Abstract
A nomadic lifestyle based on seasonal migration represents one of the earliest forms of human social organization that has persisted into the contemporary era. In Iran, nomadic and agro-pastoral communities have historically played a significant role in the country’s socio-economic structure, with the Qashqai tribe constituting one of the most prominent nomadic groups. Traditionally, their livelihood was based on mobile livestock husbandry and seasonal migration between summer and winter grazing territories. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates the pattern of social changes experienced by the Qashqai nomads in Isfahan Province over the past four decades. The study employed a mixed-methods approach. The research population consisted of Qashqai individuals aged over 60 years, selected through purposive sampling. In-depth interviews were conducted with 33 tribal elders until theoretical saturation was achieved and subsequently extended to 40 participants to enhance the robustness of the findings. Data were analyzed using the coding procedures of Grounded Theory. The findings revealed that social transformations within the Qashqai community can be classified into five major dimensions: changes in livelihood patterns, transformations in the social stratification system, developments in healthcare services, modifications in migration patterns and mobility, and changes in kinship relations. The results indicate that these transformations emerged through the interaction of internal and external forces, with modernization and globalization serving as the primary drivers of change. Technological advancements, new economic arrangements, and changing lifestyles have reshaped social relations and everyday practices, while globalization has influenced local values, norms, and belief systems through cultural integration. Overall, the study demonstrates that the Qashqai community has adapted to profound social transformations while continuing to negotiate the balance between tradition and modernity, contributing to a deeper understanding of social change, cultural adaptation, and the sustainability of contemporary nomadic societies.
Keywords: Nomadic Life, Qashqai Tribe, Social Change, Isfahan, Modernization, Globalization.

1. Introduction
The Qashqai tribe is one of the most historically influential nomadic confederacies in Iran, traditionally sustaining a migratory pastoral way of life across the southern regions of the Zagros Mountain range. However, state-led modernization policies during the Pahlavi era, particularly under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, initiated gradual processes of sedentarization that significantly altered the traditional nomadic lifestyle of many Qashqai communities. Despite these transformations, the Qashqai continue to inhabit extensive territories in southern Iran, practicing seasonal migration between winter pastures in the lower-altitude regions of southern and southwestern Iran and summer pastures located in the higher elevations of Fars Province, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, and parts of Isfahan Province. A defining characteristic of the Qashqai tribe is their enduring collective memory and emotional attachment to ancestral lands, deeply embedded in their music, poetry, oral traditions, and historical narratives. These cultural expressions reflect themes of nostalgia, displacement, and historical hardship, while Qashqai music in particular conveys profound emotional and melancholic dimensions that preserve the memory of centuries of migration and social upheaval. Similarly, the natural landscapes of their migratory routes remain central to their cultural imagination and identity, reinforcing a persistent sense of belonging despite ongoing social change. These cultural attachments are further manifested in customs, traditions, proverbs, and collective emotional life. Against this background, the present study examines the social transformations experienced by the Qashqai tribe, aiming not only to analyze their social structure but also to explore the lived experiences and subjective interpretations of change from the perspective of tribal members. Furthermore, the study seeks to develop a sociological model of social change among the Qashqai in Isfahan Province over the past four decades, based on the perspectives of elders, local elites, and community members, addressing the central question of how these social changes can be sociologically interpreted and understood.

2. Materials and Methods
This study was grounded in an interpretive sociological approach that provided the conceptual framework for examining social change within the Qashqai tribal community. Within the interpretive paradigm, human beings are understood as active, creative, and meaning-making agents who continuously construct and reconstruct social reality through everyday interactions; thus, social life is conceived as an ongoing process through which meanings, identities, and social structures are produced and reproduced. Given the anthropological orientation of the research, an ethnographic design was adopted to investigate the lived experiences, cultural practices, and social transformations of the Qashqai tribe, with particular emphasis on cultural change as a key lens for understanding evolving patterns of social organization. The study is categorized as fundamental and developmental research. The Qashqai population in Iran is estimated at approximately 1.7 million, while the target population consisted of nomads aged 60 years and older residing in Isfahan Province. Purposive and theoretical sampling techniques were employed to select participants with extensive lived experience of tribal life and long-term exposure to processes of social change. Participants were included because they could provide retrospective accounts spanning at least four decades, ensuring historical depth and reliability of the data. Data collection was conducted primarily through in-depth semi-structured interviews; theoretical saturation was initially reached after 33 interviews, but the sample was extended to 40 participants to enhance analytical robustness. Participants included tribal elders, knowledgeable community members, and key local informants. Methodological rigor was ensured through triangulation, including non-participant observation, participant observation, and document analysis. Finally, data were analyzed using Grounded Theory procedures—open, axial, and selective coding—which enabled the identification of core categories and the development of an explanatory framework for understanding social change processes within the Qashqai community.

