Document Type : Research Paper
Author
PhD, Department of Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
If we consider the political system as Almond and Powell do as a system with outputs and inputs, this system has inputs and data that strongly influence each other. From the status and balance of these inputs, we can understand how the political system works and its crises. One of the most important factors that make a political system stable is the issue of political participation and support, which is considered an input for the political system. One of the factors that affects the status of political participation and the support of individuals for the political system is the availability of resources and facilities in society, and improving the status of these resources will most likely lead to an improvement in the status of participation. If resources are distributed in a way that does not reduce the gap between classes and people feel injustice, we will most likely witness political apathy and a decrease in political participation in society. Of course, it should be noted that the validity of the claim that there is a direct relationship between distribution and redistribution processes and political and social action in all societies is questionable, and sometimes the nature of these processes does not affect the actions of individuals (for example, in countries where an idealistic ideology or a strong and deep ethnic-tribal culture unites individuals and guides them in the social arena, the role of economic issues is not considered much). After the revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran tried to redistribute resources to improve and deepen social justice and therefore implemented various distribution and redistribution policies in different decades. A review of economic statistics and data shows that the government could not achieve much success in the appropriate distribution of resources. Therefore, it is very important to understand what kind of perception exists in the mental space of society regarding justice and the distribution of resources among the people. Since students are known as an influential group in the political space, this study attempted to examine the state of students' perceptions of the results of distribution and redistribution policies. Therefore, the research attempted to explain the relationship between the perceived justice status of postgraduate students at Tehran universities from the results of distributive and redistributive policies and their political participation. The research hypothesis is based on the claim that the feeling of injustice of postgraduate students at Tehran, Allameh Tabatabaei, and Tarbiat Modares universities from the results of distributive and redistributive policies has caused political passivity and political apathy and reduced their willingness to participate in politics at different levels.
Materials and Methods
The present study is a survey study in terms of control of research conditions. In terms of purpose, it is an applied study. The statistical population of this study is postgraduate students of Tehran, Allameh Tabatabaei and Tarbiat Modares universities in different orientations. In this study, the Cochran formula is used to determine the sample. The maximum permissible error (d) is calculated accurately, and the confidence coefficient is 0.95.
In this study, the library and documentary methods and the field method are used. The documentary and library methods have been used to compile the research literature and theoretical literature section of the study, and the field method is used to collect data from the statistical population using a questionnaire. In this study, a closed questionnaire and a Likert scale are used. The present study is a correlational study and its design is post-event in terms of data collection method.
Results and Discussion
Based on the results of the data in two parts of descriptive statistics and empirical statistics, part of the main hypothesis is confirmed and part of it is rejected. First of all, it should be said that students' perception of justice in different dimensions and perception of distribution and redistribution policies reflect the fact that in their opinion these policies have not achieved the government's intended goals and students consider the distribution of resources in society in the aforementioned dimensions to be unfair. The results show that in the area of participation, an average of 38.5 percent do not have a desire to participate in the presidential elections, while 35 percent have a desire to participate, and about 26.5 percent have an intermediate opinion. As stated, in this case, factors such as religious-ideological ties or the issue of nationalism and importance to democracy are among the effective factors for participation in elections. These results are consistent with the results of some research. In a study conducted by Masoudnia and his colleagues (2012), it was found that there is a significant relationship between the variable of relative deprivation and participation in elections. The results of Castillo's (2009) research also show that economic inequality has a strong impact on political participation. It is also consistent with the results of Gorsin (2018), Brandsma (2016) research that there is a relationship between income inequality and participation and hurts political participation and the rate of participation in elections. The research of Carlos and Castillo (2015) confirms the relationship between the desired state of fair distribution and political participation. Therefore, the more fair the distribution, the greater the participation, and conversely, the more unfair the distribution, the less people will be willing to participate. Regarding participation in government political gatherings such as conferences, rallies, the results show that about 42 percent are willing to attend, and 29.5 percent are not willing to participate, which indicates a weakening of the symbolic aspect of the system and a decrease in symbolic support for the government. Or, it can be said that one of the main reasons why people participate in these events, especially marches, is the ideological and religious ties that bind them to the system, and if this bond is weakened by deepening inequalities, the number of these people who participate in the political society of the government will decrease. As Almond and Powell (2005) and Easton (1953) stated, in the systemic approach, in the event of inefficiency in distributional policies, in the feedback process, we witness a disruption in support for the political system, and if the system can distribute values well in the society, in the feedback process, we witness an increase in support for the political system.
Conclusion
There is a significant relationship between the perception of justice and political participation, and with a change in the perception, the status of participation in elections and rallies will also change. It should be noted that the type of reaction, especially protest action, towards injustice depends on the social and political conditions in that society. Sometimes this perception may be consistent with the actual situation of society and may not differ much from it, and sometimes there may be a large gap between the perception of the situation and reality for some reason. However, given that in terms of statistics and economic indicators, the distribution of resources and facilities in society is not very favorable, and there is a gap and inequality between the center and the periphery and which increases political apathy and decreases political participation.
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