Sovereignty, Authority, and Power of Iran
Description of State
The official name of Iran, formerly known as Persia,is the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was established since 1980 through the Iranian Revolution in replacement of the former autocratic government. You can quickly catch the two most distinct points about Iran's government: Islamic and Republic. Their official national religion is Shia Islam and has a constitution based on Islamic laws which most citizens obey to.
Iran has a fairly strong military capacity. This is resulted by regional tensions in the Middle-East area and potential threats such as Iraq, Israel and the U.S (though far away). They had officially released multiple on-going projects of advanced technology weapons, which believed by lots of experts that they are used as deterrent against other nations. This kind of military force can definitely increase its autonomy within the nation and possibly outside.
In Iran, the Supreme leader held the most Authority in the government. He has the power to "chose" who to run the countries and work for him. Most citizen respect him and obey the laws the government has made based on Islamic laws. The main reason could be that they recognize the legitimacy of letting a religious leader to rule the country since it has been like that in Persia for more than a thousand years.
In conclusion, although Iran might not be as powerful as other strong states in the world which can easily influence the rest of the world, it did succeed in keeping its own people to continue the way they live without too much abstraction. Therefore, I would categorize it as a medium state--not too strong, nor too weak.
Iran has a fairly strong military capacity. This is resulted by regional tensions in the Middle-East area and potential threats such as Iraq, Israel and the U.S (though far away). They had officially released multiple on-going projects of advanced technology weapons, which believed by lots of experts that they are used as deterrent against other nations. This kind of military force can definitely increase its autonomy within the nation and possibly outside.
In Iran, the Supreme leader held the most Authority in the government. He has the power to "chose" who to run the countries and work for him. Most citizen respect him and obey the laws the government has made based on Islamic laws. The main reason could be that they recognize the legitimacy of letting a religious leader to rule the country since it has been like that in Persia for more than a thousand years.
In conclusion, although Iran might not be as powerful as other strong states in the world which can easily influence the rest of the world, it did succeed in keeping its own people to continue the way they live without too much abstraction. Therefore, I would categorize it as a medium state--not too strong, nor too weak.
Description of Political Culture
Brief History
Iran is not called the “Islamic Republic of Iran” without a reason. Back in history during the mid-1970s, an outspoken leading Shia scholar, Ayatollah Khomeini, strongly opposed pro-Western regime of the Shah. His opposition led to his exile in which he fled to Turkey, Iraq, and then France but he never gave up on the attempt to overthrow the Shah. During his exile, he was able to convince many of his supporters to overthrow the Shah. By the late 1970s, the Shah was not only increasingly unpopular, but he slowly lost his grip on the government. By 1979, the Shah’s government collapsed and he and his family fled into exile while Khomeini soon came back to Iran with a clear vision in mind for the future of Iran— an Islamic Republic based on Islamic law that is pro-theocracy but anti-western. This major event in Iranian history, known as the Iranian Revolution of 1979, set the path for Iran’s new government in the years that were to come.
The Shari’ah, the official law of Islam, sets the foundation of the legal system, classifying Iranian government as a theocracy. The power is highly centralized, with the government holding much political power over its people. How the structure of Iran’s government works is that the Supreme Leader has the power to appoint the heads of many important posts, such as commanders of military forces, directors of media networks, heads of major religious foundations, and members in national security councils. All bodies under the Supreme Leader, including the parliament, the president, and the Guardian Council answer to the head. The total domination of one leader reflects the coercive nature in the Iranian government. The long standing belief that the Supreme Leader is the head of state and holds all power, whether it be economical, social, physical, or political, over political affairs shows that force is the mechanism that gets things done.
With those two characteristics of government— centralized and coercive— in mind, labeling Iran as a unitary state is a fair call. No regional bodies exist for powers to be dispersed evenly among different parts of Iran. All the power is in the hands of Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, and all the decisions and laws come from the central government. Since conservatives fill most of the political seats in the government, devolution is not something that would be happening any time soon. For now, Iran remains as a highly centralized unitary state in which the Supreme Leader is the power mechanism of the government.
