Humanities & Social ScienceWith the Iranian election and the protests there are occasional references to ethnic groups in Iran. For example, Mousavi did not do as well in Azerbaijan as one would expect knowing that he is an ethnic Azeri Turk. The father of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamneini is also an Azeri Turk. So despite the fact that ethnic Persians, who speak Farsi, are the dominant group in Iran and to a large extent define its national identity, minorities have prominent roles. Iran is about 50% Persian and 25% Azeri Turk, with the balance being defined by a host of other groups such as Kurds.
But does this matter? The World Values Survey done in 2005 in Iran had a breakdown by language. So one can examine to see if there are any differences between Azeri Turks and Persians. I didn't really find much at all. Below the fold are a a range of responses to various questions.
| Religious leaders should not influence how people vote | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Agree strongly | 23.5 | 25.8 |
| Agree | 32.5 | 36 |
| Neither | 21.9 | 21.9 |
| Disagree | 17.9 | 14.3 |
| Strongly disagree | 4.2 | 2.1 |
| Religious leaders should not influence government | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Agree strongly | 13.7 | 17.5 |
| Agree | 29.9 | 27 |
| Neither | 24.3 | 28.1 |
| Disagree | 24.3 | 22.2 |
| Strongly disagree | 7.7 | 5.1 |
| Better if more people with strong religious beliefs in office | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Agree strongly | 38.1 | 29.1 |
| Agree | 35 | 38.2 |
| Neither | 18.3 | 20.7 |
| Disagree | 6.6 | 9.1 |
| Strongly disagree | 2 | 2.9 |
| Proud of nationality | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Very proud | 69.6 | 64.4 |
| Quite proud | 25.2 | 29.2 |
| Not very proud | 3.5 | 5.3 |
| Not at all proud | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| See myself as a world citizen | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Agree strongly | 29.1 | 30.5 |
| Agree | 50 | 53.8 |
| Neither | 17.9 | 14.1 |
| Disagree | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Strongly disagree | ||
| Highest education attained | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Elementary | 23.1 | 16.4 |
| Secondary | 24.4 | 30.1 |
| University, etc. | 10.5 | 20.2 |
| Never justifiable | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Divorce | 45.9 | 45.8 |
| Abortion | 61.7 | 60.7 |
| Prostitution | 81.4 | 81.8 |
| Homosexuality | 82.1 | 81.7 |
| Bribery | 70 | 73.9 |
| Azeri | Persian | |
| A religious person | 88.2 | 82.9 |
| Not a religious person | 11.2 | 17 |
| Atheist | 0 | 0.1 |
| Which party would you vote for? | ||
| Azeri | Persian | |
| Would not vote | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| None | 3.8 | 5.5 |
| Other | 3 | 4.3 |
| Fundamentalists | 23.2 | 23.4 |
| Reformists | 37.3 | 37.3 |
| Independents | 31.1 | 27.3 |
Comments
An alternative to this link...
http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23IranElection
(Which was hyperlinked with the text "Iranian election and the protests" in the post.)
Is this link...
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23IranElection
The first link will only work for those who have a Twitter account and are logged into the Twitter web-interface, whereas the second link should work for everyone.
Posted by: Charles Iliya Krempeaux | June 15, 2009 8:43 PM
Are the Azeri Turks more economically successful than the Persians?
Posted by: ben g | June 15, 2009 11:56 PM
Is there a labeling issue here? The first two questions are both labeled "Religious leaders should not influence how people vote."
Posted by: Joshua Zelinsky | June 15, 2009 11:59 PM
ben, not in this sample. they're a touch more working class.
joshua, fixed.
Posted by: razib | June 16, 2009 1:07 AM