Policy Discourse Analysis in the Face of Emerging Information and Communication Technologies in Iran

Scholars have theorized chief paradigm shifts in the way that states confront newly emerged forms of ICT and their dynamics. A significant agenda has flourished since, with critical advances from state command and control to more collaborative practices between governments, entrepreneurs, and citizens as a result of low-intervention approaches to regulation. The article scrutinizes the main discourses that identify the Iranian state’s experience in the context of disruptive ICT based on the analysis of official legal texts. In this way, by use of Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, it addresses both policies that originated from these discourses at the time and the dynamics of them mainly how they have changed, substituted, in face of technological advances. Regarding Fairclough's three levels of description, interpretation, and explanation, a body of regulations and policies aimed at taking control over challenging commutation technologies esp. “Home VCR”, “DTH Equipment (Direct-to-Home Satellite television)”, “Internet” & “Social Media” are investigated. Findings contribute to the identification of two main discursive strategies: “Structural Technophobia” and “Instrumental Approval”. It also brings the “National and Islamic identity” to the fore as the value-related underpinning of policies adopted under the discourses. Yet, due to socio-political dynamics over time, the impact of each discursive strategy on the political construction of ICT is sharply distinguishable, the traditional staple of regulations reflects the prolonged ignorance of the link between technology and culture., It also implies that the political and technical feasibility of policies adopted under these two largely passed over the collaboration with private sector players at the negotiating table. The paper argues that these co-creation initiatives are central to building foundations of trust and legitimacy, undertaking the uncertainties of evaluating the risk/reward ratios, and avoiding the sense of asymmetry among stakeholders. Emerging forms of ICT are currently embedded in everyday life in more comprehensive ways than ever, hence insisting on command-and-control policies like bandwidth manipulation, accessibility block, and the notion of othering with regards to private sector players, would stand against vital practices of, now, Netizens’ life. In conclusion, these insights are leveraged to directions for future research that incorporate a more multi-stakeholder understanding of regulatory strategies to deal proactively with related technological phenomena while facilitating deeper innovation in domestic markets as well