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Mahmoudreza RAHBARQAZI, Seyed Morteza NOEI BAGHBAN*
THE LINK BETWEEN SOCIAL CAPITAL AND 
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND ITS IMPACT 
ON IRANIAN YOUTH
Abstract. Iran has in recent years been affected by the 
spread of modernity, solidarity and traditional social 
ties while, with the weakening of social capital, the 
type of political participation engaged in by citizens 
has changed whereby they tend towards conventional 
political participation and sometimes non-convention-
al political participation and protest. This article aims 
to test the effect of social capital on conventional and 
unconventional political participation among Iranian 
youth (n= 1379) by dividing social capital into three cat-
egories: cognitive, relational and structural. The results 
indicate the cognitive and structural dimensions exert 
a significant effect on the rise in conventional political 
participation among the population. The results also 
reveal that the structural dimension is the only compo-
nent with a significant and positive effect on uncon-
ventional political participation, while the relational 
dimension had no significant effect on any dimension 
of political participation.
Keywords: social capital, conventional political partici-
pation, unconventional political participation 
Introduction
It is widely accepted that political participation is one of the most impor-
tant components of democracy (Pateman, 1970; Barber, 2003; Unanka, 2004; 
Quintelier and Van Deth, 2014; Nový and Katrnak, 2015). If citizens are una-
ble to participate and play their roles, democracy will lose its very sense and 
nature. Citizens should therefore participate continuously in political pro-
cesses to achieve political development (Almond and Verba, 2015). Unlike 
previous decades, in this new era political participation is not only limited to 
elections and voting, but to all actions that directly/indirectly affect the elec-
tions or decisions of officials and policymakers within a nation (Van Deth, 
*
 
Mahmoudreza Rahbarqazi, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Isfahan, Department of Political 
Sciences, Iran; Seyed Morteza Noei Baghban, PhD, Assistant Professor, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 
Department of Theology and Islamic Studies, Iran.

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2014). The reasons for citizens’ political participation are explained by vari-
ous factors and theories, with some scholars believing the main drivers of 
participation are personal interest and rational action (rational choice theory) 
(Myatt, 2012; Kroneberg and Kalter, 2012). Yet, explaining individual-level 
political participation brings many challenges and contradictions. Scholars 
of the political and social sciences have therefore sought alternative mech-
anisms to more accurately describe and explain the complex processes of 
political participation. In this regard, it seems that social factors shaping indi-
viduals’ decisions and behaviours are so significant that they can play vital 
roles in citizens’ political participation (Honneth, 2014; Barrett and Brunton, 
2014). Verba et al. (1995) emphasised the importance of such networks in 
mobilising people by modifying individual resources and presenting a 
model of civic voluntarism that mainly examines networks of social relations. 
They also argued that networking and social relations are important factors 
affecting the flow of political consciousness, in turn, considerably impact-
ing political participation. It appears that the shift from individual to social 
factors in the analysis of political activity is due to the fact that motivational 
and individual factors only emphasise a limited part of it, whereas political 
participation is better understood when community-based factors affect-
ing the process of political mobilisation are also included (Campbell, 2013). 
Accordingly, social capital seems to an important social factor with a great 
influence on political participation (Morales and Giugni, 2016; Hays, 2015; 
Bevelander and Pendakur, 2009; Putnam, 2000; Fukuyama, 2001). A key rea-
son given by social and political scholars for the social impact of social capi-
tal is that social capital is created through human resources like human skill-
sets. These are resources that enhance an individuals’ ability for collective 
behaviour (Burt, 2017). The first and foremost thinker to stress the impor-
tance of social organisations in this regard is Alexis de Tocqueville (2015), 
who argued the creation of social organisations and associations is the most 
important social and political task of any nation. If the above reasoning is 
accepted, people who are free to access broad and varied social capital are 
more likely to ask for political participation (Neilson and Paxton, 2010).
The research is significant because, although Iranian people have in recent 
years participated in many national elections, for various reasons they appear 
to be discouraged from other aspects of democracy (Ansari, 2012); while 
many Iranian citizens, especially young ones, participate in general elections, 
they are somewhat indifferent to other aspects of political participation like 
active participation in political parties, making contact with officials, partici-
pating in protest political activities, supporting various political groups etc. 
(Ghasizadeh and Kianpour, 2015). This reduction in citizens’ participation 
in public and political affairs is more critical in developing countries, espe-
cially Iran, which is experiencing a transition from tradition to modernity. On 

