Volume 16, Issue 2 (Political researches of the Islamic world, summer 2026)
Political Research In Islamic World (Priw) 2026, 16(2): 71-102 |
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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) :71-102
URL: http://priw.ir/article-1-2072-en.html
URL: http://priw.ir/article-1-2072-en.html
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
2- Professor, Department of Political Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran. ,
3- Department of Political Science, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (563 Views)
IntroductionIn 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).Against this background, the central problem of this study is how the social national identities of Iranian Azerbaijani Turks are articulated with the value discourse-making of the Islamic Republic of Iran and how convergence, redefinition, and contestation emerge within this relationship. The study addresses two related questions: first, how are ethnic, linguistic, religious, and national identity elements articulated with the values emphasized in the official discourse of the Islamic Republic? Second, under what conditions do these articulations produce convergence, redefinition, or competing interpretations of values? The study does not assume that Azerbaijani identity is homogeneous or that national identity is equivalent to political loyalty. It therefore considers both forms of identification that support convergence with official values and forms of linguistic, cultural, or political contestation. Theoretical FrameworkThe theoretical framework combines qualitative content analysis with the discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. Social identity is understood as relational and context-dependent, meaning that its significance is produced through interaction with other identities and social boundaries. From this perspective, Fredrik Barth's distinction between cultural characteristics and social boundaries is particularly useful because ethnic identity is maintained not simply through a fixed set of cultural traits but through processes of boundary construction and social interaction (Barth, 1969). Applied to Iranian Azerbaijani Turks, this perspective allows ethnic, linguistic, religious, and national identities to be considered as potentially overlapping rather than mutually exclusive categories.The second component of the framework concerns discourse and articulation. Laclau and Mouffe conceptualize discourse as a system through which meanings are organized and partially fixed, while articulation refers to the practice of establishing relations among elements whose meanings are not permanently determined (Laclau & Mouffe, 1985, pp. 105–113). This approach makes it possible to examine how concepts such as Iran, Islam, national unity, justice, independence, participation, and resistance acquire meaning through their articulation with particular identity positions. Accordingly, value discourse-making in this study does not simply refer to the repetition of political values in official texts. It refers to the production, articulation, representation, and possible redefinition of meanings surrounding these values. Hegemonic articulation is also treated as contingent and open to competing interpretations rather than as a completed or universally accepted process (Laclau & Mouffe, 1985, pp. 122–136). MethodologyThe research adopts a qualitative and applied approach. The empirical material consists of documentary sources addressing Iranian Azerbaijani identity, language and cultural relations, Iranian national identity, official value discourse, and forms of linguistic, cultural, and political contestation. Documents were selected purposively according to their relevance to the research questions, scientific credibility, identifiable historical or political context, and capacity to provide evidence concerning identity and discourse relations. The unit of analysis was the meaningful proposition, statement, or textual section through which an identity element, value, relationship, boundary, or form of contestation was expressed.Data were examined through qualitative content analysis based on Schreier's methodological framework, while interpretation of relations among identity elements and value meanings was guided by Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory (Schreier, 2012; Laclau & Mouffe, 1985). The coding process first identified references to ethnic, linguistic, religious, and national identity, together with references to values, belonging, participation, unity, and the construction of self and other. These codes were then organized around four analytical dimensions: identity elements; their articulation with official values; forms of convergence, overlap, conflict, or redefinition; and implications for national belonging and sociopolitical participation. The analysis focused on relations among meanings rather than on the frequency of individual words. Contradictory evidence, including language and cultural demands and critical or competing identity formulations, was also retained in the analysis. Cross-document comparison was used to strengthen interpretive credibility and to distinguish explicit textual evidence from analytical inference. FindingsThe findings indicate that the relationship between the social–national identities of Iranian Azerbaijani Turks and the value discourse of the Islamic Republic of Iran is neither linear nor uniform. Azerbaijani linguistic and cultural identity can persist alongside Iranian national belonging without necessarily producing a replacement of national identity. This finding is consistent with research showing that ethnic and national identification in Iran may coexist through different configurations depending on historical experience, geographical context, language, and political circumstances (Elling & Harris, 2021; Mirfardi et al., 2022). The evidence therefore does not support a binary interpretation in which Azerbaijani identity must either disappear within Iranian national identity or develop into a separate national identity.The analysis also shows that values do not possess a single meaning independent of the identity positions through which they are articulated. Concepts such as Iran, unity, justice, independence, religion, and participation may be linked to official political discourse, but their interpretation can be modified through historical memory, linguistic experience, cultural demands, and different understandings of national belonging. The same value can consequently function as a point of convergence in one context and as an object of reinterpretation or contestation in another. This corresponds to the discursive understanding of meaning as relational and only partially fixed (Laclau & Mouffe, 1985, pp. 105–113). A further finding concerns the distinction between national belonging and political support. The documentary evidence indicates that criticism of language or cultural policies cannot, by itself, be interpreted as rejection of Iran or Iranian national identity. Studies of language politics and Azerbaijani identity demonstrate that demands concerning language use, cultural recognition, and representation may coexist with different forms of Iranian identification (Hajiyeva, 2020; Rahimi Bahmany, 2024). At the same time, the existence of such demands does not mean that all Azerbaijani Turks share the same political position. The community should therefore not be represented as a homogeneous actor. Rather, the evidence points to multiple identity configurations in which ethnic, linguistic, national, religious, and political dimensions may reinforce, overlap with, or challenge one another. The findings further suggest that value discourse-making is better understood as a negotiated and contested process than as a one-directional transmission of official values. Where the meanings promoted by official discourse overlap with existing forms of national or religious identification, conditions for convergence become stronger. Where official definitions are perceived as incompatible with linguistic or cultural experiences, reinterpretation and competing formulations may emerge. Contemporary studies likewise indicate that Azerbaijani identity in Iran has remained subject to continuing negotiation rather than following a single historical trajectory (Mammadov, 2023; Mirzaei, 2025). Conclusion and ContributionThe study concludes that social national identities participate in value discourse-making through a dynamic relationship of convergence, redefinition, and contestation. The Iranian national identity of Azerbaijani Turks cannot be reduced to political loyalty to the Islamic Republic, just as Azerbaijani ethnic or linguistic identity cannot automatically be interpreted as opposition to Iranian national belonging. The principal theoretical contribution of the study is therefore the separation of three analytically distinct dimensions: ethnic and linguistic identification, national belonging to Iran, and acceptance or rejection of particular political and discursive formulations. This distinction provides a more precise framework for examining identity relations in Iran and avoids treating ethnic identity and national identity as mutually exclusive categories.The study also suggests that policies concerning national unity and value discourse should take account of the plurality of identity experiences within Iranian society. Recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity does not necessarily contradict national belonging; under particular conditions, it may provide a basis for strengthening rather than weakening it. Nevertheless, these conclusions are limited to the documentary evidence examined in the study and should not be interpreted as a direct measurement of the attitudes of all Iranian Azerbaijani Turks. Further research using interviews, media discourse, and field-based evidence could examine how the identity and value configurations identified here are experienced and negotiated in everyday social and political contexts. |
Keywords: Social Identity, National Identity, Value Discourse-Making, Iranian Azerbaijani Turks, National Belonging.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/06/14 | Accepted: 2026/09/1 | Published: 2026/09/9
Received: 2026/06/14 | Accepted: 2026/09/1 | Published: 2026/09/9
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