IRAN

1
Chapter 14

• IRAN

2
Historical Turning Points

• 559 BCE --- Empire of Cyrus the Great
• 332 BCE --- Conquest by Alexander the Great
  and the Greeks
• 250 BCE --- Parthian Dynasty
• 226 CE --- Sassanian Dynasty
• 638 --- Arab/Islamic Conquest
• 1219 --- Mongol Invasion
• 1501 --- Safavid Dynasty establishes Shiism
  as state religion
• 1796 --- Qajar Dynasty

3
Political Turning Points I

• 1905 --- Constitutional Revolution
• 1908 --- Oil discovered
• 1925 --- Reza Khan overthrows Qajar Dynasty
• 1941 --- Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi becomes shah
• 1950s --- Mossadeq nationalizes oil industry US
  coup restores shah
• 1960s-70s White Revolution/Khomeini in exile
• 1979 --- Islamic Revolution

4
Political Turning Points II

• 1980-1988 --- War with Iraq
• 1989 --- Khomeini dies Khamenei succeeds him as
  Supreme Leader after a power struggle in
  the Assembly of Religious experts
• 1997 --- Reformist Khatami elected president
• 2000 --- Reformist candidates win control of the
  Majlis
• 2004 --- Conservatives regain control of Majlis
• 2005 --- Conservative Ahmadinejad elected
  president

5
Achemenian Empire (Persia)

• Founded by Cyrus (6th century BCE)
• Largest empire in the world at that time
• Survived for 200 years
• Centralized military leadership
• Major rival was the Greeks
• Both Greeks Persians ultimately conquered by
  Alexander the Great
• Alexander left Persian political structure
  relatively intact

6
King Darius - Zoroastrianism

• Iranian sovereigns were hereditary military
  leaders
• Darius built capital of Persepolis
• Built intricate system of roads
• Kings authority supported by strong military as
  well as state-sponsored religion Zoroastrianism
• Zoroastrianism did not survive as major religion
  but continued to be practiced regularly until 7th
  century CE.

7
Shiism

• Between 7th 16th centuries CE religion held
  Iran together
• Numerous invasions by Arabs introduced Islam to
  the region
• Even when Iranian caliphate was defeated by
  Mongols in 13th century the Mongolians converted
  to Islam
• Shiism established as state religion in 16th
  century

8
Shiism II

• Shiites after Muhammads death they felt that
  leadership of the Muslims should be hereditary
  and pass to Muhammads son-in-law, Ali.
• Sunnis favored choosing a caliph from the
  accepted Sunni leadership
• When Ali was killed the Shiite opinion became a
  minority one, but they kept their separate
  identity
• True heirs of Islam were the descendants of Ali
• The heirs (Imams) continued until the 9th
  century, when the 12th descendant disappeared as
  a a child, to become known as the Hidden Imam

9
Twelver Shiism

• Hidden Imams
• 12th Imam disappeared as a child in 874 CE, did
  not die however, will come forward and show
  himself to establish just rule at the end of
  times, when injustice and corruption reign
  supreme (Messiah-like figure)
• Ulema were willing to give the right to rule to
  the shahs as long as they ruled justly
• By end of the 17th century for a shahs rule to
  be legitimate he had to have the ulemas
  endorsement
• Ulema ultimately establish themselves as an
  institution independent of the state, tithes were
  often paid to the ulema directly giving them both
  political and economic influence
• The center of Twelver Shiism is the city of
  Najaf, in Iraq

10
Safavid Empire (1501-1722)

• Established Shiite identity in Iran
• By mid-17th century converted 90 of population
  to Shiism
• Tolerated People of the Book monotheistic
  religions based on holy books similar to the
  Quran
• Serious economic problems do to breakup of the
  Silk Road
• Had no money for large bureaucracy or standing
  army
• Relied on local rulers to maintain order and
  collect taxes
• Claimed absolute power but lacked a central state
• Monarchy became separated from society and lost
  power by 1722

