THE POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS OF IRANIAN GREEN RESISTANCE MOVEMENT OF 2009: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS MARAL KARIMI A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO DECEMBER 2015 © MARAL KARIMI, 2015 ABSTRACT In 2009 Iran witnessed the Green Movement, a popular uprising that challenged the status quo of the socio-political structures of the Islamic Republic. In this research, I attempt to develop an understanding of the conditions that contributed to the demise of the movement. This study takes a Critical Theory approach, and the theoretical foundations of this work are the Theory of Structuration of Giddens and the Theory of Communicative Action of Habermas. The data is drawn from YouTube videos and analyzed through Critical Discourse Analysis. This research identifies the key stakeholders of the movement and investigates weather their aspirations regarding the uprising were aligned or stood in contrast. My investigation uncovers evidence of systematic communication distortion in the public discourse of the leaders of the movement which greatly impacted demobilization and led to its failure. The results of my study also disprove the viability of the Reform philosophy as a pragmatic political path to democracy. ii DEDICATION اشک رازی ست لبخند رازی ست عشق رازی ست اشک آن شب لبخند عشقم بود قصه نیستم که بگویی نغمه نیستم که بخوانی صدا نیستم که بشنوی یا چیزی چنان که بشنویی یا چیزی چنان که بدانی من درد مشترکم مرا فریاد کن عشق عمومی – احمد شاملو Tear is a secret Laughter is a secret Love is a secret The tear of that night was laughter of my love I am not a story you can tell Not a melody you can sing Not a voice you can hear Or something you can see Or you can know I’m the common pain Cry me out Common love, Ahmad Shamloo I dedicate this work to all the courageous people of Iran who cried the common pain. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant # 1-51-52265. I am grateful to Professor Ojelanki Ngwenyama for providing me with this opportunity, without this RAship support I would not be able to continue my studies. Similarly, I would like to thank the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at York University for giving my research a home. My sincere gratitude goes to my mentor, Professor Ojelanki Ngwenyama, who supported the Information Technology portion of this research, for introducing me to the art of research. For the privilege of the countless hours he patiently spent training me in philosophy and methods so I can fulfill my passion and do what I love, I am forever thankful. I would also like to thank Professor Minoo Derayeh, covering the Humanities and the Iranian Studies portion of my research, for her sincere engagement with the material, her expert advice in the field and her commentary. Her door was always open, her scientific advice always sound and her support unwavering. I will be forever indebted to Professor Ramin Jahanbegloo, also covering the Iranian studies portion, for extending a helping hand and taking a chance on me when no one else would. I was fortunate to work with him and benefitted from the depth and breadth of his knowledge on the subject and his fresh collegial approach. I must thank my father, Hassan Karimi, for igniting in me a passion for knowledge, for introducing me to literature, to politics, to philosophy and above all to critical reflection. I am grateful for my mother, Zahra Pahlavani, for instilling in me persistence, discipline and perseverance to achieve my goals. To my sister, Aida Karimi, and my children Delaram and Roozbeh Javdan for being a continuous source of joy during this journey. To my husband, Hooman Javdan, without whom this journey would not have begun, I am forever grateful. His love, his continuous encouragement, his selfless sacrifices and his help with our children made it possible for me to continue writing. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……………ii DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………….……………………………………………………………..………….………...Viii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………….…………………………………………………….……….….…...ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………….…….…….……...x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION .................................................................................. 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 RESEARCH QUESTION AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................... 3 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................................. 4 1.3 THESIS METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................... 7 1.4 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 OUTLINE OF THE CHAPTERS ...................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................... 11 2.0 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER ............................................................................................................. 11 2.1 BACKGROUND OF THE MOVEMENT .......................................................................................................... 11 2.2 THE GREEN MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA ............................................................................................ 13 2.3 THE SOCIAL MEDIA: AN OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 3: THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................... 27 3.0 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................... 27 3.1 SITUATING THE RESEARCH ..................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 THEORY OF STRUCTURATION .................................................................................................................. 32 v 3.3 SOCIAL ACTION: THEORY OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTION ............................................................................... 42 3.4 THE PUBLIC SPHERE .............................................................................................................................. 49 3.5 PARTICULARIZING THE THEORY TO MY RESEARCH ....................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 4: THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN ................................................................ 59 4.0 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER ............................................................................................................. 59 4.1 CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 60 4.2 OPERATIONALIZING THE METHOD ........................................................................................................... 64 4.3 DEFINING THE CORPUS OF DATA TO BE ANALYZED ...................................................................................... 67 4.4 CONTENT ANALYSIS AND CODING PROCEDURE........................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER 5: PARTICIPATING ACTORS OF THE GREEN MOVEMENT ..................................................... 82 5.0 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER ............................................................................................................. 82 5.1 IRANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS .............................................................................................................. 83 5.2 THE REFORMIST FACTION ...................................................................................................................... 86 5.3 COMPLEXITIES OF THE IRANIAN POWER STRUCTURE .................................................................................... 99 5.4 THE CONSERVATIVES .......................................................................................................................... 108 5.5 CHAPTER SUMMERY ........................................................................................................................... 113 CHAPTER 6: ANALYSIS OF THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE........................................................................... 115 6.0 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER ........................................................................................................... 115 6.1 STRUCTURES OF DOMINATION: PATRIARCHY ........................................................................................... 115 6.2 CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS: CLAIMS ABOUT THE ECONOMY .................................................................. 140 6.3 STRUCTURES OF SIGNIFICATION AND LEGITIMATION .................................................................................