Journal of Communication Research
Year:2009 | Volume:16 | Issue:1 (57)|Papers Count:18

Election, i.e. political participation, is one of the symbols shared by most of the democratic countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. To explain citizens’ participation, their voting preferences and the quality of their decisions in selecting and casting vote, three theoretical patterns can be referred to as follows: political sociological approach political economics approach and political psychological approach.The present article analyzes these three strands of theories and answers the question that which one of these patterns explains the electoral behavior of citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The article stresses that the electoral behavior is a time-, field- and place-based phenomenon; therefore, we cannot reach a universal theory to explain the reason, manner and content of citizens’ vote casting across the world, even the constituencies within a single geographical unit. In other words, the principles affecting citizens’ behavior in the Islamic Republic of Iran should be looked for in people political culture, their previous experiences and conducts, individuals past interactions with the candidates and social discourses and networks to which voters belong.

In the political economy approach, mass media, particularly in elections, introduce dominant values and the factor conveying them. In many cases particularly election situations, mass media contents and products are at the service of economic, political interests of the powerful, and therefore, discrimination and inequality in access to mass media is an example of inequality in access to resources. In other words, those who are denied access to mass media cannot campaign against those who enjoy such a means. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the role and status of the biggest and most influential medium in elections in the past few years (i.e. IRIB), has prompted many people to base their final decisions on the talk shows and candidates’ interviews and debates broadcast by the National Medium across the country.

The 9th presidential election in Iran was a turning point in the role of television in electoral campaigns. It seems that talk shows, the candidates’ campaign videos, and TV debates among political figures advocating the candidates had a key role in the viewers’ opinions towards the candidates, and in their final decision. Employing the results of a number of studies including the qualitative interviews with people by the author in the months following the victory of president Ahmadinejad, the present article discusses the role of IRIB in the individuals’ final vote. The research finding show thal television, at least in the 9th presidential election, was important reference of people for knowing candidates.

Discourse analysis and comparative study of materials written on elections are of paramount significance for shedding light on various approaches adopted and different viewpoints maintained by all political parties in a country. The Iranian 8th parliament elections carry too much sensitivity with it due to the two main political wings, i.e. Principalist and Reformist parties. The present article employs the two techniques of discourse analysis and comparative study to discuss, explain and compare the editorials and other materials of ‘jomhoriye-e-Eslami’ and ‘Keyhan’ as the two main papers representing Principalists in the 8th parliament elections, from Esfand 25, 1386 to Ordibehesht 6, 1387 (the second round of the elections). The discourse analysis of the relevant materials in the two mentioned papers reveals a kind of “internal” approach to parliament elections in “Jomhuriye-e-Eslami” and “external” viewpoint in “Keyhan”. Although these two approaches are different in various ways, but they share an important principle, i.e. both supporting the Principalists.

Political development, i.e. expanding and deepening public participation in political systems’ fate, despite the diversity and multiplicity of its implementation’s modes, is a common goal of all developmental schools. General elections as the most evident mode and manifestation of such participation, has always been addressed by social and political scientists, particularly politicians. One of the issues significant for both of these groups is explaining public electoral behavior. In Iran, in the recent decade, studying people’s electoral behavior has been seriously focused on by the researchers in the relevant field. The present article’s main question is that based on what criteria public participation in the elections, as one of the key political development’s indicators, could be done? Reviewing the main theories of the field, the present article proposes a theory adopted from the constructivism school to analyze electoral behaviors in Iran. Since the concept of “identity” forms the essence of the constructivism theory, and given the distinguished role of media in shaping four-folded layers of identity, the authors have substantiated the relationship between media’s identity-making initiatives, media ownership and electoral behavior.

The present article is based on a study carried out in IRIB Research Center in 2008. It aims at investigating the level of individuals’ political knowledge and inclination towards political parties and groups in Iran. The findings revealed that: More than 58 percent of people in Iran gain their knowledge of political parties and groups’ performance and programs via IRIB. People’s attitudes towards political parties are affected by their function. so that, on the one hand, 56 percent of people consider parties as an enhancing element in their own knowledge, and one the other hand, 56.3 percent of the respondents maintained that parties follow their own interests. 76.8 percent of people believe that the positive performance of parties contributes to their growth.

The present article addresses the significant role of media as a part of social, political and cultural structure in society and as the most important communicational bridge to influence public opinions–particularly the recent presidential elections, the subject of the article. It attempts to answer the two important following questions: a) what is the effect of media on electoral behavior? b) In what way/ways media could influence public opinions? The methodology used in the study is based on discourse analysis. Theories and viewpoints addressed in the article include media limited influence, satisfaction of the media, injecting, and highlighting techniques. The article also points to the media direct propaganda in Iranian elections after 1979 Islamic Revolution. Other points of focus in this article include the power of all kinds of media (television, radio, press, journals and internet) in terms of influencing people, their functions in elections, and the level they influence public opinions. The findings show that, since today media are indivisible part of people lives–so much so that they are accessible and widespread everywhere– they are decisive and effective in shaping electoral and political behaviors of individuals. Furthermore, given the constructive functions of media in communities’ political developments, we should adopt proper strategies and policies in reinforcing Islamic-local culture transactions and improving citizens’ electoral behavior, and pass down political development in the electoral behavior to the future generations.

Election is considered one of the key principles forming the political structure of any democratic systems. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is based on the principle of religious democracy, the influential role of people in forming all the power institutions directly and indirectly is predicted. Given the status of media in realization of political participation in general, and the function of national medium in the Islamic Republic of Iran in particular, the determining and doubled importance of national medium in elections looms up.Regardless of the role of other influential institutions in elections, the present article investigates the status of national medium in realization of citizens’ political participation, and offers a few contributions to the process.

Civil engagement is one of the foundational requirements of democracy and citizenship. Since the last quarter of the 20th century, we have been facing a phenomenon called “Information Explosion and Planet Awareness”. Internet, on the one hand, has expanded our democratic knowledge and view, and on the other hand, it has brought a new political participation online. Discussing findings of some of the most important qualitative studies carried out in this field, the present article highlights the theory that internet has had a relatively good influence on adolescents and educated adults’ political engagement in these two ways: online and non-online. Based on these studies, the author has offered a contextual model for internet effect on political participation.