The conflict and incompatibility between ethnic and national identity is one of the issues faced by any political system, including societies with a diversity of identities, such as the existence of multiple groups within their territory. Accordingly, this research, considering the diverse and multi-ethnic society of Iran, aims to address some problems in the field of ethnicities, specifically pointing to the conflict between ethnic and national identities.
The main question of the research is: what practical solutions can be offered to achieve peaceful coexistence of ethnic groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran and to connect national and ethnic identities? The hypothesis is that negating the minority perception of ethnic groups, maintaining impartial governance in the administration of the country, relying on shared historical norms and history, and economic development of regions benefiting the less privileged classes are among the solutions for achieving peaceful coexistence of ethnic groups in Iranian society.
Based on the review of this research, it should be said that remaining in the theoretical and idealistic realm and relying on common political and historical aspects is not enough. In practice, these aspects must be such that they create the least inequality for the greatest number of people. In other words, justice-based mechanisms must support the weakest strata. Additionally, peaceful coexistence mechanisms should be expanded in the economic, social, and cultural domains, and the principles of the Constitution, such as education in the mother tongue, the development of media in the mother tongue for ethnic groups, and attention to the historical role of ethnic groups in preserving national identity, must be realized. In this article, descriptive and analytical methods and library tools have been used.
Introduction
The Iranian cultural system is the product of several thousand years of an ancient nation and the collective action of ethnic groups that have shaped Iran's cultural identity, each of which has added various layers with positive and negative components to it, and ultimately has become part of this macro-cultural identity. In fact, Iran's cultural identity is a broad and comprehensive umbrella that at the same time includes all ethnic groups and ethnic groups. However, Iranian society is full of ethnic and cultural diversity that, despite historical and political developments, has always left a significant role in domestic conditions. In the twentieth century, as a result of the growth of social knowledge and the evolution of concepts in this field, the word "ethnicity" became one of the basic terms in social sciences, and experts in this field sought to define it. A wide range of theories have focused on the attributive nature of ethnicity and common ancestry among a group of individuals. This means that these human groups have a subjective belief in common ancestors. The term ethnic group in anthropological literature usually refers to a population that has a great deal of autonomy in its biological reproduction, has special fundamental cultural values, and is united within cultural forms with a clear unity that distinguishes them from others. Accordingly, the present study, taking into account the plural and multi-ethnic society of Iran, seeks to solve some problems in the field of ethnic groups, which specifically refer to the conflict between ethnic and national identity. The central question of the study is what practical solution can be proposed to realize the peaceful coexistence of ethnic groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran and to link national and ethnic identity? The hypothesis is that the rejection of the minority-type view of ethnic groups, the continuation of impartial governance in the country's macro-administration, reliance on common historical history and norms, and the economic development of regions in favor of the less privileged classes are among the solutions to realize the peaceful coexistence of ethnic groups in Iranian society.
Materials and Methods
The present article used descriptive and analytical methods and library tools. The theoretical framework of the article is also John Rawls's theory of justice.
Discussion and Findings
The pluralism of Iranian society in terms of ethnic diversity requires a practical solution to link the aspects of ethnic and national commonality to realize their peaceful coexistence. Therefore, it should be said that theories that focus solely on ethnic issues and do not pay attention to the compromise between national and ethnic identity cannot be considered as problem-solving theories. For this reason, by adopting the approach proposed by John Rawls, the principles of peaceful coexistence should be presented to improve the conditions of ethnic groups on the one hand and the link between national and ethnic identity on the other hand as a basis for their continued existence. First of all, it should be said that ethnic groups should not be mentioned as a minority group in the country. This is because the constitution is not explicit about this. Also, this perception can have legal consequences, including the uniqueness of an ethnic group or ethnic groups, as well as accepting autonomy and the right to self-determination for them, which results in divergence. In the next place, it has been considered that one of the advantages and even paths that can include peaceful coexistence of ethnic groups is the neutral sovereignty in the administration of the country. This means that there is no specific ethnic group or race or group to govern the country and the positions of the administration of the country are held either directly or indirectly through elections as a democratic procedure. However, we should not ignore the problems of ethnic areas in terms of electing local governors or appointing other officials. For this reason, we need to take measures to provide the basis for further linking national and ethnic identity by trusting local elites and promoting them in the national hierarchy. Another idea that can be proposed by inferring from Rawls' theory is to pay attention to the common historical bio-history between ethnic groups in Iran, which, despite some periodic tensions, have always continued to live peacefully and based on belonging to a common Iranian root and lineage. This practice has caused ethnic groups to always seek themselves under a comprehensive and colorful flag that can even show national identity as the center of gravity of identity. This advantage makes the principle of allocating more privileges to less advantaged (economically and socially) ethnic regions seem more necessary than ever, based on the same theory. Because a significant part of poverty and unemployment is allocated to these regions, and the migration of labor from these regions to other regions, firstly, causes the departure of active economic force, and secondly, it expands inequality to their detriment. To resolve this problem, we need to use a policy of positive discrimination in favor of ethnic regions and a change in development conditions, the establishment of factories, companies and economic enterprises, so that the problem of smuggling can also be overcome and effective and desirable economic activity can be created in these regions. Benefiting from the policy of allocating privileges to less advantaged regions is not only economic, but also has social and cultural dimensions. In order to allocate this privilege to ethnic areas, we need to refer to the constitution to recognize the right to teach in the mother tongue in schools so that we can provide a kind of commonality for social cohesion. This procedure does not mean ignoring national identity or highlighting ethnic identity, but rather an effort to improve the identity conditions of ethnic areas and recognize their special rights, as well as linking national and ethnic identity. Thus, to eliminate inequality, we need an effort for social, economic, and cultural-identity equality to improve the conditions of ethnic groups within the framework of national identity.
Conclusion
According to the study of the present study, it should be said that remaining in the theoretical and ideal realm and relying on political and historical commonalities is not enough, but in practice these commonalities should be in a way that creates the least inequality for the most people. That is, mechanisms based on justice should support the weakest groups. Also, peaceful living mechanisms should be expanded in the economic, social and cultural fields, and the principles of the constitution, including education in the mother tongue, development of media in the mother tongue for ethnic groups, and attention to the historical role of ethnic groups in preserving national identity, should be realized.