Government of the islamic republic of iran wikipedia. The second issue is the political culture or norms, beliefs and priorities. Pdf an introduction to political culture in iran abbas. A state of mixture is a rich and complex study of the interweaving of christian and zoroastrian communities in late antique iran. The authors of politics and culture in contemporary iran. Irans strategic culture and national security outlook is at a critical juncture, where historical nationalism, religion and political ideology are being challenged by modernisation, moderation and pragmatism.
His new book, the ayatollahs democracy, delves into the workings of the countrys politics. A coding scheme was constructed to measure the presence of categories and themes in the. The december 1979 constitution, and its 1989 amendment, define the political, economic, and. The role of political culture in iranian political. Hosseini khamenei lamented at some length over what he said was the countrys cultural. Political culture and identity in iran essay example topics. The impact of globalization on development of civil society. A professor of political science, her previous teaching venues include villanova university, university of richmond, hobart and william smith colleges, and vassar college. Political culture, in political science, a set of shared views and normative judgments held by a population regarding its political system.
Iranianamerican writer hooman majd attempted to demystify some of the wests preconceived notions about iran in his 2008 book the ayatollah begs to differ. The second issue is the political culture or norms. The revolution of 1979 brought about a fundamental change in iranian attitudes toward politics. Pdf identities in crisis in iran politics, culture, and. At the top of iran s power structure is the supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, who. Pdf on jan 1, 2016, mohammad ali khosravi and others published the ruling elite political culture in contemporary iran find, read and. Irans political economy since the revolution foreign. A veritable renaissance and reformation are under way in virtually every aspect of the cultural, social, aesthetic, sexual, and even religious canvas of iran. Politics and culture in contemporary iran eurospan bookstore.
Touraj atabaki is professor of social history of the. Political culture in the islamic republic as ebook. However, recently there has been a downward trend of the legitimacy of the iranian government and politics with many demanding reforms. Compare and contrast the political cultures of the usa and. The december 1979 constitution, and its 1989 amendment, define the political, economic, and social order of the islamic republic of iran, declaring that shia islam is iran s official religion where around 9095% of. But in a political system with myriad and overlapping centers of power, capturing the presidency and the parliament may not suffice. The historical and religious basis of irans political system. Persian cultural nostalgia as political dissent middle. The heart of the persian empire of antiquity, iran has long played an important role in the region as an imperial power and as a factor in superpower rivalries. The government of iran includes a supreme leader and an assembly of experts. The most important criticism related to countries that are ruled by a presidential regime is that military intervention is more common in moments of. To earn the point, the response must accurately compare political competition in mexico to political competition in iran. Since politics do not occur within a culturally vacuous context, attention is also drawn to the dominant characteristics of iran s political culture from tribalism and religion to the cult of personality and political demagoguerythat have similarly shaped political life in iran. Ayatollah ruhollah khomeini 19791989 ayatollah ali khamenei since 1989 the most important figure in the iranian political system is the valiye faqih, an expert in religious law, who is referred to in the constitution as the supreme leader rahbar of the islamic revolution.
Since the 1905 constitutional revolution, critiques of iran s political culture have mostly focused on the approaches, beliefs, and feelings that define and regulate the political process within the country. Successive electoral victories by khatami and his political allies have raised expectations about the prospects for irans reform movement. Its insights may startle americans who think of iran purely as a fundamentalist islamic state fronted by the demagogic. In this study, dal seung yu takes culture, a key element in this discussion, and explains the major cultural impediments to political development in iran. Soon, the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism will be free to sell weapons to anyone, and china, russia, and others will be able to sell tanks, missiles, air defense equipment, and other dangerous weapons to the iranian regime. Political culture in pakistan fata research centre. Many of these developments are being forged often at great risk from within irans borders, and in different discursive forms. Most of the population acquiesced in this approach to politics. Inside iran the structure of power in iran terror and. In this essay the subject of discussion will be the cultures. The contributors acknowledge that identity, especially when it is faced with fundamental tensions as in the case of iran, is a. Using filesharing servers api, our site will find the ebook file in various formats such as pdf, epub and other.
