The Dialectic of Suspension and Sub-surface Agency: A Conceptual Model for Rebuilding Social Capital and the Social Contract in Post-War Iran

Tohidlou, Somayeh

doi:10.30465/scs.2026.55380.3199

The Dialectic of Suspension and Sub-surface Agency: A Conceptual Model for Rebuilding Social Capital and the Social Contract in Post-War Iran

Document Type : .

Author

Somayeh Tohidlou

assistant professor of social studies

10.30465/scs.2026.55380.3199

Abstract

The twelve-day war of June 2025 ruptured the institutional stability and temporal continuum of the Iranian life-world, precipitating a chronic state of suspension. This study examines the dialectic between structural suspension and sub-surface agency to conceptualize a systemic transition from fragility to antifragility through a bottom-up repair of the social contract. Employing Reflexive Thematic Analysis within a critical interpretivist paradigm, the inquiry analyzes 90 elite texts comprising 60 symposium addresses from the Iranian Sociological Association (the unofficial/critical corpus) and 30 strategic policy formulations (the official/governance corpus). The resulting model operates across three tiers: (1) the macro-state of suspension across temporal, spatial, and epistemological dimensions; (2) the intermediary articulation of agency, contrasting duty-bound mobilization with civic-vital mutual aid; and (3) a synthesis anchored in civic nationalism and the idea of "Iran". Findings indicate that systemic antifragility hinges on narrative plurality, distributive justice, and an inclusive social contract.

Keywords

Twelve-Day War

State of suspension

Agency

Social contract

Antifragility

Reflexive Thematic Analysis

Subjects