11
Qajars (1794-1925)

• Turkish people that reconquered Iran at end of
  18th century
• Moved capital to Tehran
• Could not claim to be descendents of Twelve Imams
• Shiite clerical leaders could claim more power
  as interpreters of Islam, separation between
  government and religion widened
• Suffered land loss to European empires of 19th
  century, sold oil rights to British in the
  southwest
• Shah led country into serious debt
• Iranians upset over shahs lavish lifestyle look
  for change that would be initiated by bankers and
  businessmen

12
Constitutional Revolution

• Constitution of 1906
• Elections
• Separation of Powers
• Laws made by an elected legislature
• Popular sovereignty
• Bill of Rights guaranteeing citizen equality,
  protection of the accused, and freedom of
  expression
• Majlis Guardian Council created
• Shiism becomes official state religion

13
Pahlavis (1925-1979)

• By early 1920s Iran in political and economic
  disarray
• Majlis divided by quarreling factions
• Iran divided into three parts after WWI with
  Russia and Great Britain each occupying a third
  of the country
• Cossack Brigade of the Qajars led by Colonel
  Reza Khan carries out coup detat in 1921 and
  claims himself shah-in-shah in 1925 establishing
  the Pahlavi dynasty

14
Pahlavis continued

• Authoritarian rule reestablished in Iran
• Majlis loses its power
• Reza Shah passes power to his son, Muhammad Reza
  Shah in 1941
• Democratic experiment of 1906 constitution not
  forgotten, shah challenged domestically
• Tudeh Party (communists)
• National Front (nationalists) Muhammad Mossadeq
• Mossadeq overthrown by CIA in 1953, Shah
  reinstated

15
Pahlavi - OIL the Rent-seeking state

• Iran transformed into rent-seeking state under
  Pahlavis because of increasing income from oil
• Rentier Economy heavily supported by state
  expenditure, while the state receives rents
  from other countries
• Iran received increasing revenue from exporting
  oil and leasing oil fields to foreign countries
• Although shah promoted import substitution
  policies by 1979 oil associated industries
  provided 97 of foreign exchange and majority of
  Irans GNP
• Oil revenue became so great government did not
  have to rely on internal taxes to generate
  income, paid expenses from oil profits
• The people become unnecessary to the government
  in a rentier state

16
Pahlavi Influence

• Centralized State
• State banks
• National radio/TV networks
• National Iranian Oil Company (NOIC)
• Central Bureaucracy controlled local governments
• Majlis became rubber-stamp legislature
• Secularization in judicial branch (European-style
  judicial system)
• White Revolution
• Armed forces 5th largest in world by 1979
• Patronage shahs boost personal wealth by
  seizing property and establishing tax-exempt
  Pahlavi Foundation that controlled large
  companies and fed their wealth
• Muhammad Reza Shah formed Resurgence Party,
  claimed Iran was one-party state, named himself
  head

17
Pahlavi White Revolution

• White to counter influence of red communists
• Land reform government bought land from large
  absentee owners and sold it to farmers at
  affordable prices
• Encourage agricultural entrepreneurship with
  irrigation canals, dams, tractors
• Womens rights (secularization)
• Suffrage
• Restricting Polygamy
• Women allowed to work outside the home

18
Islamic Revolution the Republic (1979-present)

• Dominant ideology of Iranian revolution Religion
• Leader a cleric (Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini)
• Theocracy established
• Fundamental Islam
• Causes
• Shah perceived as being totalitarian
• Balance between secular and religious state
  ruptured
• Ties with US and the Western world

19
Khomeini, Fundamentalism, Revolution

• Islamic Fundamentalism
• Literal interpretation of Islamic texts
• Social conservatism
• Political traditionalism
• Resentment towards elites, US, and the Western
  world
• US was the Great Satan
• Velayat-e faqih (jurists guardianship)
• Senior clergy given authority over entire Shiia
  community

20
Revolution

• Oil prices decrease about 10 in late 70s
• Consumer prices in Iran increase about 20 at the
  same time
• Revolution of Rising Expectations revolutions
  occur when people are doing better than they once
  were and a set back occurs
• US puts pressure on shat to loosen restrictions
  on civil society, in particular restraints on
  political opposition
• Once restrictions were eased many groups join the
  revolt (students, teachers, labor groups, oil
  workers, merchants, and professional associations)