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one hand, governments must engage in political participation to ensure their 
legitimacy. Besides, from a religious point of view, both political participation 
and sensitivity to the fate of Iranian society are a religious duty. As a result, the 
lower participation of citizens is an important issue.
One reason mentioned as being responsible for this issue is the weaken-
ing of social capital in Iran in recent years (Emamjomehzadeh, et al., 2012; 
Ansari, 2017; Rezaei, et al., 2017). The cohesion and solidarity traditionally 
seen in Iran has disappeared for various reasons, including the disappear-
ance of traditional class structures and the rise of an emerging class in Iran. 
Accordingly, the new structures are apparently not yet deep enough to 
link people within networks and create some sort of shared social norms 
able to build social trust in the citizens for them to participate in public 
affairs (Rahmatollahi et al., 2016; Firozjayan Galougah and Majidi, 2018; 
Hamidizadeh, 2018). In recent years, the form of political participation in 
Iran has therefore changed such that political participation is either gen-
erally reduced to participating in elections or, if people do participate in 
public activities, they tend to engage in unconventional and mostly protest 
political participation. Thus, the decline in social capital and weakening of 
public relations among individuals in Iranian society have led them to turn 
to unconventional political participation and political protests instead of 
conventional political participation. Despite some scattered research on this 
issue, no purposive research has examined Iranian youth affected by the 
new structures more than any other layers of society, thus indicating some 
kind of research gap in this area.
Given that the many elements of the political culture found in the Middle 
East, such as authoritarianism (Cleveland and Bunton, 2017), patrimonialism 
(Lee, 2010), dominance of tribal-ethnic culture (Hashemi and Postel, 2017), 
importance of religion in people’s political behaviours (Milton-Edwards, 
2018), accelerated movement towards modernisation (Richards et al., 2013), 
creation of quasi-democratic institutions (Zakaria, 1997), influence of glo-
balisation and terrorism processes in the new age (Lutz and Lutz, 2015), 
existence of rentier governments (Selvik and Utvik, 2015) and creation of 
some kind of gap between government and nations (Migdal, 2004) are com-
mon, it may be claimed that the present study can produce results able to 
be generalised to other nations. Accordingly, this study seeks to answer the 
following question with an emphasis on Iranian society: How do different 
aspects of social capital affect citizens’ political participation? 
The relationship between social capital and political participation
Social capital is a tool for political development (Boutilier, 2017; Åberg 
and Sandberg; 2003; Welzel et al., 2018). It also modifies relationships, adds 

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to cohesion and confidence in society, and contributes to the political par-
ticipation of individuals and the maintenance of their interactions with the 
state (La Due Lake and Huckfeldt, 1998). It can increase and improve partici-
pation among individuals by reducing the cost of social cooperation.
Therefore, it seems that the reduced social living costs accrued through 
increased social capital mean that political participation as a collective com-
modity will also increase when citizens have high levels of social capital in 
society because social capital can enhance the mutual trust and norms of 
individuals in society and thereby raise the level of political participation 
(Teorell, 2003). Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) suggest that social capital 
should be considered in three dimensions: structural, relational and cogni-
tive. The relational dimension focuses on characteristics of the relationship 
between individuals. This dimension may be explained by the amount of 
trust, cooperation, obligations and expectations, as well as individual iden-
tity within a social network (Bolino and Turnley, 2002). Many scholars argue 
the elements of relational social capital and social trust support social coop-
eration, facilitate collective behaviour and encourage attention to the public 
interest (van Ingen and Bekkers, 2015). Trust among citizens reduces the 
risks and harm of participation in public and political affairs and strength-
ens social institutions and civil society to contribute to a healthy, stable and 
efficient democracy (Zmerli and Newton, 2008). Moreover, a good and 
democratic government can, in turn, enhance the conditions for strengthen-
ing social trust and increase individuals’ ability to work effectively in public 
and private affairs (Paxton, 2002). Namely, theorists of democracy and polit-
ical participation argue that democratic systems need citizens with a high 
level of social trust; a symbolic need for citizens, whereas citizens with less 
generalised confidence are probably less likely to pursue political develop-
ment in their country (Baliamoune-Lutz, 2011). The relationship between 
social trust and political participation does not seem to be direct. Trust not 
only directly affects various types of participation, but can also indirectly 
improve political participation by facilitating the transfer of resources 
within social networks and helping to maintain social norms within volun-
tary CSOs (Xu et al., 2010).
While describing cooperation as the cornerstone of social capital, 
Putnam identifies it as the main interface in social relations (Putnam, 2000: 
134). This concept is more understandable from the perspective of social 
groups; members of social groups find it easier to stay in regular contact 
with one another. Their various problems and issues are thus revealed 
through regular discussions and citizens who participate in such associa-
tions meet with different people. Such behaviour in a healthy and positive 
environment enhances people’s positive traits and helps build confidence 
in them. When newcomers enter such groups, group members perceive 

