The relationship between the Rentier state and the New Middle Class in Iran (Case Study 1376 to 2005)

This article examines the relationship between the Rentier state and the middle class in the middle of the years of 1997-2005. The main question of this article is what is the relationship between the Rentier state in the current and the middle class in Iran? The main hypothesis of the paper is that the relationship between the state and the middle class in this period was a relationship based on mutual reinforcement, and government policies in this period, despite the Rentierism, were based on the strengthening of the middle class. The results of the research show that the reform government has tried to adopt policies aimed at political development, including in the area of civil liberties, Press freedom, anticorruption, government size reduction and accountability in line with the values of the middle class. The study of field data and reports from international institutions in this area also confirms that the status of the middle class has improved in this period.