21
Revolution II

• 1978
• Unarmed demonstrators killed in central square
  Tehran
• Oil workers go on strike
• Anti-regime rallies attract 2 million
  participants
• Rallies organized and led by clerics
• Shah flees the country in February 1979
• Khomeini returns to Iran from exile in Paris

22
Islamic Republic

• April 1979 referendum held, Iranians officially
  vote out the shah, Islamic Republic established
• Assembly of Religious Experts 73 clerics
  elected by the people draft a new constitution in
  1979
• US-Iranian hostage crisis on-going during vote to
  ratify constitution
• 99 of electorate vote to endorse constitution
  although only 75 of eligible voters cast votes

23
Khomeini the Islamic Republic

• Clerics consolidate power
• Popular support for regime high
• World oil prices rise again, allowing for social
  programs, improvements in medicine housing
• Iraq invades Iran, people rally around the
  government
• Charisma of Khomeini inspired faith in the
  government
• Khomeini dies in 1989, constitution amended
• Ali Khamenei succeeds Khomeini, does not have the
  same political charisma as the Ayatollah
• Iran/Iraq war ends in 1988, country war-torn
• Oil prices drop in 1990s
• Population begins to question authoritarian rule
  of the clerics

24
Constitution of 1979

• Document 40 Amendments (Some added in 1989)
• Mixture of theocracy and democracy
• Preamble reflects importance of religion
• Velayat-e faqih (Jurists guardianship)
• Gave broad authority to Khomeini and the clerics

25
Political Cleavages

• Religion
• Ethnicity
• Social Class
• Reformers vs. Conservatives

26
Religion

• 89 of Iranians are Shia Muslims
• 10 are Sunni Muslim
• The constitution does not mention Sunnis and
  their legal status is therefore unknown
• 1 are combination of Jews, Christians,
  Zoroastrians, and Bahai
• Constitution recognizes rights of religious
  minorities, many religious minorities have left
  country since Islamic Revolution
• Bahai considered unholy offshoot of Islam and
  they have been persecuted by Shiite governments.
• Bahai leaders have been executed, imprisoned,
  tortured, their schools closed and property
  confiscated

27
Ethnicity

• 51 Persian (speak Farsi)
• 24 Azeri
• Live mostly in the northwest close to Azerbaijan,
  this causes tension with Iranian government
  worried that Azeri may want to unite part of
  Iranian territory with Azerbaijan
• Azeri do not speak Farsi, but they are mostly
  Shiite, Ali Khameini was Azeri
• 8 Gilaki Mazandarani
• 7 Kurds
• Predominantly Sunni
• 3 Arabic
• Predominantly Sunni

28
Social Class

• Peasantry and middle class support Islamic regime
• Benefited from government social programs.
• Provided electricity paved roads
• Middle Upper-middle class largely secularized
• Critical of clerics
• Have not fared well economically under the
  Republic this reinforces their cultural and
  political views

29
Political Culture

• Authoritarianism (not totalitarianism) leaders
  claim to be all powerful, but do not interfere
  with every aspect of the citizens lives
• Union of political religious authority
• Shiism Sharia key components of everyday
  life
• Escape from European Colonialism
• Geographic Limitations limited arable land
  forced expansion through military conquest,
  population of Iran unevenly distributed in cities
  and northwestern part of country
• Influence of Ancient Persia

30
Legitimacy of Modern State

• Revolution of 1979
• Legitimacy attached to principles of Shiism
• Constitution of 1979
• Amended in 1989

31
Women the Political System

• Treatment of women in Iran is probably more
  contentious for Westerners than the majority of
  Iranian women
• When sharia law is interpreted narrowly women
  are considered wards of their male relatives
• Equality-with-difference policy instituted by
  the Islamic Republic slants law favorably towards
  men on issues such as divorce and custody
• Women must wear scarves and long coats in public
• Women can not leave country without consent of
  male relatives
• Occasionally women stoned for committing adultery
• Women allowed to get education in Iran and
  entrance into some occupations
• Expectations for better jobs and increased
  political rights among educated women
• Half of college students in Iran are women
• Women make up 27 of the labor force

