The entry of Iran into the phase of modernization during the Second Pahlavi era was accompanied by a structural rupture and a clear tension with prior traditions. While in the West, modernization generally emerged from internal transformations, political institutionalization, and the gradual expansion of social participation, in Iran this process relied predominantly on oil revenues and a rentier economy. This characteristic had a profound impact on the nature of the political and on the formation of social identity in Iran.

Accordingly, the central research question of this study may be framed as follows: How did the rentier economy and the state-led modernization project during the Second Pahlavi era shape social identity and the formation of the political in Iran?

This research assumes that the oil-based economy of this period led to a concentration of power in the hands of the state and to the weakening of civil institutions. Consequently, modern identity did not emerge organically but was artificially constructed, producing not social cohesion but instead a profound rift between state and society.

Ultimately, through qualitative analysis of the data, it becomes clear that modernization under the Second Pahlavi could not generate a sustainable social identity or a legitimate political foundation, precisely because it was not rooted in genuine popular will or participation. The result was the emergence of a “fragmented and crisis-ridden identity” within a society that appeared modern on the surface but was, in essence, afflicted by cultural alienation and spiritual dislocation. This profound internal contradiction eventually gave rise to widespread discontent, constituting one of the key factors behind the 1979 Revolution. The experience of this period demonstrates unequivocally that genuine and lasting modernization cannot be achieved solely through financial capital and state-driven infrastructural projects.