The Crisis of the Middle Class ; As a Result of the Foreign Policy Approach of the I. R. of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Corresponding Author, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract

There is a close connection between domestic policy and foreign policy in the contemporary world.
Meanwhile, the expansion and strengthening of the middle class and increasing its role as the driver of the development of societies is influenced by the governments' foreign policy. In this regard, the aim of this research is to explain the consequences of Iran's foreign policy on the position and fate of the middle class. The main question is: What effect has Iran's foreign policy approaches had on the middle class? Have these approaches led to the strengthening or weakening of the middle class? The hypothesis of the research is that "Iran's foreign policy strategy is based on the priority of security issues over economic development, and this has caused neglect of economic goals, and as a result, the position of the middle class in Iran has been weakened." The theoretical framework of the research is a free use of the literature of development-oriented foreign policy. The article deals with this issue with a qualitative approach and using the method of analyzing events. This study is a library-documentary research. The findings of the research indicate that this activist class has lost its social, economic, political and cultural dignity in the last two decades and this situation is the result of foreign policy and its impact on the economic conditions of the country and on the fate of the middle class as the drivers of changes and the dynamics of society

Introduction

The line separating a government's foreign and domestic policies has vanished in the modern era. Foreign policy significantly influences societies' internal growth and reflects national internal policies. Numerous experts think governments' foreign relations and policy can significantly impact a nation's development process. Countries like China, Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey, and several Arab nations have demonstrated through their experiences that a proactive foreign policy may contribute to a nation's prosperity. Development is, therefore, unattainable without considering the caliber of foreign relations.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy has presented the Iranian populace with many opportunities as well as struggles and consequences. An analysis of the events reveals that Iran's foreign policy capabilities and abilities have been overlooked throughout the nation's development process. Put differently, Iran has prioritized geopolitics, security, and political notions over geo-economic and growth capacities in its foreign policy agenda. Thus, the outcomes of the foreign policy apparatus's initiatives have impacted Iran's development process overall and the middle class's status specifically, which is the topic of this study.In this sense, this study aims to clarify how I.R. Iran's foreign policy affects the status and future of the middle class, which is the driver of the nation's changes and advancements. The primary question is: How did the principles that ruled the Islamic Republic's foreign policy impact the principles of middle-class circumstances, and did they make them stronger or weaker? The study hypothesis is that Iran's foreign policy, which prioritizes the notion of security over development, has weakened the position of the middle class in the country by neglecting economic growth and development.

Theoretical Framework

This study's theoretical foundation draws from the literature on development-oriented foreign policy. We plan to examine Iran's foreign policy performance and impact on the (new) middle-class status by utilizing development-oriented foreign policy. In fact, we measured the influence of foreign policy as an independent variable on the dependent variable (middle-class status).
 

Methodology

This article's qualitative research methodology involves gathering data and information from library - documentary sources, classifying it, and then conducting an analysis.

Results & Discussion

The research findings suggest that this activist class has experienced a downturn in its social, economic, political, and cultural prestige over the past two decades. This decline has been the result of foreign policy's impact on the country's economic development and its impact on the middle class, which has traditionally been a catalyst for progress and prosperity in society. Actually, Iran's foreign policy orientation and prevailing security notion have produced outcomes including a lack of initiative in foreign policy, a prioritization for security over growth, international sanctions, and a lack of ties to the global economy. As a result of this state of affairs, the country's economic strength is declining in general, the middle class is eroding, and its societal influence is diminishing in particular.

Conclusions & Suggestions

The discussion's conclusion shows that Iran's foreign policy has not contributed positively to advancing the country's developmental goals and accumulating its wealth. If the current situation persists, we will undoubtedly observe a decline in the factors that impact national security and widening gaps between the ruling class and the middle class. This will lead to the joining of the middle class with the lower-class of society, resulting in violence and extremism. Additionally, there will be an expansion of political instability and an increase in the emigration of elites and experts, who predominantly originate from the middle class. Other effects of this situation will include a decline in middle-class adhesion to the political system and a collapse in the system's social capital. Therefore, foreign policy should focus on economic interests to lay the groundwork for the nation's growth and development. This can be achieved by fostering strong ties with nations that complement Iran's economy, interacting with major economic powers, lowering tensions with other nations, and promoting peaceful coexistence with other nations in the region. Increased prosperity and the growth of the middle class are two advantages of this. Basically, the rise of the middle class is always associated with development. A nation's middle class grows as its economy grows and develops, and a nation with a sizable, well-educated, and skilled middle class is better equipped to overcome obstacles and shortcomings in its developmental trajectory.
The author concludes the piece by making the following policy recommendations to revive the middle class:

National consensus to create a uniform foreign policy plan
De-escalation in foreign policy and establishing a counterbalance with the world's East and West
Institutionalization of geoeconomics in foreign policy
Foreign policy strategy's incorporation of development-oriented rhetoric
Facilitating economic convergence with other countries through extra-regional and regional associations

.