Such characteristics have acquired added accent under the revolutionary regime of the. Turkeys political culture and the presidential system. This paper provides an introduction to the islamic republic of iran, its politics, economics, foreign and defence policies, and its nuclear programme. S in addition to the distinguished scholars, who either presented papers, or sub. According to articulate discourses and research that has been done about iranian political culture, iranian political culture has always included elements such as, 1directorate culture2political trust weakness 3. Iran, historical gaps, political culture, political development. The nature of the political system in the islamic republic of iran. How have persian tradition, islamic religion, and western thought influenced and shaped the contemporary political sphere of iran. At its core, political culturethe shared values and beliefs of a group or society regarding political relationships and public policyanswers the question of how human beings are going to live together. The notion of political culture does not refer to attitudes toward specific actors, such as a president or prime minister, but rather it denotes how people view the political system as a whole and their belief in its legitimacy. Tribal political culture of iran as dealing with three characteristic which have influenced iranian political culture in all points of time. The government of the islamic republic of iran persian. It is important for the development of the countrys political culture.
He, then, concludes that the continuation of political culture in irans political. Political culture irans government and politics have been considered perfectly legitimate to the iranians, since centuries ago. In this study i investigate the iranian green movement supporters use of slogans as political discourse on the persianlanguage opposition website data was collected from the websites kaleme section in the form of 22 articles and 3,500 user comments. Introduction having a political culture, is a necessary precondition for any individual or a nation, in order to enable and maintain direct or indirect connection between government, formal and informal organizations, and in some way to reconcile personal and common interest to each other. Iran, a mountainous, arid, and ethnically diverse country of southwestern asia. This culture is similar to the one remarked by javaheri and ghazati 2007 and shaditalab 2002. Investigating the origins of irans politicalmilitary contradictions and. Iran was the first country in the postworld war ii era in which political islam was the rallying cry for a successful revolution, followed by the new state formally adopting political islam as its ruling ideology. In sum, ahmadinejads foreign policy behavior was in tune with iran s political culture. Pdf the ruling elite political culture in contemporary iran. Democratization is the current trend in politics among the vast majority because the iranians are deprived of many basic rights that would be granted in other democratic countries.
A rich and ancient nation, iran has always beguiled outsiders. Below is a brief overview of the key components of iran s government and political system. Islamic republic of irans strategic culture and national. Politics of culture in iran politics of culture in iranis the first comprehensive study of modern anthropology within the context of iranian studies and politics in the twentieth century. This could start a new arms race in the middle east. Pdf globalization and its impacts on iranian culture. A coding scheme was constructed to measure the presence of categories and themes in the sites comments section. Despite the relative calm apparent in iran today, there is unmistakable evidence of political, social, and cultural ferment stirring beneath the surface. Some of the most modern and democratic ideas in the islamic world today have emerged among iranian philosophers, reformers and dissidents. The grand alliance that led to the 1979 revolution abandoned the traditional clerical quietism, adopting a diverse ideological interpretation of islam.
In the thirty years since its establishment, the islamic republic of iran has been the focus of sustained international attention. At this time, the constitution of the islamic republic of iran, as an articulation of the political, social, cultural, and economic relations and institutions of the society, was to open the way for af. What is the military and political culture of iran. The supreme leader is the head of all religious and political activities in iran. There is discussion of a wide range of topics ranging from the relationship of the individual to society to westoxication, from shiism to the islamisation of film culture. Press the button start search and wait a little while. Political development means institutionalize the political. The authors of the book address specific aspects of irans political culture within a general theoretical framework laid out in the introduction.
The authors of the book address specific aspects of iran s political culture within a general theoretical framework laid out in the introduction. Maloney covers irans political economy since the fall of the qajar dynasty in 1921, with a heavy emphasis on the years since the iranian revolution of 1979. It also a blinding factor to the society as defines what a given group should believe in any situation rather than the actual observed occurrence. This paternal absolutism affected all segments of the iranian society and brought about a maledominated culture. According to articulate discourses and research that has been done about iranian political culture, iranian political culture has always included elements such as, 1directorate culture2 political trust weakness 3. The political culture of iran was marked by a radical leftist collectivist ideology during the final years of the monarchy. Under the monarchy the political culture had been elitist in the sense that all major governmental decisions were made by the shah and his ministers. Cohen is assistant professor and chair of the department of middle eastern studies and political science at ariel university in israel. One of the key concepts in modern persian studies is gharbzadegi, or westoxication, associated with some of irans most influential intellectual figures from the 1960s on. Politics of culture in iranis the first comprehensive study of modern anthropology within the context of iranian studies and politics in the twentieth century. This book addresses the tension many iranian people face that lies between the persian culture and the shia religion, women versus men, and culture versus traditions. The political history of iran is complex, tumultuous, and has left many political scientists scratching their heads. The politics of iran take place in a framework that officially combines elements of theocracy and presidential democracy. This volume started as a conference on the historiography and political culture in twentieth century iran that i organized at wadham college, university of oxford in 2004 when i served as the iran heritage fellow at the faculty of oriental tudies.