3. Discussion and Analysis
Based on the major analytical categories, the concept of “structuring and de-structuring processes” emerges as the most comprehensive and abstract core category, providing a final theoretical explanation of social change among the Qashqai nomads and offering an integrative framework for understanding how modernization has reshaped their social world. Rather than passively experiencing modernization, the Qashqai actively interpret, evaluate, and negotiate its meanings through lived experience and collective memory, thereby constructing a situated understanding of social transformation. Social change is perceived as inherently ambivalent, simultaneously generating opportunities to overcome ecological, social, cultural, and economic constraints while also improving access to resources, raising living standards, and expanding developmental capacities. These transformations are shaped by the interaction of causal conditions, including economic development, healthcare improvement, welfare expansion, and increased mobility; contextual ecological constraints inherent in nomadic life; and intervening factors such as traditional authority structures, cultural conservatism, and limited access to information. The interaction of these factors has produced a complex, multidimensional process of change within Qashqai society. In response, the Qashqai adopt adaptive strategies along a continuum between acceptance and resistance, reflecting both positive and critical evaluations of modernization. While acknowledging the benefits of socio-economic and technological developments, they express concern over the erosion of traditional lifeways, kinship structures, and cultural values. Consequently, their engagement with modernity is cautious, selective, and conditional, accepting change only when compatible with enduring cultural and religious frameworks. From an anthropological perspective, nomadic communities have historically occupied marginal positions within modernization processes and often face unequal access to its benefits. Therefore, a nuanced and context-sensitive approach is required to understand their ongoing social transformation and cultural continuity.

4. Conclusion
The findings of this study demonstrate that the social transformation of the Qashqai nomadic community over the past four decades has been multidimensional, involving profound changes in livelihood systems, social stratification, migration patterns, and kinship relations as part of broader processes of modernization and socio-economic restructuring in contemporary Iran. In terms of livelihood patterns, five key themes emerged, including the decline of traditional subsistence resources, expansion of non-pastoral economic activities, increasing centrality of the state, acceptance of socio-economic change, and growing emphasis on capital accumulation, indicating a gradual shift from a closed pastoral economy toward a diversified and market-oriented system, facilitated by technological advancement and improved infrastructure. Regarding social stratification, six main categories were identified, such as the dominance of traditional elites, public dissatisfaction with hierarchical structures, rising social awareness, state intervention, expansion of modern education, and the growth of individualism, all of which have contributed to the weakening of traditional authority and the emergence of a more differentiated social order. In relation to migration practices, five categories were observed, including the persistence of nomadic traditions, ecological constraints, shortened migration routes, mechanization of migration, and emerging tourism activities, where motorized mobility has accelerated seasonal movements while disrupting traditional migratory cycles and ecological rhythms. Transformations in marriage and kinship relations were categorized into six themes, such as declining kinship interactions, media influence, labor migration, modern education, changing lifestyles, and increased social competition, indicating a reconfiguration of familial relations while maintaining their social significance. A key finding was the identification of “preservation of valuable historical traditions” as the core category, highlighting that despite extensive transformations, cultural heritage remains central to Qashqai identity, reflecting a dynamic process in which tradition and modernity coexist. Overall, the study shows that contemporary Qashqai society is navigating a complex balance between modernization-driven change and cultural continuity, where efforts to preserve tradition function as a central mechanism for negotiating ongoing social transformation.