Keywords


Abbassi, I and Mahmoudi, A (2019). The‌ Position‌ and‌ Roles‌ of‌ State‌ in‌ the‌ Third‌ Development‌ Plan‌ of‌ the‌ I.R. I‌ from‌ the‌ Perspective‌ of‌ New‌ Institutionalism, Political and International Approaches, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 107-131. [In Persian]
Aghaei, S. D (2006). The Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran During the Eight-Year War, Journal of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, Issue 73, Pages 1-34. [In Persian]
Aghaei, S. D (2008). The Position of the European Union in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran During the Period of Construction, Politics Quarterly, Volume 37, Issue 3, Pages 1-28. [In Persian]
Ajili, H and Afsharian, R (2016). The Discourse of Moderation in the Foreign Policy of the 11th Government, Strategic Researches of Politics, Issue 19, Pages 43-73. [In Persian]
Al-Salmi, M (2021). The Disaster that the Islamic Republic brought to the Middle Class of Iran, Independent, July 25, available at:                           https://www.independentpersian.com/node/162421 [In Persian]
Araghi, G (2007). The New Middle Class and its Effects in the Period after the Islamic revolution, Quarterly of Political Science, Noumber. 38, Pages 31-50. [In Persian]
Azad Armaki, T (2022). The Dream of Defeating the Governmental Middle Class, Etemad Newspaper, March 8, Issue 5436. Page 2, Available at:                                                  http://www.etemadnewspaper.ir/fa/main/page/2342/2/ [In Persian]
Azad Armaki, T (2020). Middle class political action, Mehr news agency, June 10, available at: https://www.mehrnews.com/news/4852850 [In Persian]
Azghandi, A and Hessam Ghazi, R (2018). A Survey of the Identity of the Middle Class During Three Decades After the Revolution in Iran, Political Research Quarterly, Volume 5, Issue 10, Pages 95-121. [In Persian]
Bagheri Daulatabadi, A and Ebrahimi, H (2016). Centeral Development in Construction’s State and its Requirements for Iran's Foreign Policy, State Research Quarterly, Issue 6, Pages 133-173. [In Persian]
Barzegar, K (2001). Khatamiism: a new model in international relations, in: Khatami's foreign policy from the perspective of experts, edited by: Mehdi Zakarian, Tehran: Hamshahri publishing house. [In Persian]
Bohrani M. H (2021).  Middle class and political developments in contemporary Iran (1320-1380), Agah Publications, 4th edition. [In Persian]
Dehshiri, M (2001). The Cycle of Idealism and Realism in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Foreign Policy Quarterly, Volume 15, Issue 2, Pages 369-397. [In Persian]
Dehghani Firouzabadi, J and Yousefi Joybari, M (2015). Comparative Explanation of the Pattern of Iran's Foreign Relations in the Two Governments of Bazargan and Hashemi Rafsanjani, World Politics Quarterly, Volume 4, Issue 3, Pages 57-84. [In Persian]
Dehghani Firouzabadi, J (2007). The Discourse of Justice-Oriented Fundamentalism in the Ahmadinejad government's foreign policy, Political Science Quarterly, Issue 5, spring and summer, Pages. 67-98. [In Persian]
Digar J and Horkar B; Rishar J (1998). Iran of the 20th Century, a Study of the Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Conditions of Iran in the Last One Hundred Years, Translated by Abdul Reza (Hoshang) Mahdavi, Tehran, Alborz Publishing. [In Persian]
Ehteshami, A (2008). Foreign Policy in the Era of Construction, translators: Zohreh Poustinchi, Ebrahim Motaghi, Tehran, Islamic Revolution Documentation Center. [In Persian]
Eslami, M and Naghdi, F (2016). Sanction Tool and US Foreign Policy towards Iran, International Relations Quarterly, Issue 4, Pages 37-71. [In Persian]
Evans, P (2010). Constructing‌ the‌ 21st ‌century‌ developmental ‌state:‌ potentialities‌ and‌ pitfalls,‌ in‌Constructing‌ a‌ Democratic‌ Developmental‌ State‌ in ‌Souht‌ Africa,‌ Potentials ‌and‌ Challenges, Edited by Omano Edigheji, Cape Town: Human sciences Research Council.
Falahi, E and Shafiei, N (2021). Re-reading the Position of Developmentalist Foreign Policy in the Documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Quarterly of Strategic and Macro Policies, Volume 9, Pages 105-82. [In Persian]
