Iran's policies of Persian nationalism and the Azeris: Before and after the Islamic Revolution

The 20th century was the century of ethnopolitical movements. The rapid and deep- rooted globalization movements in the 21st century have not been able to eliminate the feature of ethnic identity as the basic element that individuals refer to when defining themselves. Therefore, ethnicity and minority studies still have critical importance in making sense of a country's politics, the structure of society in that country, and predicting potential conflict zones. In this study, Iran's Persian nationalism policies and the position of Azeris, the largest ethnic minority group in the country, in relation to these policies were examined. While periodizing in the thesis, the Islamic Revolution, which primarily determines Iran's present and can be considered the most important turning point in modern Iranian history, is taken as a basis. Since the coming to power of the Pahlavis also constituted the beginning of Iran's nation- state experience, this period was compared with the post-Islamic Revolution period and what the revolution brought for the ethnic minorities in the country was examined.