The Role of Social National Identities in Value Discourse Making in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study: Iranian Azerbaijani Turks)

Samavari, Iraj; Hatami, Mohammadreza; Bakhshayesh Ardestani, Ahmad

doi:https://doi.org/10.22034/priw.16.2.7

Volume 16, Issue 2 (Political researches of the Islamic world, summer 2026) Political Research In Islamic World (Priw) 2026, 16(2): 150-0 | Back to browse issues page

‎ https://doi.org/10.22034/priw.16.2.7

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Samavari I, Hatami M, Bakhshayesh Ardestani A. The Role of Social National Identities in Value Discourse Making in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study: Iranian Azerbaijani Turks). Political Research In Islamic World (Priw) 2026; 16 (2) :150
URL: http://priw.ir/article-1-2072-en.html

The Role of Social National Identities in Value Discourse Making in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study: Iranian Azerbaijani Turks)

Iraj Samavari¹

, Mohammadreza Hatami ^*²

, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani³

1- Department of Political Science, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2- Professor, Department of Political Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran. , m.hatami@pnu.ac.ir
3- Department of Political Science, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: (170 Views)

In multiethnic societies, social identities are formed through the interaction of language, culture, historical experience, religion, territorial belonging, social relations, and political circumstances. Such identities are neither fixed nor necessarily organized around a single dimension. The relationship between ethnic and national identity may therefore involve simultaneous belonging, adaptation, redefinition, and contestation rather than a simple choice between competing identities. This issue is particularly significant in Iran, where Azerbaijani Turks constitute one of the country's major ethnolinguistic communities. Previous studies have shown that Azerbaijani identity in Iran has developed through changing historical and political conditions and cannot be adequately explained either as a fixed ethnic identity or as an automatic extension of Iranian national identity (Ahmadoghlu, 2019; Atabaki, 2000). At the same time, the relationship between Iranian national identity and the political discourse of the Islamic Republic should not be treated as identical. National belonging to Iran may coexist with criticism of particular state policies, including policies concerning language and cultural expression. Recent studies on language and identity in Iran have also emphasized the continuing importance of linguistic experience and the political implications of Persian monolingualism (Elling & Harris, 2021; Rahimi Bahmany, 2024).

Keywords: Social identity, National identity, Value discourse-making, Iranian Azerbaijani Turks, National belonging