Election Promises, Government Limitations, and Political Protests in Iran Case study: Rouhani's Second Government (August 2016-September 2017)

Rouhani’s promises and programs in the twelfth presidential election created a lot of expectations, especially among his supporters. However, after the victory, he confronted the frustration of many of his supporters and the dissatisfaction of many social groups. The question is how and by what factors this situation was created and what were the consequences. In this article, this question is answered based on an extended model of the theory of "relative deprivation" and by exploring the data available in cyberspace along with the documentary data. The findings of the article demonstrate that the second Rouhani's second administration, on the one hand, had created a high volume of expectations and demands, and on the other hand, from the first days of its establishment, faced increasing restrictions on the fulfillment of these expectations and demands. These constraints are due to several factors. Rising pressure from rival forces and institutions during the arrangement of the cabinet, the withdrawal of US from JCPOA and the escalation of sanctions and inconsistent and contradictory policies of the government, especially in the monetary and budgeting context, were among the most important factors. These factors have deepened the economic crisis, raised inflation, unemployment and poverty, and concerns of the lower and middle classes. This situation provoked a chain of social and political protests in the real world and in cyberspace, especially from January 2018 to August 2018. Although the protests were suppressed, they created political distrust and severe frustration among various groups over the Rouhani government's ability.