Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
Abstract
Since the emergence of modern states, the issue of controlling and influencing public opinion has been significant. From the perspective of political sociology, controlling public opinion appears to depend, to some extent, on the dynamics of new social forces in politics and the state's hegemonic dominance over them. The main purpose of this article is to investigate and analyze the sociological management of public opinion in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Considering the extensive changes in Iranian society, the central research question is: How does the Islamic Republic influence public opinion? In response, it appears that politicizing all aspects of social and private life from an Islamic perspective is a fundamental characteristic of the Iranian state, which seeks to shape public opinion through the symbolic use of tradition, religion, the media, and the educational system. The research findings also indicate that the Iranian government aims to manage public opinion by constructing Islamic-Shiite symbols. However, globalization, social networks, global media, and socio-economic factors have challenged the government's effectiveness in controlling public opinion. Given the decline in the government's hegemonic influence over public opinion in Iran, it appears that dominating public opinion may be achievable through the creation of new symbols, enhancing governmental efficiency, and implementing bureaucratic structural reforms for the comprehensive development of Iran. Given the nature of the subject, the research method is qualitative and descriptive-analytical. Data were collected through library research and document review
Keywords: Hegemonic Government, Public Opinion, Globalization, Hegemony, Iran.
Extended Abstract
Purpose:Since the emergence of modern states, managing and controlling public opinion have been central to political stability and legitimacy. From the perspective of political sociology, domination over public opinion is achieved not merely through coercion but primarily through the production of consent, consensus-building, and the reproduction of hegemony. In this framework, the effectiveness of states in managing public opinion is closely linked to their capacity to mobilize new social forces and exercise hegemonic domination. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian society has undergone profound social, cultural, and political transformations that have fundamentally challenged traditional methods of managing public opinion. Accordingly, the main objective of this article is to provide a sociological analysis of the mechanisms through which public opinion is managed in the Islamic Republic of Iran and to identify the emerging challenges confronting this process.
Methodology: The theoretical framework of this study is grounded in Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. Gramsci argued that domination in modern societies is not based solely on overt coercion but is sustained through the production of meaning, ideological control, and the generation of public consent. From this perspective, the state is not merely an apparatus of political domination but also a key instrument of intellectual and cultural leadership. Within this analytical framework, the Iranian state is conceptualized as a hegemonic state that has sought to consolidate its authority over public opinion by politicizing both the public and private spheres of social life in accordance with an Islamic worldview. Employing a descriptive-analytical and interpretive approach, this study examines the factors contributing to the formation and reproduction of state hegemony, as well as the structural and sociopolitical constraints that have undermined it.
Findings: The findings indicate that following the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian state successfully established a relatively effective hegemonic order by relying on Islamic traditionalism, symbolic representations of martyrdom, sacrifice, and resistance, as well as the institutionalization of religious rituals and commemorative practices. Control over educational, media, and religious institutions played a decisive role in shaping and stabilizing public consciousness. State media, in particular, functioned as hegemonic agents by disseminating religious discourses, producing cultural and religious television series, and promoting Shiʿi ethical values such as self-sacrifice and martyrdom. Moreover, ideological supervision of formal education and comprehensive regulation of printed and digital publications enabled the state to monitor and filter public discourse in accordance with official doctrines. However, with the onset of the twenty-first century and the intensification of globalization across technological, economic, social, and cultural domains, the state's ability to manage and control public opinion has faced fundamental challenges. The rapid expansion of global communication networks, the proliferation of social media, and the emergence of new generations with diverse expectations and lifestyles have significantly diminished the influence of official educational, media, and religious institutions. Furthermore, prolonged economic sanctions, rising inflation, and declining government performance have eroded public satisfaction and weakened the alignment between state narratives and popular perceptions. As public approval is a key criterion of political legitimacy, the deterioration in governance quality has undermined the ruling elites’ ability to generate consent and maintain hegemonic domination, thereby exposing Iranian society to increasing social and political insecurity.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that over the past decade, the convergence between public opinion and the Iranian state has substantially declined. The sustainability of political legitimacy and stability in Iran increasingly depends on comprehensive structural reforms in the educational system, bureaucratic rationalization, enhanced governmental effectiveness, and the development of new symbolic frameworks capable of resonating with contemporary social realities. Without the active consent of public opinion, acceptance of the rule of law, implementation of structural reforms, and realization of inclusive development, the reproduction of political hegemony and long-term legitimacy will remain highly precarious. Political legitimation, therefore, depends on the state's ability to project a credible and foreseeable vision of the future and to respond effectively to rapidly evolving and pluralized social demands that increasingly extend beyond the boundaries of state-controlled symbolic and ideological networks.
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