Iran: Cultural Values, Self images and Negotiation Behavior

IndividualismIran: Cultural Values, Self-images and Negotiating BehaviorIndividualism is the most prominent trait usually associated with Iranians, both byIranians themselves and by foreigners. One expression of this trait is the ease withwhich Iranians tend to adapt abroad, even without a supportive Iranian community. 30The typical Iranian is described as resourceful, clever, and capable of overcomingoverwhelming odds in order to extricate himself from seemingly hopeless situations.Whether or not this is typical, all these traits, as we shall see below, are perceived byIranians as such – and more significantly – as social behavior which is worthy, andhence to be encouraged.Some observers of Iranian culture have described the Iranian proclivity towardsindividualism as the result of geographic conditions, 31 modalities of family life, 32 orthe despotic structure of all the political regimes that have been in power in Iran,forcing the individual to fend for himself and his family and not to trust anyoneoutside of his intimate circle. 33 It has also been attributed to the centuries of invasion,foreign domination, and anarchy 34 that atomized Iranian society and created a culturalethos which favors the individual who proves his ability to best fend for himself andprotect his close kin. 35Observers who have delved into this trait have linked it to a preference for family,local and regional identity, and cohesiveness, at the expense of national interests(“local and regional individualism”) 36 . One approach differentiates Persianindividualism from its Western counterpart in that the former “lacks an emphasis onetc.). Frequently, the Iranian would take the money and use part of it to pay off opposition figures inthe area where the transaction was to take place to attack him for his support of the British. Then hewould come back to the British and report that he could not deliver because the leaks (of course fromthe British side) precluded it (Private communication).29 An example given is the modus operandi of Rafsanjani, who is seen as the consummate BazaariMachiavellian. It is said that he intentionally spread rumors that Khamene'i was about to nominateAyatollah Shahroudi as his successor. These rumors caused a furor due to the fact that Shahroudi isseen as an Iraqi (who does not even speak Persian well). The rumors embarrassed Khamene'i in hispower base of Qom and strengthened Rafsanjani by "clipping the wings" of Shahroudi and enhancingthe Rahbar's dependence on him. Another story imputes to Rafsanjani hiring of a thug to attack hisdaughter during the election campaign in order to create sympathy for her and to guarantee herelection. Whether the story is true or not, it expresses the level of Machiavellianism that is attributed tothe political leadership.30 Lt. Col. Sir Arnold T. Wilson, “National and Racial Characteristics of the Persian Nation,” AsiaticReview XXV.82 Apr. 1929: 300-311, 301.31 Millspaugh 77. An agricultural economy based on subsistence farming with units of cultivationremote from each other gave birth to a “self-centered individualism… scarcely conscious of any largercommunity except to distrust and fear it.”32 See Gable, Culture and Administration in Iran, 416.33 Haas Iran, 118; Richard W. Gable, “Culture and Administration in Iran,” Middle East Journal, XI1959 416-417 attributes Iranian individualism to the influence of family life which places theindividual, socially, in a limited context of the family alone. Outside the family he lacks a social frameof reference34 See Reza Benham, Cultural Foundations of Iranian Politics, 98-99: “Unstable administration inIranian society over the years seems to have encouraged a strong sense of individualism in terms ofpersonal, community, and regional loyalties since Iranians were left to fend for themselves… Theindividualism that has characterized Iranians is unlike that known to developed societies…[it] has beenmarked by distrust based on the assumption that all people are in pursuit of personal interests.” AlsoAli Banuazizi, Iranian "National Character": A Critique of Some Western Perspectives, 224.35 Haas 118; Gable 407–521; Millspaugh 77.36 Haas, Iran 118.10