32
Linkage Institutions

• Political Parties
• Elections
• Interest Groups
• Mass Media

33
Political Parties

• Constitution legalized political parties, but
  they were not allowed until Muhammad Khatamis
  election (1997)
• The Iranian Militant Clerics Society left wing
  reform party led by Muhammad Khatami.
• Khatami president from 1997-2005
• Several prominent politicians belong to this
  party including former Majlis speaker, and a
  vice-president
• Candidate in 2005, Mehdi Karroubi, came in third
• The Islamic Iran Participation Front reformist
  party led by Khatamis brother, Muhammad Reza
  Khatami
• Founded in 1998, motto Iran for all Iranians
• Did well in 2000 Majlis elections
• Guardian Council barred many members from running
  in 2004 so membership declined

34
Political Parties II

• Executives of Construction Party founded by
  several former cabinet members of President Akbar
  Hashemi Rafsanjani
• Important supporter of Rafsanjani and his
  political platform
• Rafsanjani lost election runoff to Ahmadinejad by
  a large margin
• The Islamic Society of Engineers member of the
  conservative alliance, party of current president
  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who secured office in
  presidential election of 2005
• The society however did not support Ahmadinejad
  in the election, their candidate was Ali
  Larijani, who lost in first round

35
Reformist Parties

• Khordad Front (Alliance between Iranian Militant
  Clerics Society Islamic Iran Participation
  Front) the alliance helped win reelection for
  Khatami in 2000.
• The Second Khordad Front did not survive in 2004
  elections as Guardian Council banned many
  reformist candidates from Majlis elections
• Liberation Movement Moderate party, party
  founded by Mehdi Bazargan (Khomeinis PM), in
  1961 it was banned in 2002 as subversive
  organization
• National Front headed by Mossadeq in 1950, it
  was banned in late 1980s
• Exile parties Mojahedin (guerrilla group fought
  the shah) Fedayin (Marxist guerrillas modeled
  after Che Guevara) Tudeh (communist party)

36
Elections

• Citizens over 15 may vote
• National elections held for the following
• Assembly of Religious Experts
• Representative to the Majlis
• President
• Elections to Majlis and President are by
  plurality, winner-take all
• Elections are done over two rounds
• First round narrows field down to 2 candidates

37
Elections II

• Majlis Election of 2004
• Feb. 20, 2004
• Council of Guardians banned thousands of
  candidates from mostly reformist parties
• Out of a possible 285 seats (5 reserved for
  religious minorities) reformist could only
  introduce 191 candidates
• 51 - Official voter turnout
• Conservative candidates won 70 of seats

• Presidential Election of 2005
• Khatami steps down after serving two terms
• Guardian Council disqualifies about 1000
  candidates
• Only 7 candidates run
• Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
• Rafsanjani received 21 of the vote compared to
  Ahmadinejads 19 in the first round
• In second round runoff Ahmadinejad won with 62
  of the vote
• Rafsanjani suffered from being unable to organize
  reformist vote behind him

38
Interest Groups

• It is difficult to distinguish between parties
  and interest groups in Iran
• Most exile parties have members in Iran that work
  for their benefit
• Interest Groups
• Islamic Association of Women
• Green Coalition
• Workers House
• Interest group for factory workers, have a
  political party as well, Islamic Labor Party
• Hold a May Day rally every year, turned into
  protest in 1999 against conservative policies to
  water-down labor laws

39
Mass Media

• During and shortly after revolution 27 newspapers
  in total were shut down
• In 1981 Majlis passed law making it illegal to
  use pen and speech against the government
• Some restrictions have been lifted
• Rafsanjani government allowed for debate in press
  on some controversial issues
• Khatami administration issued permits to new
  publications in attempt to establish independent
  press
• Many newspapers and magazines privately owned
• Freedom of Press still a major issue between
  conservatives and reformists
• In 2002, some 60 pro-reform newspapers were shut
  down
• Irans elite are well-educated, and private media
  cater to their needs and interests
• Radio TV are government-run, Islamic Republic
  of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)

