Ideological Constraint in the Islamic Republic of Iran

• In Event: Ideology in Authoritarian Regimes: Citizen and Elite Perspectives

Abstract

Ideology is central to the study of public opinion and political behavior. Social scientific interest in ideology and the dynamics of public opinion have generated new attention to a canonical debate: to what extent are mass publics “ideological”? Do ordinary citizens have constrained beliefs about politics? Or are meaningfully structured attitudes the providence of a small minority who participate actively in political life? Despite the centrality of this debate to ongoing studies of public opinion, this question has received less attention in authoritarian contexts. Using data collected from a nationally representative probability survey of Iranian citizens, I find that citizen preferences exhibit a high degree of constraint. Using principal component and exploratory factor analysis, I show that citizen preferences map on to at least three dimensions: attitudes towards Islam and the state, gender equality, and free and open political institutions. I then explore how several categories of social difference, such as gender, geographical location, occupational status, educational attainment, age, and ethnolinguistic identity shape placement along these dimensions. Last, I show how ideology shapes important political attitudes and behaviors, such as support for the Islamic Republic, participation in recent protests, and voting in presidential and parliamentary elections.

Author

• Daniel L. Tavana, Penn State