Stock market developments in 2019 and its Impact on Economic and National Security

The sudden fluctuations of Iranian stock market at the end of 2018 and the first half of 2019 are among the most important economic events that have left a lasting impact on the historical psyche of Iranians and could have led to deepening political dissatisfaction and insecurity. In this framework, the objective of the present study is to determine the relationship between the developments in the capital market during 2019 and the security of the country. In particular, the paper examines the hypothesis that ‘insofar as general trend in the capital market influence the improvement of financial indicators, they will constructively affect national security and economic situation’. In order to examine this hypothesis, the paper employs the Qualitative Method of Thematic Analysis and utilizes maxqoda software. The findings of this study indicate that increasing public willingness to participate in the stock market in hope of gaining profit, the deep entanglements between national security of Iran and the economic situation which is affected by  performance of the stock market, the excessive and unnecessary government interventions in the capital market, the immanent necessity for increasing transparency of the stock market, the strong influence of financial rent seeking on the functioning of the stock market, the lack of expertise and awareness of small and medium investors concerning emerging trends in the stock market, low public trust in the stock market and the low legitimacy of the government, provide the ground for the intensification of protest movements at the political and social levels.