A Critical Study of Class-based Analysis about Election Behavior of New Middle Class (Iran’s Presidential Elections Seventh (1995) and Ninth (2003) Periods)
Subject Areas : Research in Theoritical Politicsسعید میرترابی 1 , سيد مهدي ميرعباسي 2
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Abstract :
Between 1995 and 2003 many of critical factors for development of new middle class like economic growth, expansion of cities, improvement of education and literacy,development of political institutions and state bureaucracy and so… continued to growth and, as a result, we can expect for a larger middle class in this period. On the other hand, in many of class-based analyses about presidential elections results in 1995 and 1999 in Iran, scholars focused on new and recently developed middle class role in shaping election results and victories of slogans about political development. But in presidential election in 2003 (in first round) candidate who represents political development slogans lost and in second round despite of heavily rally of Reformists in support of rival candidate, winner candidate has no any relation to political wishes that usually respect to new middle class. The article, tries to explain this dilemma and shows that ”there is a structural condition that can called “Rentier state” economic structure in Iran that constrains class-based analyses in explaining election behavior of new middle class and in forecasting election results.Wecannot stress heavily on factors that relate to quantitative expansion of middle class and its role on shaping elections wishes of different groups in society.”The article stresses on structural factors related to political economy of oil in shaping social layers in oil rich countries and shows how these factors help shaping a special middle class that necessarily have not those characteristics and wishes that is relate to this social group in standard theories of political development.
