The Role of Local Media in the Political Development Process in Iran (A Case Study of Kurdistan Province after the Islamic Revolution in Iran)

Abstract

According to many sociologists, the political press is one of the most important indicators of political development and it is mentioned as one of the main pillars in democracy. An active press, while accelerating the improvement of political development, prevents tyranny and political stagnation in a country. The press, as one of the most important tools of mass surveillance, makes the sphere of power more transparent, and those in power will be accountable for their performance. In this regard, the main question of the present article is, by what mechanism do the press and media influence the process of political development? In analyzing and answering this question, first by using the existing theories in the field of political development, the relationship between the press and analysis and evaluation was established. Then, while examining the activity of the press in Kurdistan province after the Islamic revolution, the extent of their effectiveness in the process of political development of this province has been examined. One of the indicators of political development that is discussed in the current research is the level of political participation of citizens in elections. To collect and analyze the data of this issue in Kurdistan province, the statistical research method has been used. The findings of the research show that at any point in the Kurdistan province, during the years after the Islamic revolution, the activities of the press and news media have grown, and the process of upgrading the indicators of political development has also improved. Of course, it should be acknowledged that the mere quantity of the press is not effective in improving the process of political development, but what is important is the degree of freedom of the press and media and the threshold oftolerance of regulatory institutions.