Falahi, E and Omidi, Ali (2017). The Scope of Change and Continuity of China's Developmentalist Foreign Policy during Xi Jin Ping's Era, Quarterly of Political and International Approaches, Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages 147-178. [In Persian]
Fereydoun, H and Ghavam, A. A (2018). Factors affecting on the discourse of moderation in public policy; A Case Study of the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Based on the Pre-theory of James Rosenau, Public Policy Quarterly, Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 171-190. [In Persian]
Fouzi, Y and Ramezani, M (1388). The New Middle Class and its Effects on Political Developments after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Quarterly of Islamic Revolution Studies, Volume 5, Issue 17, Pages 11-28. [In Persian]
Heirannia, J (2022). Iran’s middle class has been eroding for some time, Atlantic Council, June 30, Available at: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/irans-middle-class-has-been-eroding-for-some-time-now-its-only-getting-worse/
Heirannia, Javad (2022). Close to the East and Far from the West, Arman Emrouz Newspaper, October 27, Issue 4038. Page 3. Available at:                                         https://www.pishkhan.com/Archive/1401/08/14010805/ArmanRavabetOmoomi6511411097109485653134402.pdf [In Persian]
Holesti, k. J (1995) International Politics a Framework for Analysis, Translated by Bahram Mostaghimi and Masoud Tarem Seri, Tehran: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [In Persian]
Iran Open Data (2021). The history of Iran's economic growth, September 13, Available at:  https://iranopendata.org/pages/gdp-history-in-iran
Jalaeipour, H and Azizi Mehr, K (2017). Sociological Analysis of Class Values in Iran, Sociological Studies Quarterly, Volume 24, Issue 2, Pages 319-346. [In Persian]
Jamaran News Website (2022). Unofficial Dollar Rate Since 1979 Until Now, Januari 21, https://www.jamaran.news/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%AC%DB%8C %B3-70/1539115
Javadi, A and Maleki, A (2021). Qualitative mMeta-Analysis of the Thinkers of Social Class in Iran (with emphasis on the middle class), Journal of Historical Sociology, Volume 12, Issue 2, Pages 139-170. [In Persian]
Khavardadi, Z and Tajik, M. R (2019). Political Reforms and the Possibility of Occurrence and Repeatability of other Social Events in Iran, Politics Quarterly, Volume 50, Issue 4, Pages 1111-1126. [In Persian]
Lotadi, D and Pesaran, M. H (2022). Identifying the Effects of Sanctions on Iran's Economy by Using Newspaper Coverage, Iran Chamber of Commerce's Research Center. [In Persian]
Majidi, H and Rostampour, M (2022). The government's approach to the New Middle Class in the Islamic Republic of Iran 1368-1384, Quarterly of National Interest Studies, Volume 7, Issue 30, Pages 103-79. [In Persian]
Mahmoudi, V (2020). The disappearance of the Middle Class and Transformation in Society, Etemad Newspaper, Issue 4699, July 22, available at:                                      https://www.etemadnewspaper.ir/fa/Main/Detail/151509  [In Persian]
Malekpour, H and Motalebi, M; Azghandi, A (2017). Examining the Relationship between the Government and the New Middle Class in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Revolution Approaches, Valume 12, Issue 44, Pages 79 - 100. [In Persian]
Mansouri Moghadam, J & Esmaili, A (2011). An Analysis of the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency from the perspective of Theory of Continuity of James Rosenau, Quarterly of Politics, Volume 41, Issue 1, Pages 283-300. [In Persian]
Masoumi, A. B (2021). Has it changed the Social Base of the Islamic Republic and its Opponents, Euronews, June 16, Available at:                                                           http://parsi.euronews.com/2021/06/15/iran-elex-class-conflict-islamic-republic-social-base-change [In Persian].
Mehr News Agency (2022). How Did the Country's Economy Go in the 90s, March 22, Available at:  https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5413346/ [In Persian]
Mirfakhraei, S. H (2014). The Foreign Policy of the Interim Government: from Non-Commitment to the Principle of Neither East nor West, Strategic Policy Research, Volume 2, Issue 8. Pages 81-61. [In Persian]
