The Role of Social Capital on Political Socialization (The case Study of undergraduate students of public universities in Tehran)

Despite decades of expansion in international academic fields, the concept of social capital is still an under-researched area in Iranian domestic fields. This term has become a controversial and multidimensional concept, as each branch in the humanities has adopted and applied their own definition of the term, social capital. Giving a functional explanation of the term, this research aims at evaluating the quantitative and qualitative situation of youth’s political socialization process. The focus of this research is on the relationship between the concepts of ‘social capital,’ ‘socialization’ and ‘political affair.’ For the case study, this research focuses on university as a government institution in charge of political socialization in the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Specifically, the research tries to explore the effects of social capital on political socialization process of undergraduate students in public universities in the city of Tehran. The hypothesis of this research is that the higher the level of social capital in public universities in Tehran, the more successful the universities are in realizing the political socialization function of their undergraduate students. Eventually, this study will investigate effective contexts in the process of political socialization to highlight the political functions of social capital.</em>