40
Government Institutions

• Jurists Guardianship
• Supreme Leader
• Guardian Council
• Assembly of Religious Experts
• Expediency Council
• President Cabinet
• Majlis
• Judicial Branch
• Military

41
Velayat-e faqih (Jurists guardianship)

• The principle instituted by Khomeini of
  overarching authority for different government
  institutions
• Supreme Leader
• Guardian Council
• Assembly of Religious Experts
• Expediency Council
• This authority is all-encompassing and is over
  whole community based on their ability to
  understand sharia and their commitment to
  champion the rights of the people

42
Supreme Leader

• Position created for Khomeini, currently held by
  Ali Khomeini
• Powers of Supreme Leader
• Elimination of presidential candidates
• Dismissal of the president
• Command armed forces
• Declares war peace
• Appointment and removal of major administrators
  and judges
• Nominates six members of Guardian Council
• Appoints many non-governmental directors, such as
  radio/TV and semi-public foundations
• Responsibilities of Supreme Leader
• faqih he is the leading Islamic jurist to
  interpret sharia and religious documents
• Links three branches of government together
• Determining the interests of Islam

43
Guardian Council

• 12 members
• All Male
• 6 members appointed by Supreme Leader
• 6 members nominated by chief judge, approved by
  Majlis
• Responsibilities
• They represent theocratic principles within the
  government
• Review bills passed by Majlis to ensure they
  conform with sharia
• Guardian Council and Supreme Leader together
  exercise principle of jurists guardianship (Make
  sure all democratic bodies adhere to Islamic laws
  beliefs)
• Power to decide who can compete in elections
• In 2004 2005 disqualified thousands of
  candidates for both Majlis and presidential
  elections

44
Assembly of Religious Experts

• Expanded in 1989 to an 86 man house
• Directly elected by the people
• 4 year terms
• Members originally required to have seminary
  degree equivalent to a masters, 1998 revision
  now allows non-clerics to stand for Assembly
  candidates still subject to approval by Council
  of Guardians
• Responsibilities
• Broad constitutional interpretation
• Elected Khomeinis successor (Khamenei)
• Reserve right to remove supreme leader

45
Expediency Council

• Created by Khomeini
• Main purpose to referee disputes between the
  Guardian Council and the Majlis
• Began as a 13-member group including president,
  chief judge, speaker of Majlis, and six jurists
  from the Guardian Council
• 1989, Expediency Council passes some bills, and
  is institutionalized by constitutional amendments
• Currently consists of 32 members
• It may originate its own legislation
• Not all members are clerics
• Still appointed by Supreme Leader
• Collectively most powerful men in Iran

46
President the Cabinet

• Iran is not a presidential system, therefore the
  executive branch does not have the same authority
  as presidents in presidential systems such as
  U.S., Mexico, and Nigeria
• President does represent highest official
  representing democratic principles in Iran
• Chief executive, highest state official after
  Supreme Leader
• Directly elected every 4 years
• Constitution still requires the president to be a
  Shiite and uphold Islamic principles
• All six presidents of the Islamic Republic have
  been clerics except for Abol-Hasan Bani-Sadr who
  was ousted in 1981 for criticizing the regime as
  a dictatorship

47
Presidents Power

• Devising the Budget
• Supervising economic matters
• Proposing legislation to the Majlis
• Executing policies
• Signing of treaties, laws, and agreements
• Chairing the National Security Council
• Selecting vice presidents and cabinet ministers
• Appointing provincial governors, town mayors, and
  ambassadors

48
Cabinets Power

• Conducts the day-to-day work of governance
• Most new laws and the budget are initiated and
  devised by cabinet members
• Then submitted to parliament for approval,
  modification, or rejection