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them positively and they thereby become anonymous within such groups. 
Here, Putnam argues that social associations and the resulting social trust 
infuse a spirit of cooperation, integration and cohesion among citizens 
(Leonardi et al., 2001: 89). As such, the components of relational social capi-
tal help individuals develop a spirit of cooperation among them through 
shared behaviours. In other words, generalised trust and other components 
of relational social capital make individuals unhesitant in looking for help 
(Cozzolino, 2011). Such people become better citizens by participating in 
social work. They are often more committed to their obligations than oth-
ers, while they respect the views of minorities and participate in other forms 
of civil and political cooperation (Putnam, 2000: 137). On this basis, it may 
be argued that:
Hypothesis 1: An increase in the level of relational social capital has a 
positive effect on citizens’ political participation.
The second dimension of social capital is the cognitive dimension 
(Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998). This dimension refers to resources that pro-
vide symbols, interpretations and a system of meanings common to mem-
bers such as shared codes, language and values. Fukuyama (1999) states that 
definitions of social capital refer to their implications. That is, social capital 
is a tangible form of an informal norm of promoting cooperation among 
citizens. The norms that constitute social capital range from the norm of 
mutual friendships through to complex doctrines. By definition, civil soci-
ety and product participation are informal by-products of social capital that 
arise from social capital but do not constitute social capital itself. Namely, he 
believes that social capital can easily be defined as a set of informal norms 
or values. Research in different countries reveals that the level of political 
participation among people living in a homogenous society is much higher 
than in other societies. Sinclairly, McConnell and Green (2012) showed 
that the probability of political participation among people born in socie-
ties with high cohesion was 67%, but is less than 12% in societies with low 
social cohesion. Moreover, some other researchers argue that people who 
share common values and norms have the same participatory patterns 
(Dassopoulos and Monnat, 2011). 
Other scholars believe that social norms can produce favourable politi-
cal outcomes when it comes to political participation (Shulman and Levine, 
2012; Dalton, 2008). In this sense, Schultz (1999) argued that gaining aware-
ness of the behaviours of others has a significant effect on increasing the 
likelihood of similar behaviours by others. Freedman et al. (2004) indicated 
that the sense of repetition of similar behaviour by other citizens causes indi-
viduals to increase the likelihood of such behaviour by 26%. It thus seems 
that shared ideas and values are likely to cause people to behave similarly in 

