Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Protests and A Grounded Theory analysis of hope for the future

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Author

Ezatalah Mirzaei

PhD in Cultural Sociology, Assistant Professor, Department of Cooperation and Social Welfare, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2025.5341.5055
Abstract
This Article was conducted with an interdisciplinary approach, aiming to conceptualize the idea of hope for the future. The study used a qualitative methodology based on data-driven theory-building, employing in-depth interviews and theoretical sampling with 13 professors and experts in the fields of political sociology, social psychology, and social policy from Allameh Tabatabai University and the University of Tehran. After theoretical saturation, the interview texts were analyzed using MAXQDA10 qualitative data analysis software, employing open, axial, and selective coding methods. The results from open and axial coding led to the identification of 87 concepts and 15 core categories. Additionally, the selective coding revealed that the core category of the concept of Feelings of social instability and uncertain prospects is influenced by causal conditions (Disappointment with policies and social institutions; comparison and lack of hope in the political system’s achievements; public anger towards injustice; fragmentation of public opinion), as well as contextual conditions (Negative collective experiences of economic crises; age) and intervening conditions (individual, value, and social identity changes; identity formation through new media) leading to consequences such as: reevaluation of the meaning of life and the emergence of protest behavior. Strategies and measures to address these consequences, such as (adjusting expectations and demands with the capacities of the existing government; planning to manage public opinion; representation of unity between officials and the masses; representation of a faithful lifestyle; maintaining balance in domestic and foreign policies), are proposed from the perspective of academic elites.

Keywords

Hope for the future
Protest behavior
social cohesion
Social instability
social policy
Iran

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 26 July 2024
  • Revise Date 01 October 2024
  • Accept Date 19 November 2024

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