Religious Studies of the Media

Religious Studies of the Media

The Role of Mass and Digital Media in Strengthening the National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Mediating Roles of Social Capital and the Discourse of Islamic Resistance

Document Type : Original Article

Author
ali jafari
Assistant Professor, Department of Partnerships and Communications, Institute for Educational Studies, Organization for Educational Research and Planning, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jmrs.2026.574322.1246
Abstract
Objective: In the age of new media, the influence of communication technologies on the soft dimensions of national security—particularly in the context of Iran’s Islamic Revolution—is of strategic importance. This study examines the role of mass and digital media in strengthening the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, focusing on the mediating roles of social capital and the discourse of Islamic resistance.
Method: This applied study employed a descriptive survey design. The study population consisted of Tehran residents aged over 18, of whom 384 were selected through multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected using researcher-developed questionnaires comprising scales measuring media consumption, social capital, the discourse of Islamic resistance, and national security.
Findings: The findings showed that the consumption of media aligned with the official discourse was positively and significantly correlated with social capital, the discourse of Islamic resistance, and national security. Path analysis indicated that social capital and the discourse of resistance fully mediated this relationship: the direct effect of media on national security (β = 0.49) decreased substantially after these variables were introduced into the model (β = 0.15), while their combined contribution accounted for 61% of the variance in national security. In the final model, social capital (0.55), followed by the discourse of Islamic resistance (0.25), emerged as the strongest predictors of national security.
Conclusion: By strengthening social trust and solidarity and institutionalizing the discourse of resistance as a model of political action, official media play an indirect yet decisive role in enhancing national security. These findings underscore the need for integrated and strategic media policymaking focused on the soft sociocultural foundations of national security.
Keywords
media
security
national security
social capital
discourse theory
Islamic resistance
mass media
digital media
Abbaszadeh, H., & Karami, K. (2011). Social capital and sustainable national security. Strategic Studies Quarterly, 14(51), 31–58. [In Persian].
Akhavan Kazemi, B. (2016). Security in the Political System of Islam. Tehran: Kanoon-e Andisheh Javan Publishing Institute. [In Persian].
Azkia, M., & Ghaffari, G. (2014). Sociology of Development. Tehran: SAMT Publications. [In Persian].
Broomand, M. (2017). Social capital and national security. The First National Conference on Social Sciences, Educational Sciences, Psychology, and Social Security.
Buzan, B. (1991). People, states and fear: An agenda for international security studies in the post-cold war era (2nd ed.). Harvester Wheatsheaf. (Translated into Persian in 1378).
Castells, M. (2009). Communication Power. Oxford University Press.
Dabiri Mehr, A. (2013). Cultural Components of the Discourse of Islamic Resistance in the Middle East. Tehran: Institute for Culture, Art and Communication. [In Persian].
Fukuyama, F. (2000). The End of Order: Social Capital and Its Preservation (G. A. Tavassoli, Trans.). Tehran: Iranian Society Publications. [In Persian].
Geber, S., Scherer, H., & Hefner, D. (2016). Social capital in media societies: The impact of media use and media structures on social capital. International Communication Gazette, 78(6), 493–513. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048516640211 (Original work published 2016).
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Jung, N., & Valenzuela, S. (2012). Social Media Use for News and Individuals' Social Capital, Civic Engagement and Political Participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 319–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2012.01574.x
Jafari, A. (2024). The role of national media in achieving the objectives of the Second Step Statement of the Islamic Revolution. Journal of Islamic Awakening Studies, 13(1), 97–114. [In Persian].
Keshishian Sirki, G. (2021). The impact of social capital on national security during the Sacred Defense era. Journal of Sacred Defense Studies, 7(1), 29–54. [In Persian].
Khorasani, A. (2020). The role of monotheistic beliefs in Islamic resistance from the perspective of the Holy Quran. Journal of Quranic Studies, 2(1), 119–144. [In Persian].
Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. Verso.
Mahmoudi Raja, S. Z., & Esmaeili, R. (2024). Social capital and strategies for its enhancement in the media-political environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Emphasizing the cognitive approach. Islamic Revolution Studies, 2(4), 97–137. [In Persian].
Maleki, S., & Amiri, J. (2025). The role of cyberspace and social networks in reconstructing the components of the Islamic Revolution (with emphasis on the Supreme Leader’s recommendations in the Second Step Statement of the Islamic Revolution). Religious Media Studies, 7(26), 7–40. [In Persian].
Masoumi, M., & Padashi, M. (2018). The impact of social capital on national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Journal of New Research in Management and Accounting, 4(11), 269–284. [In Persian].
McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Nazemi Ardakani, M., & Khaldian, S. A. (2018). Cultural components of the discourse of Islamic resistance in the Islamic world. Journal of Political Studies of the Islamic World, 7(2), 59–86. [In Persian].
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.
Resalat, S., Saadipour, E., & Nejat Hosseini, S. M. (2023). Discourse analysis of the Islamic Revolution in national media programs with emphasis on the values of resistance, sacrifice, and martyrdom. Islam and Social Studies, 11(1), 163–197. [In Persian].
Rezaei, S., & Ghaedi, M. R. (2021). The role of media in strengthening social capital in the Second Step of the Islamic Revolution. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 16(47), 145–174. [In Persian].
Sabatini, F. (2008). Social capital and the quality of economic development. Kyklos, 61(3), 466–499. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2008.00413.x
Torabi, Y., & Goodarzi, A. (2004). Values and social security. Journal of Police Knowledge, 6(2), 31–46. [In Persian].
Van Dijk, J. (2012). The Network Society (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Zare Ghiasabadi, F., & Ganji, M. (2015). The relationship between mass media use and the level of social capital in Kashan City. Applied Sociology, 26(4), 109–128. [In Persian].
Religious Studies of the Media
Volume 7, Issue 28
Winter 2026
Pages 101-129