From ressentiment to revengefulness: An analysis of the discourse of barāʿatī Shīʿism in Iran

The term barāʿatī is attributed to a Shīʿī discourse in Iran (and in some other countries in the Middle East), where its central signifier is barāʿa (dissociation) from, and hatred toward, the “usurpers” of the Prophet’s succession and their followers (Sunnīs). This article seeks to analyze this discourse (a rival discourse of political Shīʿism) in Iran from the perspective of psychoanalytic sociology. It utilizes data collected from the participatory observation of the rituals of one of the communities associated with this discourse in southern Tehran, and data produced by this discourse on social networks. The article employs psychoanalytic sociological concepts of “chosen trauma,” “chosen glory,” “entitlement ideology,” “ressentiment,” and “revengefulness” to demonstrate that the narrative of the discourse of barāʿatī Shīʿism is: “from ressentiment to revengefulness.”