Policy Making for Ethnic Diversity in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Vision, Objectives and Proposed Policies

Ethnic diversity is a universal phenomenon. Each country designs policy for managing ethnic diversity on the basis of its objectives and approaches on the one hand, and the particular mode of ethnic diversity in that country on the other hand. Islamic Republic of Iran, as a country with a long-standing ethnic diversity, has tried to manage this diversity on the basis of the country's particular view of ethnic diversity and its unique mode of ethnic composition. While reviewing and critiquing some approaches to ethnic management, the authors have attempted to extract visions and objectives of handling ethnic issues in Iran and to propose policies for managing ethnic diversity based on the Islamic Republic of Iran's opportunity-based approach to ethnic diversity and the directives of the leaders of the revolution and the Constitutional and other legal documents of the Republic. The methodology used in this paper is a combination of existing data and document study research, elite panels, expert interviews along with drawing on the author's experiences.