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the political arena. Gerber et al. (2008) examined the impact of social norms 
on the extent of political participation among Americans. In their research, 
they argued that social norms have exerted a very strong effect on the vot-
ing population.
Gerber and Yamada (2009) stated that messages from others about the 
importance and value of political participation, along with encouraging oth-
ers to participate in political activities, were major and influential factors in 
the level of political participation. As such, these theories appear to contra-
dict the traditional rational-choice assumptions made about political partici-
pation models. Theorists of rational behaviour like Downs (1957) believe 
that the higher the number of voters in society, the less the motivation of cit-
izens for political participation because, as political participation increases, 
the likelihood of one participating in political affairs goes down, thereby 
increasing citizens’ motivation to free-ride in society. But social capital theo-
rists appear to reject these findings, arguing that the more social resources 
are needed to raise citizens’ interest in political participation, the greater the 
likelihood of political participation, especially among those who were less 
involved in the past (Bevelander and Pendakur, 2009).
An important question for social and political scholars is with what 
mechanisms such messages from society affect the extent of individuals’ 
political participation. In relation to this, there is considerable evidence that 
the collective conscience of many people is based on the principle that par-
ticipation in social and political activities is a form of duty, and that peo-
ple have sufficient reasons to participate in electoral and political activities 
(Rolfe, 2012). Blais believed that many of the arguments given for political 
participation are normative and value-driven; his findings suggest that many 
citizens regard their activities in political issues and areas as a duty. What 
they need to do is make citizens look at the issue of political participation 
as a norm. In other words, those who are committed to political participa-
tion are less likely to think about the costs and benefits of such participa-
tion. A significant share of individuals engage in political processes due to 
a political affiliation. They find themselves morally compelled to participate 
in such processes (Blais, 2000: 104). Accordingly, we argue that:
Hypothesis 2. An increase in the level of cognitive social capital has a 
positive effect on citizens’ participation in political activities.
Finally, the third dimension of social capital is structural (Nahapiet and 
Ghoshal, 1998). The structural dimension encompasses the characteris-
tics of social systems and networks of social relations; namely, it refers to 
the general pattern of communication among members. The dimension’s 
most important aspect is the presence or absence of network links between 
members and the status of the network. Generally, this dimension focuses 

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on whether individuals are related to each other (Bolino and Turnley, 2002). 
A great deal of research literature exists on the effect of social relations on 
democracy and political participation in response to de Tocqueville’s obser-
vations (Sommerfeldt, 2013; Yang and Taylor, 2013). In this regard, Verba et 
al. (1993) emphasised the role of voluntary associations and participation in 
social networks that provide resources which are useful for political partici-
pation. Verba et al. (1993) discussed three sources that contribute to social 
voluntary associations: first, participation in social voluntary associations 
gives people opportunities to develop organisational skills and political 
communication; second, participating in voluntary social forums exposes 
people to political messages and political debates that lead to political par-
ticipation; and third, non-political voluntary associations act as grounds for 
engaging people in political mobilisation (Verba et al., 1993: 457).
Social networks provide the motivation, information and skills required 
to influence political participation (Morales, 2016). First, members of social 
groups usually have common norms and values able to motivate them to 
engage in politics. Here, Dawson and Wallendrof (1985) argued that social 
networks have even more predictive power to support some political 
groups and vote in their favour, even compared to social class variables. 
The reason for this seems to be that individuals’ selection of groups and 
political parties is based on the norms and values accepted by the social 
group while disagreeing with the group’s values will lead to mismanage-
ment and isolation. It thus appears that such a social risk is likely to spread 
electoral behaviour among people who have a stronger and more social 
network. Second, membership in different social groups enhances one’s 
social connections with social networks, thereby increasing access to politi-
cal information and ultimately affecting one’s electoral behaviour and polit-
ical activity (Dawson and Wallendorf, 1985: 589). Verba et al. argued that 
participation in non-political entities such as voluntary associations likely 
causes members to discuss more political issues who thus tend to be more 
inclined towards political participation. In addition to motivating individu-
als and making information sources available to them, social networks can 
help group members develop social relationships and other skills that add 
to their effectiveness in political activities (Burns et al., 2001: 61).
Therefore, the characteristics of social networks are action-intended (Lin 
and Erickson, 2010). It is now possible to come from within a source of rela-
tionships, and not otherwise. What matters is the structure of the relation-
ship. The improvement of social networks in a relationship sees goodwill 
and mutual trust emerge, which per se encourage coherence and cohesion 
among different social groups (Farris and Holman, 2014). Thus, the growth 
of social networks only brings a new impetus for actors that enhances their 
capabilities and livelihoods. On this basis, we expect that;

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Hypothesis 3. An increase in the level of structural social capital has a 
positive effect on citizens’ political participation.
Methodology
To test the research hypotheses, data were collected between January 
and April 2019. The statistical population consisted of the young popula-
tion of Iran. According to a decision of the Supreme Council of Youth of 
Iran issued by the Minister of Youth and Sports, youth in Iran is described 
as when a person is aged between 18 and 35 (ISNA, 2019). Thus, this study 
examined young people aged 18 to 35. Moreover, based on the large size of 
the study population, telephone interviews were used.
At first glance, it might appear that the principle of random sampling 
was not respected in the phone interviews. However, the high penetra-
tion rate of mobile phones in Iran means this can be ignored. According 
to statistics from the Iranian Radio Communications Regulatory Authority, 
with a population of 83 million, Iran has over 93 million mobile subscribers 
(Eghtesadonline, 2019). This makes the sampling probability high. To this 
end, we contacted over 3,000 people, of whom 1,379 were willing to work 
with us and were interviewed.
In this study, a questionnaire was employed to test the research hypothe-
ses. The validity of the questionnaire items through face validity and its reli-
ability through Cronbach’s alpha were tested and confirmed. Further, SPSS 
software was used for the statistical analysis while Pearson’s correlation test 
and hierarchical regression were used to test the hypotheses. 
In relation to this, the two-way relationships of the variables are first 
tested via Pearson’s correlation. The effect of demographic, control and 
independent variables on conventional and unconventional political par-
ticipation are then tested through a hierarchical regression. Regression 
analyses include four models. In the first model, the effects of demographic 
variables are tested, while in the second and third models the effects of vari-
ables controlling political effectiveness, political awareness and support for 
political parties are tested. Finally, in the fourth model, the variables of social 
capital are added to the above models and their effects on conventional and 
unconventional political participation are examined.
Management
Social Capital: We used the Social Capital Questionnaire (SCQ) of which 
the latter has developed by Onyx and Bullen (2000) to measure citizens’ 
social capital. The questionnaire contains 36 questions and is derived from 
questionnaires of the American Social Capital Association, the World Bank, 

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and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which has eight dimensions 
including participation in the local community; social agency or proactivity 
in a social context; feelings of trust and safety; neighbourhood connections; 
family and friends’ connections; tolerance of diversity; value of life; and 
work connections. 
In this study, according to Iranian native conditions and theoretical foun-
dations of research, the research questions were divided into three dimen-
sions, Cognitive (M = 2.51; SD = 0.61), Relational (M = 2.84; SD = 0.58) and 
Structural (M = 3.01; SD = 0.55), using exploratory factor analysis. The cog-
nitive dimension of social capital has been related to participation, trust, 
attitudes and commitments in society. The structural dimension of social 
capital concerns decision-making, group structures, and activities in society. 
Finally, the relational dimension is about the quality and quantity of intra-
group and intergroup social relationships. In this study, exploratory factor 
analysis was used to identify the factors of social capital. The correlation 
coefficient ranges from 0.52 to 0.87, indicating the validity of using the ques-
tionnaire in the population. The reliability of the variables was evaluated 
using Cronbach’s alpha. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.74 for the struc-
tural dimension, 0.77 for the relational dimension and 0.84 for the cogni-
tive dimension indicate that the reliability of the SCQ is appropriate. In this 
study, all social capital questions were scored on a 5-point Likert scale rang-
ing from 1 (minimum) to a score of 5 (maximum).
Willingness for political participation: According to the research theoreti-
cal model and the new political conditions in Iran, by relying on the theory 
of Barnes et al. (1979) political participation was divided into two canoni-
cal and non-canonical dimensions to determine the social capital’s effect 
on each dimension of political participation. By unconventional political 
participation, the present study means a willingness to participate in politi-
cal protest discussions, support for political protest groups, participation in 
protest rallies, and writing of protest material online or on social media to 
influence the government (M = 3.04; SD = 1.02; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.74). 
Also used to measure conventional political participation is the tendency to 
vote at general elections, contact government officials, participate in gov-
ernment-organised rallies and participate in government organisations or 
parties (M = 3.05; SD = 0.99; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.70). These variables were 
measured with eight 5-point questions with scores ranging from 1 (mini-
mum) to 5 (maximum).
Political effectiveness: Political effectiveness is the extent to which indi-
viduals feel that their political activity in society is able to influence govern-
ment policies. This variable was measured with one 5-point question with 
scores ranging from 1 (minimum) to 5 (maximum) (M = 2.68; SD = 1.27).
Political awareness: Political awareness means possessing information, 

