The Political Communications of Iranian Green Resistance Movement of 2009: A Critical Discourse Analysis

In 2009 Iran witnessed the Green Movement, a popular uprising that challenged the status quo of the socio-political structures of the Islamic Republic. In this research, I attempt to develop an understanding of the conditions that contributed to the demise of the movement. This study takes a Critical Theory approach, and the theoretical foundations of this work are the Theory of Structuration of Giddens and the Theory of Communicative Action of Habermas. The data is drawn from YouTube videos and analyzed through Critical Discourse Analysis. This research identifies the key stakeholders of the movement and investigates weather their aspirations regarding the uprising were aligned or stood in contrast. My investigation uncovers evidence of systematic communication distortion in the public discourse of the leaders of the movement which greatly impacted demobilization and led to its failure. The results of my study also disprove the viability of the Reform philosophy as a pragmatic political path to democracy.