Aim of the project
This project investigates how the 1979 Iranian Revolution (Abrahamian, 1980, 1982; Agaev, 1986; Fadaee, 2022; Gholizadeh & Hook, 2012) was able to sustain mass mobilization through the strategic broadening of hegemonic discourse. It focuses on how revolutionary leaders used slogans to unify different social and ideological groups under a shared political project. By analyzing a large dataset of revolutionary slogans, the study aims to understand how floating signifiers and nodal points were articulated across different phases of the revolution to maintain momentum and produce a new political order.
Theoretical background
The study builds on Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony (Bates, 1975; Gramsci, 2012) and Ernesto Laclau’s discourse theory (Andersen, 2003; Laclau, 2005; Laclau & Mouffe, 1985) . It draws specifically on the concepts of floating signifiers—terms with multiple meanings that allow different groups to see their demands reflected—and nodal points, which anchor the discourse and connect various elements into a chain of equivalence. Using Van Bommel and Spicer’s model of crafting hegemony through discourse (Van Bommel & Spicer, 2011) , the study theorizes how revolutionary actors propagated discourses that enabled coalition-building across divided sectors of society. These discursive mechanisms are analyzed to show how a fragmented opposition was unified into a single revolutionary subject.
Research design
The project uses a mixed-methods approach. It analyzes a dataset of more than 4,000 revolutionary slogans collected between 1977 and 1980 in Iran (Muhtari, 1979; Panahi, 2012) . These slogans were translated from Persian to English and categorized into three historical phases: pre-revolution, revolutionary, and post-revolution. The analysis identifies dominant nodal points (e.g., Shah, Khomeini) and floating signifiers (e.g., freedom, martyrdom, unity) across each phase. The project applies frequency analysis to determine the prominence of each concept over time, followed by qualitative interpretation of selected slogans to analyze how meanings were articulated. This strategy aims to show how the reconfiguration of signifiers helped transform the revolution’s discourse into a hegemonic formation.
- Discipline
Sociology - Location
University of Groningen, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department of Sociology - Period
Started June 1, 2023
