Iranian Turks in Nation-Building Process: First Pahlavi Era

Authors : Mojtaba HEİDARİ

Pages : 75-97

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Publication Date : 2023-06-20

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The study explores the emergence of Turkic identity as a result of identity politics committed in the aftermath of the nation-state building in Iran after 1925. It is believed that the primordial nationalism on the base of the Aryan race impacted the country\`s diverse population and ethnic categories and the imposition of highly restrictive measures and social policies in cementing Iranian nationalism built upon the Persian culture and myth, paved the way for the politicization of identity. To obtain a thorough analysis, a set of theories are applied. Pierre Bourdieu\`s class formation and symbolic concept of power and language in a semi-patrimonial society and the social identity theory and partly the identity process theory and having an eclectic grasp of the literature on assimilation and violence have contributed to the theoretical base of the study. First-hand materials, journals, and archives are used in order to enrich the research content. The establishment of the modern state in the 20th century and the biased ethnic-lingual policies precipitated centrifugal forces among ethnic realities, so the alchemy of stereotyping and discrimination, and social comparison giving birth to group identification contributed to the politicization of ethnic identity among Azerbaijani Turks and their ethnic awareness.
Keywords : Ulus İnşası, Irkçılık, Kimlik, İran Türkleri, Etnik Farkındalık