Moaveni, A and Tahmasebi, S (2021).  The Middle-Class Women of Iran Are Disappearing, International Crisis Group, April 27, Pages 1-5. Available at:                                                https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/iran/middle-class-women-iran-disappearing
Moezi, A and Vosoghi, S (2018). The Relationship between "Security" and "Development" in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Quarterly of World Policy, Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 27-54. [In Persian]
Moradi Tadi, M. R (2020). Reviving the Middle Class Is a Necessity for Iran's Political Future, Iran Newspaper, Volum 26, Issue 7370, Page 3, Available at:           https://www.pishkhan.com/Archive/1399/03/13990326/Iran7311401109750515454163.pdf  [In Persian]
Movasaghi, A and Alizadeh, S (2014). Turkey's Expansionist Foreign Policy During the Justice and Development Party Period, Central Eurasia Studies Quarterly, Issue 2, Pages 375-393. [In Persian]
Mousavi Shafaei, M & Ardestani, H (2014). The Role of the Middle Class in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Quarterly of Foreign Policy, Volume 28, Issue 2, Pages 237-263. [In Persian]
North, D.C (1995). The New Institutional Economics and Third World Development, In Hunter J & C, Lewis, Eds.
Nurmohammadi, S (2023). The Middle Class cannot be Eiminated, Shargh Newspaper, Issue 4466. January 8, 1401, Page 9. Available at: https://www.magiran.com/article/4375305 [In Persian]
Roomi, F (2020). Analyzing the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran: Narvan Danesh Publication, first edition. [In Persian]
Sadeghian, R and Mousavi, S. G (2017). Comparison of the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the State of Khatami and Ahmadinejad, National Research Monthly, volume 2, Issue 16, Pages 1-18. [In Persian]
Sadeghi, A. R and Tayibi, K (2018). The Effects of International Sanctions and Other Factors Affecting on Inflation Rate in Iran, Quarterly of Iran Economic Research, Issue 74, Pages 57-33. [In Persian]
Sadeghi Isfahani, M and Abdi, J (2012). Sanctions cripple Iran’s middle class, not the regime, August 2. 2012. Available at:  https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/08/02/sanctions-cripple-irans-middle-class-not-the-regime/
Safarzaei, S (2022). The Unfulfilled Dream of the Middle Class, Shargh Newspaper, Issue 4392, October 11, available at:                                          https://www.sharghdaily.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA-65/858259- [In Persian]
Salehi Isfahani, J (2021). Iran’s middle class and the nuclear deal, Brookings Institution, April 8, 2021, Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/irans-middle-class-and-the-nuclear-deal/
Sarmadi, H and Azghandi, A (2015). The Imposed War and its Effect on the Change of Iran's Foreign Policy Discourse, The Nations Research Monthly, volume 1, Issue 10, Pages 1-15. [In Persian]
Sedaghat, P (2016). Iran's Working Class and the Era of Erosion of the New Middle Class, Quarterly Review of Political Economy, May 9, available at:                         https://pecritique.com/2016/05/09/ [In Persian]
Shahriari, H (2021). Ideological Conflicts of The New Middle Class after the Islamic revolution, Quarterly of Political and International Approaches, Volume 12, Issue 4, Pages 13-44. [In Persian]
Shurchi, H (2016). Comparison of the Development Approach of the State in the Islamic Republic of Iran (1997-2013), PhD Thesis in Political Science, Allameh Tabatabai University. [In Persian]
Suri, J (2005). From "De-Escalation" to "Constructive and Effective Interaction" Reflection of Globalization in Khatami's Foreign Policy, Strategy, Volume 13. Issue 2, Pages 181-202. [In Persian]
Tajuddin, M. B (2022). The Collapse of Middle Class in Iran, Association of Young Sociologists, April 27, available at: https://youngsociologists.com [In Persian]
Takeyh, Ray (2018). Iran’s Restive Middle-Class Poor, Council on Foreign Relations, May 31, Pp.1-6. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/irans-restive-middle-class-poor
Zamani, H (2022). Considerations about the Role of the Middle Class in Iran's Political Developments, Iran emroz magazine, available at:                     
Zimmt, Raz (2017). Iran’s Middle Class: An Agent of Political Chan, Volume 20, Issue 3, October 3, Pages 59-69. Available at: