Evolutions of imprisonment in contemporary Iran from the perspective of neoclassical approach of sociology of culture

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master's student, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

3 Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Imprisonment, in addition to being a legal phenomenon, is also a social and cultural phenomenon. Therefore, to fully understand its transformations, it is essential to go beyond purely legal frameworks. The neoclassical approach in the sociology of culture, with an emphasis on the symbolic aspect of punishment, views imprisonment as a social institution and a symbol of cultural transformations in contemporary Iran. According to this cognitive framework, the changes that have occurred over different periods in the realm of penal systems reflect deep shifts in the underlying and hidden layers of society’s culture. This study aims to analyze, using the methods of the sociology of culture and focusing on the neoclassical approach, the reasons behind the fluctuations in attention to the punishment of imprisonment in contemporary Iran, from a century ago to the present. It will also examine and analyze the social and cultural factors influencing these changes. Ultimately, this research shows that cultural and social transformations in society have a direct impact on the meanings of imprisonment as a symbolic form. In this regard, imprisonment, as an official punishment during the Pahlavi political system, has gradually undergone semantic changes and has been revisited and reassessed at different periods.

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References

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Criminal Law Research
Volume 17, Issue 1 - Serial Number 33
Papers
July 2026
Pages 35-52

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