Power, Politics of Representation and Everyday Life in Iran

Introduction
In modern political systems, a central struggle persists between state power and citizens over the construction of meaning within cultural symbols and everyday social relations. This conflict has intensified in recent decades with the proliferation of digital communication technologies, particularly social networks, which have reshaped how narratives are produced, contested, and legitimized. The dynamics are especially pronounced in contexts like the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the state aggressively imposes its official ideology through pervasive regulation of daily life and social interactions. Yet, as governments attempt to monopolize meaning, the authority to define and interpret cultural signs has increasingly decentralized—shifting from state institutions to citizens and emergent social groups. Social networks have played a transformative role in this process, enabling users to create, circulate, and amplify alternative narratives. These platforms facilitate a redistribution of symbolic power fostering new frameworks of meaning that often undermine the credibility of state-sponsored discourses. Over time, unofficial narratives gain traction, while official ones face erosion of legitimacy. Focusing on the Iranian case, this article examines how digital communication technologies—especially social networks—disrupt the politics of representation. By decentralizing narrative control and empowering grassroots discourse, these technologies challenge authoritarian regimes’ ability to stabilize meaning, ultimately exposing the fragility of their ideological hegemony.
 
Research Method
This study adopts a qualitative research methodology, drawing on data gathered through systematic library research and critical documentary analysis. Focusing on the Iranian context, the investigation analyzes how new communication technologies—particularly social networks—disrupt state-controlled systems of representation and cultural narrative production. The research employs an in-depth examination of secondary sources, including scholarly literature, media analyses, and relevant policy documents, to trace the evolving dynamics between digital platforms and representational politics. By interrogating these materials through a critical lens, the study illuminates the mechanisms through which social networks facilitate alternative meaning-making processes that contest official narratives. Central to this inquiry is the following research question: how do new communication technologies, especially social networks, generate a crisis in the politics of representation? This framework allows for an exploration of the transformative impact of digital platforms on the struggle over symbolic power between state institutions and civil society.
 Results and Discussion
This study demonstrates that social networks have fundamentally altered the dynamics of cultural production in Iran, serving as key sites for the reproduction and normalization of informal cultural relations. By facilitating the creation and dissemination of user-generated content, these platforms have systematically undermined the legitimacy of state-sponsored narratives, eroding the ruling power’s ability to monopolize public discourse. This research reveals a critical shift in cultural authority: as alternative representations of social life proliferate through digital networks, they increasingly compete with—and often displace—official narratives. This phenomenon has compelled the state to contend with unprecedented forms of cultural resistance, as decentralized digital practices challenge centralized ideological control.
Notably, social networks have amplified previously marginalized cultural expressions, transforming what were once “hidden narratives” into visible, open discourses. The platforms showcase emerging lifestyles, interpersonal dynamics, and contested social perspectives that directly contradict the state’s curated portrayal of societal harmony. Ultimately, social networks have not merely reflected cultural change in Iran—they have accelerated it by providing infrastructure for resistance and the continuous negotiation of social meaning. The resulting crisis of representation marks a fundamental challenge to authoritarian systems reliant on narrative control.
 
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that the proliferation of digital communication technologies—particularly social networks—has precipitated a fundamental crisis in Iran’s politics of representation. By democratizing cultural production and enabling citizens to articulate alternative narratives, these platforms have significantly eroded the state’s capacity to regulate the semiotic boundaries of public life. The resulting divergence between state-propagated cultural ideals and the lived realities expressed through digital media has created an unsustainable tension, exposing the fragility of authoritarian cultural governance.
The findings underscore an urgent paradox for Iranian policymakers: while the state’s legitimacy depends on maintaining ideological coherence, its current repressive strategies only amplify cultural dissonance. As digital-native generations and urban middle classes increasingly articulate divergent values and aspirations through social media, the government faces a critical juncture. The research suggests that institutional adaptation—through more inclusive cultural policies and responsive governance mechanisms—could mitigate growing societal fractures. However, the continued reliance on coercive control risks exacerbating cultural alienation, potentially transforming the current crisis of representation into broader political destabilization.
From a policy perspective, this analysis highlights the futility of purely restrictive measures in the digital age. Sustainable cultural governance would require the Iranian state to transition from unilateral imposition to negotiated cultural pluralism—a shift that acknowledges the transformative impact of communication technologies on societal values. Without such structural adaptation, the Islamic Republic may face escalating cycles of cultural resistance and state repression, further undermining its ability to shape national narratives in an increasingly digital public sphere.