Globalization and Iranian Identity

Globalization, as an Overwhelming process, has affected all aspects of life in the range of individual and group identity, culture, politics, Economics, etc. This in turn, has added to its complexity and ambiguity. Since globalization is one of the main factors to be Considered regarding the issue of national identity, so this process is not simply a force for homogenization, through which a culture can destroy the other identities. Iran, having a prosperous (rich) culture and civilization throughout it thousands years long history, has always enjoyed a continuous non-broken identity during the time, and though having different forms, its originality has never been altered. On the other hand, although variations occurred in the surface layers of Iranian culture and identity, however, they failed to find a way into deeper layers of Iranian Identity. Also, the culture and civilization of Iran, giving services to the development of the common heritage of global civilization, together with the different neighboring tribes created a specific identity, which has always been expanding and evolving during the times. In the process of globalization, in addition to the revolution of communications and information, two big and important historical events realized the issue of identity for Iranians within the last two decades of the twentieth century: the first was the Islamic Revolution(in Iran) and Islamism, which was emerged in the form of a new identity after 1980s, and the second event was the collapse of the so-called bipolar world in 1990s, which led to the loss of geopolitical balance in the political world. This descriptive – analytical survey, using library recourses and the Internet, seeks to in one hand, explain Iranian identity, and realize the opportunities and challenges to Iranian identity in the globalization process, on the other.