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knowledge and awareness of political issues. We obtained the variable 
of political awareness by summing up the respondents’ correct answers 
given to four questions, namely: “What is the name of the Iranian Minister 
of the Interior?”, “What is the name of the French President?”, “How many 
Guardian Council Members are there in Iran?”, and “What is the name of the 
area between Ukraine and Russia that became a matter of dispute in 2014?”. 
We score correct items with 1 and 0 for false or unanswered ones (M = 0.37; 
SD = 0.37; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.76).
Support for political parties: Political parties in Iran are generally divided 
into reformist and principlist parties, with many political parties falling into 
either group. A 10-point scale ranging from 1 to 10 was used to measure this 
variable, with low scores indicating a greater tendency for fundamentalism 
and high scores indicating a tendency for reformist political parties (M = 
5.88; SD = 2.31).
Demographic variables: In this study, age, gender, education and income 
are four variables used as demographic variables. Age is an interval variable 
(M = 22.16; SD = 7.89). In this study, we gave women a score of 1 and a score 
of 2 for men (female = 54.9; male = 45.1). Education is also a sequential vari-
able with a score ranging between 1 for a low education, 2 for a moderate 
education and 3 for a higher education (M = 1.85; SD = 0.53). Finally, income 
level is a sequential variable ranging from 1 to 3, with 1 indicating a low 
income and 3 a high income (M = 1.89; SD = 0.48).
Results
This study examined the relationship between variables using a correla-
tion matrix and then the research hypotheses were tested using a hierarchi-
cal regression.
Table 1 analyses the bivariate relationship of the research variables. The 
results show that the education, political effectiveness, political awareness, 
cognitive, structural and relational dimensions of social capital have a posi-
tive and significant relationship with conventional political participation. 
Political effectiveness seems to have a stronger relationship with conventi-
onal political participation. The partisan tendencies variable is also the only 
variable to have a negative and significant relationship with conventional 
political participation. Moreover, political effectiveness, partisan tenden-
cies, and the structural dimension of social capital all have a positive rela-
tionship with unconventional political participation. However, the gender, 
education, and political awareness variables all have a negative relationship 
with unconventional participation and thus reduce individuals’ tendency 
for this type of political participation.

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Table 1:  CORRELATIONS AMONG ALL INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT 
VARIABLES IN THE STUDY
Age
Sex
Edu
Income
Efficacy
Knowledge
Political party
Cognitive
Structural
Relational
conventional
unconventional
Age 1.00
Sex -.080* 1.00
Edu .37** -.11** 1.00
Income -.02 .00 -.00 1.00
Efficacy .02 -.03 .03 .10** 1.00
Knowledge .08** .22** .03 -.06* .04 1.00
Political party -.01 -.15** -.00 .10** -.02 -.13** 1.00
Cognitive .05* .12** .04 -.04 .26** .13** -.10** 1.00
Structural .05* -.00 .07** .02 .30** .08** .04 .44** 1.00
Relational .07** .05* -.00 -.00 .19** .05* .00 .45** .49** 1.00
Conventional .03 -.04 .10** .03 .33** .05* -.10** .17** .18** .10** 1.00
Unconventional -.01 -.08** -.05* .01 .12** -.06* .18** -.00 .07** .01 .07** 1.00
* Significant at the 0.05 level ** Significant at the 0.01 level
Note: Cell entries are two-tailed correlation coefficients (N = 1379) and Pearson’s correlati-
ons were used.
Source: own analysis.
Table 2:  REGRESSION ANALYSIS FOR CONVENTIONAL POLITICAL 
PARTICIPATION
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
Age -.010(.01) -.011(.01) -.013(.01) -.014(.01)
Sex -.176(.06)** -.245(.06)*** -.274(.06)*** -.309(.06)***
Edu .202(.09)* .173(.08) .180(.08)* .171(.08)
Income .083(.06) .007(.06) .039(.06) .039(.06)
Efficacy .277(.02)*** .275(.02)*** .241(.02)***
Knowledge .178(.07)* .151(.07)* .120(.07)
Political party -.048(.01)*** -.049(.01)***
Cognitive .116(.05)*
Structural .132(.06)*
Relational .016(.05)
(Constant) 3.136*** 2.644*** 2.956*** 2.415***
R Square .021 .153 .166 .180
F 5.736*** 32.852*** 30.960*** 23.898***
* Significant at the 0.05 level ** Significant at the 0.01 level *** Significant at the 0.001 level
Note: Entries are unstandardised regression coefficients with standard errors in parentheses
Source: own analysis.

