Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

Political Economy Impulses and the Erosion of Cultural Capital: A Study of Media Use by the Iranian Middle Class in the Era of Sanctions

Document Type : .

Authors

Sepideh Piri 1
Ali Asghar Saeidi 2
Hamid Abdollahyan 3

1 PhD Student in Sociology, Department of Iranian Social Issues, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Social Planning and Welfare, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.30465/ismc.2026.54730.3054
Abstract
Introduction
This article studies, evaluates, and interprets the effects of political economy shocks, including international sanctions, chronic inflation, and severe economic fluctuations, on the middle class of Iran, and shows how these pressures can lead to the erosion of cultural capital, the weakening of social roles, and the change of media consumption patterns of this class. At the beginning, the article formulates the main problem of the research in the link between economic crises, the transformation of the position of the middle class and its social consequences. Although some social consequences of sanctions are mentioned in the introductory part, the main focus of the article is on the impact of these sanctions on the middle class and its cultural, social and developmental capacities.
Materials and Methods
Theoretically, the article builds its interpretive framework mainly on the opinions of Weber and Bourdieu by briefly reviewing the views of Marx, Weber, Bourdieu and Maurice Halbwachs on class, cultural capital, social status and collective memory. In this framework, the middle class is not only defined based on economic status, but also analyzed from the perspective of lifestyle, cultural capital, social status, consumption patterns, political attitudes, and the type of exposure to the media. In terms of methodology, the article uses the historical approach and narrative analysis and, inspired by the views of Potter and Hayden White, evaluates the historical developments of the Iranian middle class in the context of economic, social and political narratives.
Discussion and Results
Based on this, the paper first takes a brief look at the impact of economic fluctuations on social classes and its political consequences in the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, and then follows this trend in the period after the 1357 revolution until the current situation. The historical and analytical findings of the article show that the middle class of Iran, especially from the end of the Qajar period and during the Pahlavi period, expanded and played an important role in education, bureaucracy, new professions, urban culture and economic development; But it has always been vulnerable to economic crises, inflation, instability and political pressures. In the post-revolutionary period, despite the continued role of this class in education, specialization, entrepreneurship, cultural consumption, social demands, and the expansion of media communications, sanctions and high inflation have weakened part of its economic power and cultural capital.
The article argues that when subsistence pressures intensify, part of the middle class is forced to reduce cultural consumption, limit social participation, migrate, change jobs, or replace democratic and legal concerns with immediate subsistence priorities. In such a situation, the media also have a dual function for this class: on the one hand, they become a tool for raising awareness, maintaining social ties, representing dissatisfaction, and transmitting lived experiences, and on the other hand, in crisis situations, they can become a space for anxiety, despair, polarization, and erosion of social trust. The result of the article shows that supporting the middle class, strengthening the cultural capital and reducing the economic pressures on it, is a fundamental necessity for the realization of sustainable economic, social and political development in Iran.
Conclusion
In addition to controlling inflation and reducing economic instability, public policies should pay attention to preserving cultural capital, supporting education, strengthening public services, reducing job insecurity, supporting cultural consumption, and rebuilding social trust. Without rebuilding the position of the middle class, the possibility of achieving sustainable economic, social, and political development in Iran will face serious difficulties.

Keywords

Middle class
Effect of sanctions
Iran’s economic development
Narrative analysis
Political consequences
Subjects
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Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture
Volume 16, Issue 1 - Serial Number 31
1 (Spring& Summer)2026
September 2026
Pages 345-383

  • Receive Date 01 June 2026
  • Revise Date 15 June 2026
  • Accept Date 15 June 2026
  • Publish Date 23 August 2026

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