Volume-1, Issue-4, December 2025

Abstract

This study employs John Dollard and colleagues’ Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis as a theoretical lens to analyze the pervasive political violence of Shah Abbas I (r. 1588-1629) of the Safavid Empire. It argues that the Shah’s violent behaviors—including the suppression of the Qizilbash, the murder of relatives, brutal punishments at court, and aggression towards foreigners—were not merely acts of a tyrannical personality but can be understood as aggressive responses to profound structural and personal frustrations. These frustrations stemmed from internal threats to central authority, external military pressures from the Ottomans and Uzbeks, and personal insecurities rooted in a turbulent youth. Using a historical-analytical method, this interdisciplinary research synthesizes Persian chronicles and European travelogues to trace a causal link between specific failures/frustrations and subsequent aggressive policies. The findings suggest that Shah Abbas’s reign presents a compelling historical case study of the frustration-aggression dynamic operating at the level of statecraft, where psychological defense mechanisms became institutionalized as tools of governance. This analysis provides a deeper, multi-causal understanding of Safavid political behavior, moving beyond purely political or military explanations to incorporate psychosocial drivers.

Keywords: Shah Abbas I, Safavid Empire, Political Violence, Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis, Psycho-history, Qizilbash, Statecraft.

References

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7. Eskandar Monshi. (2003). Tarikh-e ‘alam aray-e ‘Abbasi [History of the Abbasid scholars] (I. Afshar, Ed.; Vol. 3). Amir Kabir.
8. Vale Isfahani, M. Y. (2003). Khalid-e Berin [Khaled Berin] (M. H. Muhaddis, Ed.). Afshar Endowment Foundation.
9. Delavale, P. (2001). Safarnameh-ye Delavaleh [Delavale's travelogue] (S. Shafa, Trans.). Scientific and Cultural Publications. (Original work published 1621)
10. Rawandi, M. (1975). Tarikh-e ejtema‘i-ye Iran [Social history of Iran] (Vol. 2). Amir Kabir.
11. Bayat, O. B. (1973). Iraniyan-i Don Juan [Iranian Don Juan] (M. Rajab Nia, Trans.). Mossadegh. (Original work published 1637)
12. Bastani Parizi, M. E. (1999). Siyasat va iqtisad-e ‘asr-e Safavi [Politics and economy of the Safavid era]. Safi Ali Shah.
13. Momeni, A. F. (1973). Tarikh-e Gilan [History of Gilan]. Islamic Archives.
14. Navai, A. (1978). Shah ‘Abbas (Vol. 3). Iranian Culture Foundation.
15. Chardin, J. (1993). Safarnamah-ye Chardin [Chardin's travels] (I. Yaghmaei, Trans.; Vols. 1–5). Toos. (Original work published 1686)
16. Navai, A. (1981). Asnad va mokatebat-e tarikhi-e Iran [Iranian political documents and correspondence]. Iranian Culture Foundation.
17. Jamali Carri, G. F. (1969). Safarnameh-ye Carri [Carri's travelogue] (A. Nakhjavani & K. Abdol-Ali, Trans.). General Administration of Culture and Art of East Azerbaijan. (Original work published 1694)
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Keywords: Shah Abbas I, Safavid Empire, Political Violence, Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis, Psycho-history, Qizilbash, Statecraft.

Abstract

Continuous creation, formation, maintenance and sustenance of proverbial social language in today’s multifaceted, heterogeneous and monolingual traditional Annang societies are very necessary. This study examines the multimodalities in Annang’s proverbial social language or proverbs. The linguistic and non-linguistic elements such as the facial expressions of the speakers and the listeners, the venues, time of delivery, colours of items and other semiotic modes; their influences and relevance are investigated in this study. The study also examines the multifunctional roles of Annang’s proverbs. The study adopts a qualitative-descriptive research design and employs George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s (1980) Cognitive Theory of Metaphor. Data were purposively collected from the interactions of the author with the Annang people in Akwa-Ibom State and in Lagos State through participatory observation and recorded conversations. One of the major findings is that nouns are the linguistic features that significantly constitute the language choices of Annang proverbs. The study also reveals that multimodal elements including contextual settings, speaker authority, and facial expressions significantly influence the interpretation and effectiveness of these proverbs. The study therefore recommends that Annang proverbial social language should be applied intentionally and appropriately by all Annang people to act as a catalyst in moving people to positive directions in order to minimise avoidable conflicts, destructions and death.

Keywords: catalyst, facial expressions, linguistic elements, multimodalities, proverbs, Annang society.