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Table 2 examines the effects of the research variables on conventional 
political participation. In the first research model where only demographic 
variables were tested, the results show the two variables of gender and edu-
cation have a significant effect on men’s willingness to participate in con-
ventional political participation, while women tended to be more likely 
to participate in conventional politics than men. However, education has 
a positive effect on standard participation. In the second research model, 
two variables of predispositions were added to the first research model. In 
this model, the results show that only gender remains significant among the 
demographic variables. Moreover, both the political effectiveness and polit-
ical awareness variables have a positive and significant effect on conven-
tional political participation and increase citizens’ willingness to participate. 
In the third research model, the partisan tendencies variable is added to the 
second research model. The results for this model show that, in addition 
to the gender, education, political effectiveness, and political awareness 
variables, the partisan tendencies variable also has a significant effect on 
conventional political participation, meaning that those who tend towards 
reformist political groups are less than conventional. They tend to partici-
pate in conventional political activity.
Finally, the fourth research model tested all research variables. The 
research results for the final model reveal that gender, political effective-
ness, and partisan tendencies continue to have a significant effect on con-
ventional political participation. Moreover, the cognitive and structural 
dimensions of social capital have a positive and significant effect on con-
ventional political participation and increase citizens’ willingness to engage 
in conventional political participation.
The results for the model’s goodness of fit (GOF) show the F-value was 
significant in all of the models tested. The coefficient of determination in 
the final model also indicates that the sum of the tested variables accounts 
for 18% of the variation in citizens’ willingness to engage in conventional 
political participation.
Table 3 examines the effects of the research variables on unconventional 
political participation. In the first research model where only demographic 
variables were tested, the results show that no variable had a significant 
effect on willingness to participate in unconventional political participa-
tion. In the second research model, the two predispositions variables were 
added to the first research model, showing that political effectiveness has a 
positive and significant effect on unconventional political participation and 
increases citizens’ willingness to participate in politics, yet political aware-
ness reduces the tendency for unconventional participation. In the third 
research model, the partisan tendencies variable was added to the second 
research model. The results for this model reveal that only the two variables 

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of political effectiveness and partisan tendencies have a significant effect 
on unconventional political participation, meaning that those who tend 
towards the reformist political parties tend to engage in unconventional 
political activities more than the principlist parties.
Table 3:  REGRESSION ANALYSIS FOR UNCONVENTIONAL POLITICAL 
PARTICIPATION
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
Age .003(.01) .005(.01) .007(.01) .007(.01)
Sex -.118(.06) -.086(.06) -.044(.06) -.038(.06)
Edu -.140(.09) -.150(.09) -.161(.09) -.176(.09)
Income .062(.06) .029(.06) -.017(.06) -.018(.06)
Efficacy .109(.02)*** .113(.02)*** .094(.02)***
Knowledge -.178(.08)* -.140(.08) -.163(.08)
Political party .070(.01)*** .068(.01)***
Cognitive .005(.06)
Structural .202(.06)**
Relational -.081(.06)
(Constant) 3.196*** 2.968*** 2.513*** 2.211***
R Square .007 .028 .054 .063
F 1.971 5.274*** 8.888*** 7.261***
* Significant at the 0.05 level ** Significant at the 0.01 level *** Significant at the 0.001 level
Note: Entries are unstandardised regression coefficients with standard errors in parentheses
Source: own analysis.
Finally, all research variables were tested in the fourth research model. 
The research results for this model show that political effectiveness and 
partisan tendencies still have a significant effect on unconventional politi-
cal participation. Further, the structural dimension of social capital has a 
positive and significant effect on unconventional political participation and 
increases citizens’ willingness to engage in unconventional political partici-
pation. The results of the model’s GOF show that the F-value is significant 
for the other models tested. The coefficient of determination in the final 
model also indicates that the sum of the tested variables explains 6.3% of 
the variation in citizens’ willingness to engage in unconventional political 
participation.
Conclusion
This study aimed to test the effect of different dimensions of social capi-
tal on political participation among Iranian youth. The results suggest that 
some social capital dimensions have a significant effect on the dependent 
variables. Consistent with the findings of many researchers who studied 

