Unpacking the role of populist mobilization in the Islamic Revolution of Iran (Review of the historical period from 1963 to 1979)

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Authors

1 Master of Political Science, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, I.R.Iran

2 Professor, Department of Political Science, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, I.R.Iran.

10.30465/cps.2022.41180.3011

Abstract

Through the analysis of the events of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the study aims to reveal a new perspective on populism. Based on the theory of "Ernesto Laclau", our problem is to understand the nexus between populist mobilization and the necessity of reconstructing the "new people". According to my understanding, the identity of "the Mostazafan" in the Islamic revolution represents the new people. The main question is how did the demands of underprivileged groups integrate into the populist mobilization? In this article, the "thick description" method is used for data analysis. The findings of the research show that in the light of the political discourse of Shiism and the leadership of Imam Khomeini, The "Mostazafan" became a homogenizing name for the unification of all demands and an equivalential chain was formed. In the following, by critically examining Asef Bayat's outstanding book, the authors reach the understanding that if the identity of Mostazafan had not arisen from an empty signifier, then the urban poor would have continued "quiet encroach" regardless of revolutionary motives. The dynamics of the Islamic Revolution of Iran should not be analyzed in the context of fixed and predetermined content, but in the light of "discursive articulation" according to the conclusion of this article.

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Contemporary Political Studies
Volume 14, Issue 2
February 2023
Pages 1-30

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