Peripheral capitalist realism

Theorizing the affective foreclosure of futurity in Iran

Bibliographic Data

ID19220312
AuthorsHemn Rahimi (0000-0003-4255-9446, Issues Research, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThesis Eleven (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0725-5136 • E-ISSN: 1461-7455
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/07255136261459470
OpenAlexW7164842354
LanguageEN
References cited24

This article examines the failure of recent political uprisings in post-revolutionary Iran through the framework of Peripheral Capitalist Realism (PCR), extending Mark Fisher's notion of ideological foreclosure. PCR describes a political-affective condition produced by the fusion of authoritarian governance, predatory accumulation, patrimonialism, and neoliberal rationality in a peripheral theocracy. Drawing on survey data from 332 educated, urban middle-class respondents and critical theory, the study argues that beyond state repression, the internalization of neoliberal values and absence of viable alternatives generate resignation and affective withdrawal. Integrating Fisher's ideas of “reflexive impotence” and “privatization of stress” with Lauren Berlant's “cruel optimism” and Marxist analyses of peripheral capitalism, the paper shows how Iranian society embodies a distinctive capitalist realism shaped by its unique blend of Islamic theocracy and predatory economics. Empirical findings reveal precarious labor, psychological distress, and a pervasive desire to emigrate, indicating a socio-political atmosphere where systemic transformation appears increasingly unimaginable

Alienation · Authoritarianism · Disengagement theory · Foreclosure · Ideology · Politics · Rationality · Realism · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Islamic Studies and History · Political Economy and Marxism

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Open DOIOpen Access