I don’t want to be a Zirabzan or Mokhber, but they made me: the informant culture of spying on everyday life of citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract The culture of surveillance and informant behavior, where citizens monitor and report on each other, particularly regarding dissent against the regime, its representatives, and policies, serves as a crucial mechanism of policing and social control in authoritarian systems. This practice significantly contributes to the persistence and endurance of authoritarian regimes. This paper aims to explore the everyday practice of Zirabzani/Mokhberi (informant behavior) in Iran, analyzing how the Islamic Republic strategically reshapes public trust to normalize policing and surveillance as routine psychological features of everyday life, thereby controlling dissenting views. Through qualitative interviews with individuals coerced by various security and ideological institutions of the system, the study examines the dynamics of informant culture. The research seeks to develop an institutional-organizational taxonomy of informant behavior and analyze the ideological, cultural, psychological and organizational complexities surrounding everyday espionage among ordinary citizens in an authoritarian context. This exploration contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of fear and mistrust in repressive political systems and their effects on social cohesion, as well as the human costs of living under authoritarian regimes.