Emancipation Discourses of National Minorities in Iran : Analyzing the Discourse of Iranian Azerbaijanis As a Minority Group from a Critical Perspective

2021-10-6
Mirzaei, Sina
This thesis analyzes the main discourses of the Azerbaijanis for political representation, liberation, and right to self-determination from a critical perspective in post-revolutionary Iran. The main aim of this research is to evaluate the capability of these discourses in reaching their aims. Various social movements erupted in Ardabil, West and East Azerbaijan, and surrounding provinces in reaction to minority and racial discrimination in the previous years. However, the blockage of the democratic path for demanding the minority rights in Iran has led Azerbaijanis to propound their rights in the streets and even football stadiums rather than official governmental platforms. Therefore, in order to have an understanding of these demands and discourses, this thesis is looking into the discourses of different movements and protests outside and inside Iran. This thesis is looking at certain historical epochs to understand the discourse articulation and shift of hegemonic discourses from one epoch to another. Later, it is analyzing the articulation, gaps, and flaws of the independence-seeking, federalist, and legal positivist discourses of Iranian Azerbaijanis by using the critical discourse analysis method.

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Citation Formats
S. Mirzaei, “Emancipation Discourses of National Minorities in Iran : Analyzing the Discourse of Iranian Azerbaijanis As a Minority Group from a Critical Perspective,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2021.