References

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8. Csatár, P. (2022). Extended conceptual metaphor theory. Acta Linguistica Academica, 69(2), 263–270. 

   https://doi.org/10.1556/2062.2022.00510

9. Ferretti, T. R., Katz, A. N., Schwint, C. A., Patterson, C., & Pradzynski, D. (2020). How discourse constraints influence neurolinguistic mechanisms during the comprehension of proverbs. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 20, 604–623. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00795-4
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    https://doi.org/10.3968/j.ccc.1923670020130906.2885

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Keywords: catalyst, facial expressions, linguistic elements, multimodalities, proverbs, Annang society.

Abstract

This study conducts a critical analysis of postcolonial political manipulation in Ogbeche Frank Ogodo’s play, Harvest of Corruption (2013). Employing postcolonial theory as a framework, the research examines how the play dramatizes the systemic exploitation of marginalized citizens by a corrupt political elite in a post-independence African state. Through a qualitative textual analysis, the study reveals that political corruption permeates all societal institutions, leading to economic devastation, injustice, and the moral degradation of both the powerful and the vulnerable. The analysis demonstrates that characters such as Chief Ade-Amaka, Ochuole, Aloho, and Justice Odili function as metaphors for the entrenched networks of corruption and the profound human cost they exact. The study concludes that Ogodo’s work serves as a powerful indictment of the neocolonial patterns of governance that continue to perpetuate oppression and social injustice long after the end of formal colonial rule.

Keywords: Postcolonial literature, Political corruption, Neocolonialism, Ogbeche Frank Ogodo, Harvest of Corruption, Subaltern, African drama.

References

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11. Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 168–178. 

    https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601164353

12. Scott, J. C. (1972). Comparative political corruption. Prentice-Hall. 

Keywords: Postcolonial literature, Political corruption, Neocolonialism, Ogbeche Frank Ogodo, Harvest of Corruption, Subaltern, African drama.

Abstract

This study scrutinizes the dialectal variation of Kafinoonoo (also referred to as Kafa), an Omotic language spoken in the Kafa Zone of southwestern Ethiopia. Employing a descriptive survey methodological framework from dialect geography, including guided interviews and semantic domain questionnaires with eleven native speakers from geographically varied locations, the research identifies two primary dialect clusters: a north-western group (Gesha, Saylem, Bitta, Chenna, Shisho-Inde, Gewatta) and a central-south-eastern group (Bonga, Gimbo, Decha, Addiyo, Tello, Chetta). The central-south-eastern variety has been established as the standard language for education, media, and government functions. This paper argues that the privileging of this dialect is not a linguistic inevitability but a sociolinguistic consequence of historical, geographical, and political factors. These include the region's history as the heartland of the Kafa Kingdom, the associated social prestige of its speakers, and post-1991 Ethiopian language policy. A lexicon of 52 key variations provides empirical evidence for the dialectal split, contributing to the understanding of language standardization in under-documented Omotic languages. The findings underscore that successful standardization must be grounded in empirical dialectology while acknowledging the socio-political realities that shape linguistic hierarchies.

Keywords: Kafinoonoo, Dialectology, Sociolinguistics, Language Standardization, Language Variation, Omotic Languages, Ethiopia.

References

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Keywords: Kafinoonoo, Dialectology, Sociolinguistics, Language Standardization, Language Variation, Omotic Languages, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Positivism is a scientific approach asserting that true knowledge derives solely from observable, measurable phenomena interpreted within specific social and cultural contexts. The discourse of the approach was initiated by Auguste Comte, who believed society operates as a laboratory with discoverable behavioral laws, this was further advanced by Emile Durkheim's conceptualization of social facts such as customs, laws, traditions as objective realities shaping human action. Early anthropologists, Bronislaw Malinowski and Franz Boas employed positivist methods, collecting detailed information through extensive fieldwork to understand socio-cultural influences on individual behavior. However, critics argue positivism overlooks deeper meanings and human agency by overemphasizing quantifiable data. For instance, counting Diwali lamps in a housing colony reveals ritual frequency but fails to capture their symbolic significance of lighting diyas invokes prosperity, ancestor veneration, and cosmic renewal embedded in Hindu cosmology. This limitation exemplifies positivism's reductionist tendency to prioritize measurable phenomena over layered cultural meanings. Clifford Geertz countered with "thick description," advocating close analysis of cultural narratives and shared meanings. Contemporary anthropology integrates positivist methods (surveys, statistics) with interpretive approaches (interviews, ethnography) to explore empirical studies across simple to complex societies, balancing scientific rigidity with cultural sensitivity to address real world social challenges.

Keywords: Anthropology, Positivism, Interpretive, Thick Description, Empirical Studies.

References

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Keywords: Anthropology, Positivism, Interpretive, Thick Description, Empirical Studies.