Introduction

This study aims to identify, explain, and model communicative resilience strategies of native Iranian platforms during the "Ramadan Conflict" (an 88 day international internet disconnection). It examines how platforms, industry actors, and users responded to infrastructural instability, economic pressures, and authoritarian policymaking.

Method:

A qualitative Grounded Theory approach (Strauss & Corbin) was employed. Eighteen experts in platform management, digital governance, cybersecurity, and communication sociology participated through purposive and theoretical sampling. Semi structured in depth interviews continued until theoretical saturation (achieved after the 15th interview), with three additional interviews to enhance trustworthiness. Data analysis included open, axial, and selective coding.

Findings:

The paradigm model revealed "communicative resilience" as a multi layered phenomenon. Causal conditions included infrastructural instability (routing disruptions, bandwidth saturation), economic damages (halted transactions, revenue loss), and cybersecurity threats. Contextual conditions encompassed cultural shifts, authoritarian policymaking (security over efficiency), and user behaviors (mass migration to native platforms, circumvention attempts). Intervening conditions involved currency fluctuations, service contradictions, and human capital challenges. Four strategic layers emerged: (1) technical architecture optimization; (2) trust crisis management; (3) industry level advocacy; and (4) active user adaptation (intranets, offline tools, peer to peer knowledge sharing). Consequences included authority transformation (emergence of national platforms), governance change (institutionalized authoritarian monitoring), and social transformation (damaged virtual solidarity).

Conclusion:

Communicative resilience was not a mechanical return to a prior state but an evolutionary process driven by the gap between infrastructure and social needs. Sustainable resilience requires transitioning from "engineering resilience" to "evolutionary resilience," replacing authoritarian governance with networked governance grounded in public trust and user agency. The Ramadan Conflict served as an evolutionary turning point; without this transition, future crises risk turning platforms into isolated digital islands.