A Sociological Analysis of Ethnic Convergence Among Fars, Turkish and Lor ethnic Groups in Hamedan Provence

Iran is a multiethnic country and the issue of ethnic convergence and divergence is very important in terms of social cohesion and social consensus. The present paper is an attempt to study convergence between Persian, Turkish and Lor ethnic groups in Hamedan province in Western Iran from a sociological perspective, as well as to identify and analyze the factors affecting it. To develop the theoretical framework, the modernization theory (development of culture and communication), the idea of civil society perspective on citizenship and sense of relative deprivation were used. This study follows a survey-based approach. Using stratified multistage cluster sampling, 384 participants living in Hamedan province were selected based on three main criteria, namely their cultural and communication status, their acceptance of citizenship principles and their sense of relative deprivation. Furthermore, Bougardos’s social distance spectrum scale was used to assess the level of interaction among people. The present study, among other things, helps identify the main factors contributing to ethnic integration including social capital, adoption of principles of citizenship, life satisfaction, social and political participation, age, cultural and communications status, sense of relative deprivation and access to mass media, and finally lack of correlation between people’s marital status, employment status and social origin with their ethnic convergence. Finally, path analysis showed that 0.8% of the observed ethnic convergence could be accounted for using the afore-mentioned variables.