Iranian Demographic Discourses: Policy and Media Reproduction

The issue that this paper considered is the lack of knowledge about the characteristics of the demographic discourses which are produced and reproduced in media. The importance of discourses is related to their ability to affect personal and political decisions. Since experts and stakeholders play important role to enlighten public opinion and to help policymakers, this paper uses critical discourse for analyzing demographic discourses. This study makes a review on scientific demographic discourses and prevailing political discourses in Iran that have effect on demographic policies. Then it does critical discourse analysis and illustrates the main discourse for demographers are natural, and for stakeholders, it is critical. In explanation, institutional and social processes of mentioned discourses are explained. It concludes that media make use critical discourse more than natural one.