Iranian Migrants Research Articles

Migration Processes Between Russia and Iran in the Context of Deepening Cooperation under Sanctions

The article examines the situation of Iranian migrants in Russia with an emphasis on their legal and socio-economic status. The policy of the Russian world in Iran and the Iranian world in Russia is shown. The driving factors of emigration from Iran to Russia were identified, as well as the specifics of the attracting factors of Iranian migration in Russia. The types, forms and trends of migration from Iran to Russia are determined. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the changing trends of Iranian migration in Russia was assessed. A separate section is devoted to the impact of sanctions as a factor contributing to the strengthening of ties between Russia and Iran. We also consider socio-economic and geopolitical interrelations as incentives for strengthening partnership and prerequisites for migration between the countries. The results show that Iranian migrants contribute to the Russian economy and demography, especially in the education market and in sectors such as trade.

Locating Iranian Diasporas in Fifty Years of Academic Discourse: Critical Review of Acculturation Theory

: Over the past five decades, Iran has experienced a massive international emigration of its citizens. Consequently, Iranian diasporas formed in several Western countries as their main destinations. Diverse academic research in gender studies, sociology of the family, and migration has taken an acculturation approach to explaining the struggles of Iranians living abroad. This article aims to discuss the analytical issues that are involved in taking the acculturation framework and the binary view of either traditional/modern or religious/secular when studying Iranian diasporas. The study argues that many publications in the field have contributed to the hegemonic discourse of Iranian migrants as being problematic and whose ‘culture’ does not fit ‘Western modernity’. Such an analytical departure bypasses the intersecting structural inequalities that Iranian diasporas have encountered in Western societies. The article suggests that focusing on the politics of belonging and exclusion is a way out of viewing culture as a given and fixed entity with clear-cut boundaries.

Iranian Migrants’ Perceptions of Turkish and Iranian Culture: A Comparative Analysis with ZMET Technique

This study aims to determine the perceptions of culture and communication in the social life of Iran and Türkiye. In the study, the prominent aspects of how Iranian migrants experience the culture and communication in the social life were examined. Furthermore, it was endeavored to ascertain the most important issues in Turkish and Iranian culture for Iranian migrants. In this context, Iranian migrants who reside in Türkiye were reached by using Snowball Sampling method, and Zaltman’s ZMET Technique was used in the study. According to this technique, in-depth interviews were made with 10 Iranian migrants who reside in Türkiye. The contents of the interviews were transferred to a virtual environment as text, and specific codes were determined via content analysis. As a result of this analysis, a consensus map was created. Consequently, it was observed that Iranian migrants associated Iranian culture with the Nowruz festival, family, Iranian dishes and desserts, historical symbols, and religious symbols and they described Turkish culture through Atatürk, the Turkish flag, family, city, and the social life. The participants mentioned that Iran is in a global war and therefore, they depicted the country mostly in the color red. The cultural codes and the colors red, blue, green, and beige were emphasized for Türkiye.

Self-conscious emotions in virtual communities of iranian migrants: a cross-cultural examination of persian lexicon of shame, guilt, and pride

Self-conscious emotions in virtual communities of iranian migrants: a cross-cultural examination of persian lexicon of shame, guilt, and pride

Adaptation Practices of Persian Migrants in the North Caucasus (the Second Half of the XIX - the Beginning of the Twentieth Century)

