

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics