Affective Lifeworlds: Iranian Gamers vs the Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract

This dissertation examines the complex relationship between Iranian gamers and state Internet control policies through the lens of digital ethnography. Drawing on four years of fieldwork, the research investigates how Iranians navigate state information controls, particularly in response to the controversial Internet User Protection Bill. Through analysis of memes, digital artifacts, and resistance practices during the Woman Life Freedom movement in 2022, the study reveals how gamers construct alternative digital spaces and develop tactical responses to state surveillance. The research makes three significant contributions to scholarly literature. First, it advances understanding of cyberspace and ICTs by demonstrating digital technologies’ dual nature as tools for citizen empowerment and state repression. Second, it enriches Middle Eastern game studies by providing one of the few ethnographic accounts of Iranian gaming communities, illuminating how virtual spaces become sites of cultural and political negotiation. Third, it extends affect theory by examining how gamers’ emotional and social experiences shape their responses to digital authoritarianism. Through a multi-sited ethnographic approach combining qualitative methods, the study reveals how Iranian gamers create affective lifeworlds that enable resistance and normalcy under systemic constraints. The findings demonstrate how technological adaptation and digital resistance practices emerge within authoritarian contexts, contributing to broader discussions of digital sovereignty, sociotechnical systems, and the global affectosphere.