The study of the processes of adaptation of labor migrants in the modern world is actualized by the impact of active cross-border movements on the economy, culture, politics and interstate interaction. The study of the historical experience of the legal and economic aspects of the adaptation of Iranian migrants in the North Caucasus in the second half of the X1X - early XX century undertaken in this article significantly complements and corrects the known, but rather contradictory information about Iranian immigrants, and also makes a certain contribution to the theory of the life structure of the diaspora. The analysis of Russian laws regulating the life of foreigners in Russia and the peculiarities of their application in the North Caucasus, identified from archival sources, made it possible to study the adaptation practices of Persian migrants. Among Persian migrants, the vast majority crossed the border illegally, as the adjacent territory between the northern part of Iran and the southern borders of Russia, in particular, the Azerbaijani lands, for a long time remained accessible to residents of both countries. In this regard, the first adaptive practices of migrants were associated with shelter from Russian legislation. However, over time, the rules were tightened, and their non-implementation undermined the life of the migrant. The official registration of a residence permit, a “Russian ticket”, Russian citizenship, a voluntary change of the family name to the Russian manner, with the addition of the suffix “ov”, the election of intermediaries to interact with local authorities and other individual practices identified from archival sources, strengthened the social prestige of the migrant, necessary for the successful organization of entrepreneurial activity. The organization of ethnic entrepreneurship, the creation of jobs for compatriots, were the basis and guarantor of the success of the life of the Persian community. The status of a migrant was also enhanced by a noticeable participation in charitable activities aimed both at solving common problems and at helping the Persian community: the foundation of mosques, Persian schools and charitable societies, which together ensured both the preservation of identity and integration into the host society.

The Perceptions of Aging among Iranian Migrants: Evidence from Nevsehir, Turkey

The paper looks at perceptions of aging among elderly Iranian migrants in Nevsehir, Turkey. The author explores how socioeconomic and cultural factors and the transit migrant status of these migrants affect their perceptions of aging. The study used a semi-structured questionnaire to conduct in-depth interviews. It suggests that wage discrimination plays a significant role in determining the respondents’ perceptions of aging due to the lack of official work permits for Iranian migrants. It also explores how the transit migrant status of elderly Iranian migrants and the uncertainty of their stay in Turkey restrict their social networks and access to social protection, sharply shaping their perceptions of aging.

Illegal Trafficking of Ammunition Along the Iran–Caucasian Border in the Early 20th Century

In the early years of the 20th century, unprecedent waves of Iranian subjects poured into Russia, especially to the Southern Caucasus region, in search of better income and better life. Most of them experienced extremely difficult life, which passed in search of food for themselves and their families. However, among the vast majority of the Iranian émigrés, there were those few who were able to succeed in gaining fortune, through business and their personal skills, but there were also those who did it through illegal activities. This article delves on two such Iranians, Piyadadi Jafar Mashadi Jafar-Ogli (Piyadadah Jaʻfar Mashhadi Jaʻfar-Oǧlu) and Yusif Gadji Karbalai (Haji Yusif Karbalaʼi), who were involved in cross-border smuggling activity, with ammunition from Russia to Iran being one of them. Their cases shed light on the dark and secretive corners of the illegal interaction between Russian administrative and military authorities in the Southern Caucasus region and some of the Iranian migrants. In turn, these interactions enable us to ponder on their exceptional expressions in comparison with the interactions with most of the Iranian migrants.

Power, Belonging, and Respectability

Power, Belonging, and Respectability

Acculturation and Anger Expression Among Iranian Migrants in Germany.

Cultural and biographical influences on the expression of emotions manifest themselves in so-called “display rules.” These rules determine the time, intensity, and situations in which an emotion is expressed. To date, only a small number of empirical studies deal with this transformation of how migrants, who are faced with a new culture, may change their emotional expression. The present, cross-sectional study focuses on changes in anger expression as part of a complex acculturation process among Iranian migrants. To this end, Iranian citizens in Iran (n = 61), German citizens (n = 61), and Iranian migrants in Germany (n = 60) were compared in terms of anger expression behavior and acculturation strategy (assimilation, separation, integration, marginalization) was assessed among the migrants, using the Frankfurt Acculturation Scale (FRACC). A questionnaire developed in a preliminary study was used to measure anger expression via subjective anger experience and anger expression within 16 hypothetical situations. Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVA) revealed that Iranians and Iranian migrants reported higher anger experience ratings than Germans and directed their anger more often inward (anger-in). Further findings suggest that transformation processes may have affected Iranian migrants in terms of suppressed anger (anger-in): Iranian migrants with a higher orientation toward German culture reported lower average anger-in scores. These results suggest that there was different emotional expression among Iranian migrants, depending on their acculturation. The results provide new insight into socio-cultural and individual adjustment processes.