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922
social capital’s effect on political participation, this study suggests that social 
capital can explain some of the reasons for citizens’ participation in political 
activities (Boutilier, 2017; Xu et al., 2010; Welzel, et al., 2018). Yet the present 
study shows that different dimensions of social capital have varying effects 
on political participation and that some aspects of social capital are more 
important for explaining individuals’ political participation.
Researchers and theorists such as Dubos (2017), Ferragina (2010), Huang 
(2016), Guillen, Coromina and Saris (2011), Coleman (1990), Bourdieu 
(1986) and Francis Fukuyama (2001), Putnam (2000), etc. have provided 
many definitions of social capital and emphasised certain parts of it. For 
example, Bourdieu (1986) gave a greater stress to the relations and partici-
pation of members of an organisation. Putnam (2000) identified elements 
of social capital like trusts, norms and networks. Cox (1996) also defined 
social capital as relating to interpersonal processes that build trust, social 
norms and network relationships, and facilitate co-operation and co-ordina-
tion. Fukuyama viewed social capital as a social norm. Yet Onyx and Bullen 
(2000) offer a more comprehensive definition of social capital and divide 
it into three dimensions: cognitive, structural and relational. The results 
showed that the two cognitive and structural dimensions of social capital 
have a positive and significant effect on political participation, but there is 
no significant relationship between the social dimension and conventional 
political participation. It may thus be argued that citizens who are more 
committed to trusting, attitudes and social commitments and whose group 
activities are stronger in society are more likely to participate in society.
The results show that when citizens are included in social networks and 
links, their motivation for conventional political participation increases. 
This finding reaffirms the role of social link structures in mobilising citi-
zens for political participation. The mechanism seems to be the effect of 
this component via increased political awareness in social interactions. The 
massive transfer of political information and messages into ongoing discus-
sions among members of groups can trigger their participation in political 
processes, influence citizens’ political attitudes, and allow assessments of 
them in analyses of political problems. Participating in complex societies 
and relationships helps reproduce the collective interest and diminish indi-
vidual interests, thereby affecting the explanations and theories presented 
by rational choice theorists. In other words, the presence of social link struc-
tures helps limit individual selfishness and expands the sphere of personal 
interests and interests to public and social affairs, including participation in 
conventional political activity in society. Given the significant effect of cog-
nitive social capital on conventional political participation, it may also be 
argued that adherence to social commitments and trust in social structures, 
and the like, can foster social exchange and cohesion in society. Extending 

Mahmoudreza RAHBARQAZI, Seyed Morteza NOEI BAGHBAN
TEORIJA IN PRAKSA let. 57, 3/2020
923
this to the political arena will increase the functioning and efficiency of gov-
ernments. Trust and social commitments are important aspects of human 
relations that encourage partnership and collaboration among community 
members and prepare people for political participation by expanding con-
sent rather than coercion.
This finding also reveals the positive and significant effect of the struc-
tural dimension of social capital on unconventional political participation 
among young people in Iran. Although the cognitive and communicative 
dimension of social capital was shown to have a significant effect on uncon-
ventional political participation, the significance of the structural dimension 
of social capital indicates that social networks and links are more influen-
tial for political activities than other dimensions of social capital. In Iran, 
there are no organised political parties formed at lower levels of society that 
are able to attract citizens. The parties which operate within the country are 
chiefly governmental. They are generally formed at the time of elections 
and by state elites, while ordinary people cannot easily join these parties 
and influence political decision-making processes. Therefore, Iranian NGOs 
and social associations are the only institutions that can sometimes be 
formed based on people’s interests. Moreover, due to the large size of the 
government in Iran, its interference in many parts of society, and the lack of 
powerful political parties, many people are forced to make many political 
demands and arguments in small groups and circles. This makes the existing 
Iranian social structures and networks more politicised and explains why 
citizens discuss ways for achieving their demands in these social groups. 
Social structures, organisations and associations are today relying on con-
ventional and sometimes unconventional means to accomplish their goals, 
which increases political participation in society.
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