The iranian political elite, state and society relations, and foreign. Iran nationalism and west enlightenment tradition bashiriyeh, 2002. Persian new year nowrooz in 2014, supreme leader ayatollah ali. Political culture, mossadeghs legacy, and transition to democracy in iran by masoud kazemzadeh december 25, 2010 no comment in my article on authoritarian personality. After the revolution, the regime fused shia culture and politics into a single integrated political culture which it then set out systematically to institutionalise. The impact of globalization on development of civil. In the political system of iran, the shah enjoyed absolute power and took all decisions himself without consulting others enayat, 2001. Iranian political culture iranian political culture and the political institutions of postrevolutionary iran iranian political culture and the political institutions of postrevolutionary iran introduction islamic revolution in iran took place in 197879 and since the historiography of iran has been evolving in different ways. In the long run, these deep transformations of culture and social relations taking place in iran today may prove to have a bigger impact on its democratic prospects than the overt cleavages and conflicts in the cur rent political system.
Below is a brief overview of the key components of irans government and political system. Political culture in the islamic republic 1st edition. Under the monarchy the political culture had been elitist in the sense that all. Identities in crisis in iran aims at finding answers to the questions about the puzzling character of the iranian identity.
It seeks to demystify the clerical regime, provide an insight into the theocracys goals and ambitions and its factions, debates, rivalries and policies. Although political cultures are a dynamic phenomenon as propounded by political theorists, any rapid transformation can lead to the growth of conflictual circumstances. Finally, the rivers of iran, racing swiftly through. As a result, current iranian national security policies can be analysed as working like a pendulum between supranationalist and realist tendencies. Political culture and identity in iran political culture defines the relationship between the ruling elites and the citizens, amongst citizens themselves, and the economy of a given state.
At the top of irans power structure is the supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, who. Irans government and politics have been considered perfectly legitimate to the iranians, since centuries ago. Despite the attention, however, it continues to defy easy characterisation. Modern iranian culture owes itself in part to a renaissance in the 8th century. Irans political, demographic, and economic vulnerabilities rand. This book analyses the ways in which anthropology and culture in iran have interacted with iranian politics and society. The constitution of the islamic republic of iran is a declaration of the social, cultural, political, and economic foundations of the iranian society based on islamic principles and norms that re. Since it is difficult to have candidates from various perspectives and represent the majority because of the guardian councils power, like in the 2009 presidential elections, many people and political groups are pushing and protesting for reforms and democratic changes in the government and political aspects of iran. The political regime of the islamic republic of iran in.
Arash naraghi, one of the most eru dite observers of irans political scene and himself an influential voice in shaping a kind of revisionism in the ranks of religious forces in iran, offers a brilliant answer to the question of identifying the theory of gov ernance in iran. Iran and the prism of political culture mansour farhang introduction. Ahmadinejad, foreign policy, iran, political culture, rouhani. Another two participants 8% favored neither preislamic nor contemporary iranian culture due to a lack of knowledge while only one 4% felt pride for both preislamic and contemporary iranian culture and expressed a strong interest in irans ancient history as well as its current political situation. However, the overpowering hierarchy of political power overshadows even the smallest aspect of democracy existing in the iranian society. The islamic republic, with its factional politics and complex foreign relations remains enigmatic. Public figures can be nominated by various political parties by the alliance and it is not seen as a crisis in modern turkey. That is, political culture answers the question of who gets to do what with and to whom under what circumstances. Political culture consists of the peoples perception and orientation towards.
Comparisons within countries over time that do not also compare across countries do not earn a point. One of the key concepts in modern persian studies is gharbzadegi, or westoxication, associated with some of iran s most influential intellectual figures from the 1960s on. She argues that economic crises have driven iranian politics. The historical gaps and political development problems of iran. Irans intellectual culture has been evident even in the current political infighting. He focuses on the historical attitudes of people towards the political management of the society and the effect these attitudes have on slowing the development of this political system in the. From them also, thrust up in the wake of the volcanic activity of late pliocene times, came diorite and obsidian, both highly prized in antiquity. Iran is a republic in which the president, parliament majles and judicial system share powers reserved to the national government, according to its constitution.
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