49
Bureaucracy

• President heads up the bureaucracy that has
  doubled since 1979
• Provides jobs for high school and college
  graduates
• Clergy dominates the bureaucracy, head ministers
  all clerics (Intelligence, Interior, Justice,
  Culture Islamic Guidance)
• Agencies
• Culture and Islamic Guidance censures media
• Intelligence chief security organization
• Heavy Industry manages factories
• Reconstruction expands social services and sees
  that Islam extends to countryside

50
Semipublic Institutions

• Theoretically autonomous
• In reality they are directed by clerics appointed
  by the Supreme Leader
• Usually called foundations (bonyads)
• Foundation of the Oppressed
• Martyrs Foundation
• Foundation for the Publication of Imam Khomeinis
  Works
• Foundations are tax exempt
• Reputed to have a great deal of wealth
• Most property they supervise was confiscated from
  pre-1979 elite

51
LegislatureMAJLIS

• Unicameral legislature
• Assembly of Religious Experts has served similar
  to an upper house since 1989 (Both groups are
  elected representatives)
• Created by Constitution of 1906, however
  Constitution of 1979 and 1989 amendments weakened
  the Majlis power
• 290 seats
• All directly elected through single member
  districts by citizens over 15 years old

52
Majlis Authority

• Powers of Majlis
• Enacting or Changing Laws (with approval of
  Guardian Council)
• Interpretation of legislation (as long as it does
  not contradict judicial authorities)
• Appointment of 6 of 12 Guardian Council members
  from list made by chief judge
• Investigation of the cabinet ministers and public
  complaints against the executive and judiciary
• Removal of cabinet ministers, but not the
  president
• Approval of budget, cabinet appointments,
  treaties, loans

53
Majlis elections

• Election of 2000
• Reformists fill seats through coalition of
  reformist parties (Khordad Front)
• Reformists win 80 of the vote, most secular
  voters whose parties were banned supported the
  reformists.

• Election of 2004
• Guardian Council bans thousands of reformist
  candidates
• Overwhelming victory for conservatives
• Control of the Majlis flips from the reformists
  to the conservative faction

54
Judiciary

• Distinction between two types of law sharia
  qanun
• Judicial review does not exist in Iran
• Principle of jurists guardianship means that the
  Supreme Leader, the Guardian Council, and the
  Assembly of Religious Experts have final say
  regarding interpretation of law
• Ultimate legal authority does not rest in the
  constitution, but in sharia law itself
• Because interpreting sharia is difficult it has
  been applied in different ways at various times
• Because of Ayatollah Khomeini interpretation of
  sharia came to be the standard that would
  influence all succeeding Iranian leaders

55
Judiciary II

• Islamic Republic
• Islamicized the judiciary code to interpret
  sharia strictly
• Retribution Law
• Permitted families to demand blood money
  compensation to the victims family from those
  responsible for someones death
• Mandated the death penalty for actions such as
  adultery, homosexuality, drug dealing and
  alcoholism
• Set up unequal treatment between men women, and
  Muslims non-Muslims
• Banned interest rates on loans, viewed as usury,
  which means lenders take advantage of people
  seeking loans

56
Law

• Shari 'a
• Islamic law
• Considered to be foundation of all Islamic
  civilization
• Embodies a vision of a community in which all
  Muslims are brothers and sisters subscribe to the
  same moral values
• Sharia supersedes all other law in Iranian
  society
• Supreme leaders authority and the jurists
  guardianship based on importance of sharia

• Qunan
• No sacred basis
• Statutes passed by Majlis
• the Peoples Law
• Can never contradict sharia
• Guardian Council Supreme Leader must make sure
  all laws apply interpretations of sharia

57
Law Justice

• Khomeini realized that despite the influence of
  sharia judges, the regime did need a centralized
  judicial system to tend to matters of justice in
  an orderly manner
• The interpretation of sharia was broadened so
  that the harsh penalties of the Retribution Law
  are rarely carried out
• Modern methods of punishment are more common than
  harsh public retribution
• Regime retained the shahs court structure
• Appeals system
• Hierarchy of state courts
• Central governments right to appoint and dismiss
  judges

