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1 2 The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master thesis are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “International Environmental Studies”, “International Development Studies” and “International Relations”. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Bijan Tafazzoli, August 2014 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01 Internet: http://www.nmbu.no/noragric 3 Declaration I, (Bijan Tafazzoli), declare that this thesis is a result of my research investigations and findings. Sources of information other than my own have been acknowledged and a reference list has been appended. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university for award of any type of academic degree. Signature……………………………….. Date 15th August 2014 4 Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to thank my wonderful family especially my brother Behrang for all their support and the motivation they gave me over the years. I would also like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my supervisor Dr. Arne Strand who supported and motivated me over the past two years. I would like to thank Dr. Stig Jarle Hansen whose contribution is stimulating suggestions and encouragement and how he helped me find new vistas. I also would like to thank my program coordinator Ingunn Bohmann for all the support she has shown during the duration of my program. 5 6 The presentation of the foreign troops and their operations in Afghanistan in Iranian conservative and reformist media: Case study: Kayhan and Shargh newspapers (November 2013- July 2014) Abstract This study investigates the presentation of the foreign troops and their operations in Afghanistan in the Iranian newspapers Kayhan and Shargh during the first year of Iranian President Hasan Rouhani’s presidency. The study suggests that there are different political factions with different / opposite approaches in Iran, which present their political and ideological perspectives through the like-minded media. The study mainly uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and its techniques to find the news structures and ways of presentation of “other” individuals / groups. To analyze the two newspapers from the main political factions, the Conservatives and the Reformists, the study first details the Iran’s socio-political context and then shows that despite unequal balance of power and restricted media freedom, the two newspapers have two noticeably different and opposite approaches to the issue under study. The study draw the conclusion that these differences in presenting their “reality” can be rooted in their different logics and their different supporters’ political approaches. 7 Table of Contents Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Background and context ............................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 Iran, Basic information ...................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Revolutionary Iran and Iranian people ............................................................................................. 12 1.3 Does Iran really matter? ................................................................................................................... 16 1.4 Iran’s revolution and changing foreign policy ................................................................................... 18 1.4.1 Independency and seeking influence in the region ................................................................... 18 1.4.2 Pragmatism and national interest ............................................................................................. 24 1.5 Power dynamism in current Iran ...................................................................................................... 25 1.5.1 Supreme Leader ............................................................................................................................. 26 1.5.2 President .................................................................................................................................... 27 1.5.3 Parliament .................................................................................................................................. 27 1.5.4 Judiciary ..................................................................................................................................... 28 1.5.5 Council of Guardians .................................................................................................................. 28 1.5.6 Expediency Council .................................................................................................................... 29 1.5.7 Assembly of experts ................................................................................................................... 29 1.5.8 Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) ............................................................................... 30 1.6 Political factions in Iran ..................................................................................................................... 32 1.6.1 Conservatives ............................................................................................................................. 33 1.6.2 Reformists .................................................................................................................................. 35 1.6.3 Centrists/Pragmatists ................................................................................................................. 36 1.7 The Supreme Leader and factions .................................................................................................... 38 1.8 Media’s law and freedom in Iran ...................................................................................................... 42 1.9 Shargh and Kayhan as representative of different factions ............................................................. 45 1.9.1 Shargh ........................................................................................................................................ 45 1.9.2 Kayhan ........................................................................................................................................ 47 1.10 Iran’s new government and the struggle for detente .................................................................... 50 1.11 Relationship between Iran and Afghanistan ................................................................................... 55 1.11.1 Iran’s political, economic and ideological influence on Afghanistan ....................................... 56 1.11.2 Iran and Sunni extremism ........................................................................................................ 59 1.11.3 Iran and the relationship with NATO and the US .................................................................... 61 8 1.11.4 Iran and fighting against narcotics ........................................................................................... 64 1.11.5 Iran and Afghan immigrants .................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................................................... 68 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 68 2.1 Research question ............................................................................................................................. 68 2.2 Philosophical considerations ............................................................................................................. 69 2.2.1 Epistemological issues ............................................................................................................... 69 2.2.2 Ontological issues ...................................................................................................................... 70 2.3 Method ............................................................................................................................................. 71 2.3.1 Qualitative and quantitative researches .................................................................................... 71 2.4 Evaluating qualitative research ......................................................................................................... 72 2.4.1 Dealing with data: Gathering