Education, Urbanization and Propensity towards Democracy in Iranian Society 1995-2010; with Emphasize on Martin Lipset’s Theory
Houchang Hassan-Yari, Youhanna Najdi, Mohd Azhari Bin Abdul Karim

Abstract
Iranian people have experienced two democratic movement between1997 and 2009. For this reason, notwithstanding the result of these struggles, it seems undeniable that there is a significant tendency towards democratic values in Iranian society. This study considers the factor of education and particularly educated women as one of the vital elements which creates democratic demands. Our theoretical approach originates from Martin Lipset’s theory that seriously addressed the concept of democracy and its social requisites. Our empirical evidence confirms that despite the behaviour of the Islamic Republic in politics and its control on the economy via oil revenue, Iran’s society has a strong propensity towards democracy, specifically because of its educated class.

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