Migration History of Iranians in the North Caucasus

The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of mass migration of the Persian population to the Russian Empire in the 19th-early 20th centuries, its North Caucasian features. Iranians who migrated to Russia, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. constituted an important part of the entire society in the North Caucasus. They participated in the development of industry and business life, in the revolutionary movement, preserving their own community, and interacted with Russian realities. The article analyzes the stages and characteristic features of the migration of the Persian population to the North Caucasus in the 19th century. after the conclusion of international treaties between Russia and Persia (Gulistan 1813, Turkmanchay 1828, Convention on the movement of subjects of both states in 1844). Taking into account the general determinants of migration, for the first time, the existing explanations for the emergence of migrant workers from Persia to the South of the Russian Empire in the English-language literature have been investigated. The origin of labor and social migration in Iran in the 19th century, its orientation towards the Caucasus and its broad consequences are considered in connection with social factors that arose under the influence of political events in Iran, which determined the historical conjuncture. In the study of the characteristics of the Persian resettlement and long-term residence in the settlements of the North Caucasus, the starting points, routes and accommodation of Iranian migrants in the Terek region are of great importance. The Terek region got into the migration history of Iranians as a result of the migration policy of Russia, its geographical location and the peculiarities of the developing economy, which provided more favorable and sparing working conditions. about a large number of Iranians who received passports at the consulates in Urmia and Tabriz. Unlike other movements of the Iranian population in the 19th century, the migration of Persians to Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries had its own differences: it was characterized by regularity, the involvement of a significant number of people of different ages and genders, and was mainly caused by economic reasons. Developing trade relations, economic decline in Persia became the reasons for the ever-increasing migration of the Persians to the Russian borders.

Antecedents and consequences of system justification among Iranian migrants in Western Europe

Seeing the sociopolitical system as fair and legitimate is important for people’s participation in civic duties, political action, and the functioning of society in general. However, little is known about when migrants, without life-long socialization in a certain system, justify the sociopolitical system of their host country and how system justification influences their political participation. We examined antecedents of system justification using a survey among Iranian migrants in eight European countries (N = 935). Subsequently, we examined the relationship between system justification and political participation intentions. We found that system justification beliefs are generally high in our sample, mainly stemming from an assessment of opportunity to achieve changes in intergroup relations. Stronger social identity threat, feeling disadvantaged, a longer residence in Europe, and perceived intergroup stability all relate to less system justification. Conversely, stronger efficacy beliefs bolster system justification. Furthermore, we found some support for a curvilinear relationship between system justification and political participation intentions, but the size of this effect is small. The results show that the high levels of system justification of Iranian migrants are at risk when discrimination and disadvantage are perceived to be stable facets of society. Surprisingly, political participation to better Iranian migrants’ societal position is barely affected by system justification. We discuss implications and further research that can increase understanding of system justification among migrants.

Persian Population of Terek Region in Second Half of 19th — Early 20th Centuries

The migration movement of the population of Northern Iran to the Terek region in the era of its post-reform modernization in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries is considered. The reasons, nature, time and features of the migration history of the Iranians are considered. The novelty of the study lies in the identification of specific starting points of migration on the territory of Iran, routes of advancement on Russian territory and places of settlement in the Terek region. Particular attention is paid to the study of the social composition and economic adaptation of migrants. On the basis of archival sources, corrections were made to the prevailing ideas about social strata, about the labor nature of migration, and about the ethnic composition of migrants. Significant differences in the situation of migrants in the Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus are revealed. The dependence of these differences on the characteristics of the host society — the Terek region during the period of post-reform modernization of the economy and social development -is determined. The specifics of the arrangement of Iranian migrants in national regions of the region have been determined. It is concluded that ethnic entrepreneurship was the basis of the adaptation process and the life of migrants who made a significant contribution to the development of the region’s economy.

