Factors Affecting Voter Behavior with a View to Declining Participation in the Fourteenth Election Cycle in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The present study primarily aims to analyze and trace the roots of various factors influencing Iranian voters' behavior, with a focus on the reasons for declining participation in the fourteenth presidential election cycle. Accordingly, the question arises as to what structural and functional factors have laid the groundwork for the reduced participation rate in this election cycle, and what commonalities or differences exist between this phenomenon and similar instances in the United States and certain European countries. This research has been conducted using a qualitative descriptive-analytical method; the required data, in addition to library sources, written documents, and reputable articles, have been extracted and analyzed through the systematic enumeration and examination of the opinions, interviews, notes, and positions of forty prominent political experts and leading journalists. The research findings indicate that livelihood problems and economic challenges, the continuation of international sanctions, the lack of formation and dynamism of strong political parties, the emergence of political disorientation and anomie (political apathy), the perception that votes have no impact on the fate of society, declining social capital and distrust in official institutions, and finally, the limited diversity of candidates to cover all political persuasions, have been the primary drivers of reduced participation. Ultimately, the research results suggest that voter behavior in Iran is the product of the synergy between economic crises and structural blockages; therefore, restoring the participation rate in the future will not be achieved through one-dimensional approaches, but rather requires the tangible reconstruction of social capital, the revival of pluralistic partisanship, the reproduction of a sense that the ballot box is effective in elite circulation, and a tangible improvement in the people's livelihood conditions.

کلیدواژه ها:

Voter Behavior ، Political Participation ، Fourteenth Presidential Election ، Political development ، Democracy.