Journal of Political Socology of  Islamic World

Journal of Political Socology of Islamic World

The Arbaeen pilgrimage as a discourse of soft power in the Islamic Revolution: A futures oriented analysis of the mechanisms of political socialization in the digital life world of youth.

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 Graduated from the Department of Political Studies of the Islamic Revolution, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian Alborz University
Abstract
The transformation of the concept of power from hard power to soft power has significantly increased the importance of utilizing cultural and ritual capacities in the macro-policies of ideological societies. In this context, the Islamic Revolution of Iran has leveraged rituals such as the Arbaeen pilgrimage to reproduce its political-cultural discourse, relying on its religious and identity concepts. The Arbaeen ceremony, as the largest voluntary religious gathering of Shia Muslims, is not only effective in consolidating the signs of the Islamic Revolution's discourse, such as guardianship, martyrdom, the united community, and expectation, but also interacts with the digital life world of the younger generation, providing a platform for the internalization of political values and informal socialization of the new generation.This research aims to explore the discursive capacities of Arbaeen in producing soft power and to elucidate the mechanisms of political socialization of the youth in the context of cyberspace. Using a qualitative approach and directed content analysis method, it is organized based on data such as user narratives, images, clips, ritual signs, and commonly used hashtags related to Arbaeen. The findings indicate that Arbaeen plays a significant role in institutionalizing the discursive values of the Islamic Revolution in the minds and language of the digital generation through emotional-aesthetic representations, networked participations, multimedia storytelling, and emotional-cultural interactions in cyberspace, becoming a strategic tool for reproducing soft power and political identity formation.
Subjects


Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 August 2026

  • Receive Date 04 August 2025
  • Revise Date 15 July 2026
  • Accept Date 23 August 2026