Foodways, Iranianness, and national identity habitus: the Iranian diaspora in Aotearoa New Zealand

In this article we ethnographically investigate how diasporic Iranians in Aotearoa/New Zealand deployed a variety of foodways in emphasizing varied identity constructs in different contexts and to different audiences. We argue that Iranian migrants experienced a cleft habitus that prompted hyper-reflexivity and associated strategic identity discourses and performances. Moreover, we analyze their diasporic reflexivity and practices through ‘bottom-up’ national identity constructions and performances and its four modalities of talking, choosing, consuming, and performing the nation. Diasporic Iranians frequently highlighted what they considered to be ideally Iranian-as-Persian in attempts to position themselves as secular Iranians/Muslims and in contradiction to the host society’s prevalent prejudices concerning ‘fundamentalist Arabs’, ‘Middle Easterners’ and ‘Muslims’. In doing this, they strategically consumed foods (most notably pork and red wine) considered to be ‘taboo’ under Islamic religious beliefs and did so especially in contexts dominated by their Pākehā (New Zealand European) hosts; they also invented new food symbolisms and rituals in collective celebrations (such as Yalda) to draw attention to a glorious imagined past – Persian and Iranian – which was often not recognized by their host society and which positioned the diasporic Iranians as secular and cultural. As such we address a marked lacuna in research investigating the food-identity-nationalism nexus among diasporic Iranians in general and in Aotearoa/New Zealand specifically.

Cultural issues on accessing mental health services in Nepali and Iranian migrants communities in the UK.

Mental health in Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities is a rising public health concern in the UK, with key challenges around accessing mental health services. Our understanding of mental health issues in the growing Nepali and Iranian communities in the UK is very limited. Therefore, this study aims to explore the major factors affecting access to, and engagement with NHS mental health services. This study used a qualitative approach comprising in-depth interviews with seven Nepali, eight Iranians and six community mental health workers in the south of England. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Six themes were identified: (1) stigma and fear; (2) gender; (3) language; (4) tradition and culture; (5) family involvement; and (6) lack of cultural awareness in health workers, all appearing to be major issues. This study contributes to a shared understanding of mental illness within two given cultural contexts to promote early interventions in UK mental health services. Developing cross-cultural perspectives in health care should be a priority in practice.

Coping with Coping: International Migrants’ Experiences of the Covid‐19 Lockdown in the UK

Globally, policymakers have overlooked the challenges faced by international migrants in host countries during the Covid‐19 pandemic. The policies and support systems designed by host governments highlight the lack of social justice and raise concerns for scholarly attention. Considering the experiences of international migrants living in the UK during the Covid‐19 lockdown from the theoretical perspective of coping, this interpretivist study investigates international migrants’ coping strategies adopted during the first UK national lockdown. Data collected from 60 Chinese, Italian and Iranian migrants using semi‐structured interviews during the lockdown period were analysed thematically using NVivo. The findings show that migrants adopted multi‐layered and multi‐phase coping strategies. To cope with the anxiety and uncertainties caused by the pandemic, they initiated new practices informed by both home and host institution logics. Nevertheless, the hostile context's responses provoked unexpected new worries and triggered the adoption of additional and compromising practices. The paper illustrates how coping became paradoxical because migrants had to cope with the hostile reactions that their initial coping strategies provoked in the host environment. By introducing the new concept of coping with coping, this paper extends previous theoretical debate and leads to several managerial implications for governments and policymakers.

Dietary practices of Iranian migrant women in the United Kingdom

This research investigates the role of migration on the dietary practices of Iranian migrant women in the United Kingdom. It takes into account previous studies that migration leads to poorer socio-economic status of women that limits their food choices. Conversely, a study in Britain reveals that Iranian migrants continue with their traditional Iranian food practices. This qualitative study was informed by social practice theory, which posits that practices depend on the integration of three key elements: materials, competences and meanings. The study participants were 22 first generation Iranian migrant women aged 24–64 residing in London. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured, individual interviews and were analyzed thematically. Findings reveal that despite the diminished socio-economic status of some recent migrant women, the widespread multicultural food stores (materials), the affordable food prices, coupled with the women's cooking skills and improved knowledge of healthy food (greater competences) result in colonizing their energy, time, skills and budget (competences) in preparing healthy foods amongst those living with family members. At a personal level, most single women without children acknowledged their improved knowledge as the key to eating a healthy diet in Britain. Some women, however, recognize resorting to overeating to cope with the psychological demands of migration. Future studies need to focus on identifying the best possible supports for the Iranian migrant women in Britain from the early stages of their migration.