58
Military

• Revolutionary Guard established by Khomeini
  after the revolution, a parallel military force
  to the shahs traditional armed forces that were
  the 5th largest at the time
• Commanders of the Revolutionary Guard are
  appointed by the Supreme Leader
• According to the constitution, the regular army
  defends the borders, the Revolutionary Guard
  protects the republic
• Both were greatly strained during the Iran-Iraq
  War of the 1980s
• Basij volunteer militia of those to young to
  serve created during Iran-Iraq War.
• Martyred by Khomeini against the invading Iraqi
  troops
• After the war they became the Supreme Leaders
  private militia
• Currently serve as the Islamic Republics
  morality police (Comparable to Hitler Nazi
  Youth)
• Irans armed forces currently have over 500,000
  active troops making it the 8th largest military
  in the world

59
Theocratic Democratic Elements of Irans
Government Structure
Structure Supreme Leader Theocratic Characteristics Jurist guardianship ultimate interpreter of sharia appointed for life Democratic Characteristics
Guardian Council Jurist guardianship interpreter of sharia six member selected by the Supreme Leader Six members selected by the Majlis which is popularly elected, indirect democratic tie
Assembly of Religious Experts Jurist guardianship interpreter of sharia Directly elected by the people
60
Theocratic Democratic Elements of Irans
Government Structure
Structure Expediency Council Theocratic Characteristics Appointed by the Supreme Leader most members are clerics Democratic Characteristics Some members are not clerics
Majlis Responsibility to uphold sharia Directly elected by the people pass qanun (statutes)
Judiciary Courts held to sharia law subject to the judicial judgments of the Supreme Leader, Guardian Council Court structure similar to those in democracies modern penalties, such as fines and imprisonment
61
Public PolicyPolicy-Making Factions

• Conservatives
• Created by often contradictory influences of
  theocracy democracy
• Conservatives uphold principles of regime
  established in 1979
• Against modernization because it threatens
  Shiism
• Wary of western influence
• Political religious decision should be
  synonymous
• Support right of clerics to run the political
  system

• Reformists
• Believe political system needs reform (but
  disagree on what reforms)
• Advocate some degree of international involvement
  with western countries
• Believe Shiism is important basis of Iranian
  society
• Support idea that political leaders do not have
  to be clerics

62
Public PolicyPolicy-Making Factions II

• Statists
• Government should take active role in the economy
• Not necessarily communists
• Policy goals include
• Redistribute land
• Redistribute wealth
• Eliminate unemployment
• Finance Social Welfare Programs
• Price restrictions on Consumer goods

• Free-marketers
• Similar market principles to the US, but in a
  theocratic/democratic state
• Liberal Economic Policies
• Remove price controls
• Lower business taxes
• Encourage private enterprise
• Balance the budget

63
Public Policy

• Majority of policy issues among factions stem
  from the theocratic vs. democratic debate
• Policy issues have recently led to a drain of the
  best brightest from Iran do to frustration
  with government
• Policy-making factional disagreements over
  relationship with US Economic issues

64
US Relations

• Reformists Conservatives constantly disagree
  regarding diplomatic relations with the US
• Ex Following 9-11-01, President Khatami
  immediately offered his condolences to American
  people, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei forbid
  public debate about improving relations with US,
  and implied Americans brought the situation on
  themselves
• Nuclear Weapons
• For energy or defense?

65
Economic Policy

• Oil creates vertical divide among elites in Iran
• Elites with close ties to the oil state
• vs.
• Traditional sector of the clergy
• Instability of Oil prices effects the economy of
  this rentier state
• Attitudes toward supranational organizations
  (WTO, UN, World Bank) are mixed. Irans
  application for admittance to the WTO in 1996
  rejected
• Based on difficulties in making foreign
  investments in the country
• US opposed Irans entry into WTO
• Economic policy characterized by internal
  bickering
• Ex Bill drafted in 2002 by Majlis would have
  allowed foreigners to own as much as 100 of any
  firm in the country (up from 48). The bill came
  from reformists, the bill was not approved by
  Guardian Council. Conservatives worry about
  influence of secular prosperity on Shiism