Strategic Studies Quarterly

Abstract In this article, the authors try to discuss the status of political legitimacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the light of the emergence and expansion of the block chain technology as a social technology. First, it will be argued that the crisis of the government's efficiency is at the center of the legitimacy crisis of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the current situation, and the block chain is something more than anything else which can challenge or increase the legitimacy of the government in Iran. The authors try to discuss the possible positive and negative effects of the block chain on government efficiency in three areas: bureaucratic efficiency, economic efficiency, and social efficiency. Then, according to the current trends and approaches in Iran towards this emerging technology, two continuity scenarios and a change scenario will be designed. The final conclusion of the article is that the results of the emergence and expansion of this technology  for political legitimacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran are not determined and inevitable, but depend on the institutional contexts, strategic choices and prevailing governance methods and patterns.

Abstract Blockchain technology has been one of the most emerging and one of the most politically challenging new information-communication technologies. The structure of the Blockchain is such that it can at least theoretically overshadow some of the functions and capabilities of governments and, as a result, challenge their legitimacy. This technology has features that can become a factor of legitimacy or at least reduce the crisis of legitimacy of states by further empowering governments or assisting in the processes of strengthening democratic representation. In this article, we try to discuss the possible effects of this technology on the legitimacy of modern governments in the four areas of governance, political trust, efficiency, and democracy, by separating the two main approaches to the relationship between politics and the chain of forms (techno-politics: the chain of forms)