Dual Spacisations: A Case Study of Iranian American Weblogs

The purpose of this research is to study how online transnational spaces are created in blogs by Iranians who are residents of America. In cyberspace, place, to a large extent, loses its importance; online transnational spaces can thus provide possible virtual return for Iranian migrants in the US. Using planned sampling, this paper analyses the migration narratives of 15 Persian language blogs written by Iranians in the United States of America through qualitative content analysis. The bloggers were sorted into three categories of identity: Iranian-Ancient Identity, Iranian-Islamic Identity and Iranian-American Identity. Most bloggers belonged to the third category of identities. The research showed that although the Iranian migrant bloggers are loyal to their place of origin, they defined themselves as Iranian-American. This identity-making is not in contrast with neither Iranian nor American identity, but it is indicated in the form of a connection.

Divergent Heterogeneities in Iranian Migration in France: Semantic and Theoretical Limitations of Diaspora

ABSTRACTDespite its widespread use as an equivalent for migrant populations, the term diaspora remains semantically and theoretically ambiguous. This study hypothesizes that the term diaspora fails to represent Iranian migration and its divergent heterogeneities. Discussing theoretical approaches to the diaspora, the characteristics of Iranian migration, and the findings of interviews with forty young Iranian migrants living in France, the present study attempts to offer a more suitable alternative to the term diaspora. It will be revealed that the heterogeneity of Iranian migration in causes, the conception of migration experience, as well as disinclination to create a unified community in host countries, lead Iranians living outside their country to form scattered clusters. The term proposed to be used in lieu of diaspora is archipelago ethnicity, which shows both the heterogeneity and divergence in Iranian migration in general and represents the only connection between the scattered and isolated islands, that is Iranian‐ness.

Smugglers, Migrants, and Refugees: The Iran–Iraq Border, 1925–1975

AbstractDue to the illegal movement of goods and people, the Khuzistan-Basra frontier, like many other borderlands in the region, represented a liminal space for border dwellers and the Iranian state. Although scholars have written about the migration that was endemic to the early nation-building period, the consequences of this movement in the latter half of the 20th century require further exploration. Well into the 1970s, Iranian migrants and border dwellers complicated citizenship, evinced by the Pahlavi monarchy's failure or refusal to offer them their rights. The Iranian archives prove that, decades into the nation-building project, local dynamics continued to exert tremendous influence on Iranians and even superseded national policies.

Iranian Migrants’ Lived Experiences of Access to Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Services in Western Australia: A Conventional Content Analysis

A positive approach towards sexual health should be considered in the policymaking process. There are different obstacles to migrants’ access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services (SRHS). The broad objective of this study was to investigate the perceptions and experiences (barriers and enablers) of Iranian migrants in accessing healthcare services for their reproductive and sexual health needs in Western Australia (WA). The study, which was conducted between June and November 2016, qualitatively addressed two main questions: “What are Iranian migrants’ experiences of accessing healthcare services (public and private) for their reproductive and sexual health needs?” and “What barriers and enablers do Iranian migrants experience in accessing healthcare services and information for their reproductive and sexual health needs?” The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 Iranian adult migrants (seven women and three men), who lived in WA for more than 12 months (< 20 years). The data were evaluated using conventional content analysis. The participants described six major themes: “feeling of being insufficient,” “seeking information,” “seeking trust, credibility, safety, and confidentiality,” “unfavorable experiences,” “facing pre-established beliefs and feelings,” and “seeking Iranian sexologists”. Iranian migrants faced many barriers in accessing SRHS in WA; accordingly, there is a need for addressing these barriers in the Iranian migrant community of Australia. Health professionals and healthcare systems must be appraised with respect to the migrants’ needs. Policymakers need to prioritize the education of both healthcare providers and receivers, to facilitate equitable access to SRHS.