Abstract

The protests of summer 2021 in Khuzestan Province, particularly in Ahwaz, emerged in the context of the water crisis and a range of economic, social, and regional issues. This study adopts a qualitative approach based on Strauss and Corbin’s systematic grounded theory to explain the conditions and dimensions of protest action and develop a paradigmatic model of the protests in Ahwaz. Data were collected through 27 in-depth semi-structured interviews with two groups: protest participants and informed participants. The data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. The findings indicate that “accumulated experience of inequality and exclusion”, as the core category, connects issues including the water crisis, livelihood problems, inequality in resource distribution, and perceived governance inefficiency. Contextual conditions included experiences of discrimination and social and regional marginalization, employment-related problems, and perceived center–periphery development disparities. In addition, declining trust and hope in the effectiveness of formal mechanisms for claims-making, accumulated unresolved demands, and the facilitating role of social media and communication networks contributed to collective participation. Protest strategies were mainly characterized by peaceful claim-making and social participation, particularly the presence of women. Reported consequences included increased local solidarity and collective expression, alongside greater distance from formal institutions. The resulting model formulates the relationship between objective conditions, lived experiences of inequality and exclusion, and protest action, providing a theoretical basis for comparative examination in different social contexts.