Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to show what is the role of kinship at the time of voting in a previously pastoral nomadic area of Iran

Paper long abstract:

Kinship and Law in a Rural Area of Iran

Through this paper on a rural area of Iran, I try to show how blood is thicker than the word of law. When family relations can provide jobs and security, definitely one would participate in voting for a candidate who is the candidate of one's tribe. In this paper I shall follow people throughout a span of 35 years and see how they are intermarrying, and how the structure of a village has changed, and how voting for a candidate who brings jobs is the rational act to perform in a region which was previously pastoral nomadic. Kinship relationship is not just having one relationship to another person, but through inter-marriage, every person has many relationships to any other individual. So the structure remains strong and dependable, and voting becomes reinterpreted to mean participation to claim the importance of one's tribe. Voting booths become locations of conquest for a period of time, and one votes on as many ballots as one can get hold of.