With those two characteristics of government— centralized and coercive— in mind, labeling Iran as a unitary state is a fair call. No regional bodies exist for powers to be dispersed evenly among different parts of Iran. All the power is in the hands of Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, and all the decisions and laws come from the central government. Since conservatives fill most of the political seats in the government, devolution is not something that would be happening any time soon. For now, Iran remains as a highly centralized unitary state in which the Supreme Leader is the power mechanism of the government.
Country Legitimacy
The legitimacy of Iranian government is largely based on tradition, religion, rational law, ideology, and government's leaders' charisma.
Undoubtedly, Iran is a theocratic country, in which Supreme Leader holds most of the power and has the exclusive right to make the final decisions for the country.This dictatorial power roots in the religious belief that the clerics' power is endowed and passed down by the divine throughout the history, over any secular power. In other words, the legitimacy ruling class of the Iran relies on the masses' unshakable, somewhat zealous faith in the clerics. But the religious legitimacy has been gradually weakened these years when increasingly more young people start to cast doubts on those clerics' ability and shake in religious belief.
The Iran political system is also legitimate because of tradition. That is, holding office for so long time that people cannot imagine the other way when there is no Supreme Leader and Guardian Council. As a result, this political tradition has been accepted by the majority of Iranians At the first beginning, Ayatollah Puhollah Khomeini stayed in the post of Supreme Leader for 10 years after 1979 Iranian Revolution until his death(no limit on Supreme Leader's term length). Then later in 1989, Ali Khamenei was elected by guardian Council as Supreme Leader. Despite merely a middle-class cleric, Ali Khamenei, however, still has been holding the office even until now. His supreme status has not been seriously challenged and has been respected by most of Iranians simply because his lengthy control of the power.
Ideology is another important element contributing to the legitimacy of the Iranian government. Since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took over the supreme power, Iranian government has always strictly followed the Islamic fundamentalism (including but not limited to religious dogmatism, theological purity, social and political conservatism, and rejection of the modern world especially the western world) because the majority of Iranians are Islamic conservatives. Therefore, the traditional ideology in politics easily gains most Iranians' support, despite the fact that many began to voice their demand for freedom of expressing view different from traditional Islamic values.
In addtion, the charisma of leaders also lay the legitmacy for the govenment. For example, the founder of the Iran Republic, first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was quite attractive to the masses for his prudence, ability to make public speeches, charity, genial countenace and rich knowledge in Islam. Also, the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is regarded legitimate largely for his charimatic personalities as well.
Paradoxically, the democracy is also blended into the political system. Each level of the government officials and members of Majles(parliament)have been elected based on popular votes since 1997. However, the secular power has been widely regarded as untenable; the final decision are made by Supreme Leader, Guardian Council and other senior clerics. The Guardian Council (including Supreme Leader), which consists of 12 senior clerics of Muslim, have an all-encompassing power such as to elect Supreme Leader, to vet candidates running for high office and to veto bills passed by the parliament. Although trying to erect the image that rational-law is also a source of legitimacy, Iran still is not rational-law legitimate because of prevalent trickery and corruption in the election. Also, the Iranian constitution, which is based on Islamic Law, isn't rational at all. Citizens are still not entitled the basic right( freedom of speech) and female citizens are still not treated equally. Even the constituion itself donesn't deserve to be called rational since it doens't entitle everyone with equal right and basic huma nrights (women, non-Islam are defacto treated as second-class citizens).
The Supreme Leader and Guardian Council remain dogmatic, prohibiting freedom in expressing values and opinions that are different from Islamic doctrines. Only in 2000 alone, for example, more than 30 publications were forced to close for their expression of "heretic view'. Besides, recent protests and demonstrations against the rule of clerics have been ruthlessly crushed by Iranian security forces. Hence, the political efficacy in Iran is pretty low. People, especially the young, who desire for mor freedom, transparency of governmentr's decison-making process, feel themselves not part of the state and desperate as well. Supreme Leaders and clerics refused to respond to their demands and refuse give the decisive power back to secualr government but suppress the protests instead.
When it comes to veil of ignorance, although recent several presidents Hassan Rouhani promise to conduct reform , to promote social equality not just to maximize the benefits for government officals and clerics, yet the Supreme Leade and other senior clerics still stubbornly, dogmatically maintain the fundamental traditon of Islam and make the decisions favoring for their own interest .
To sum up, Iranian government still appear legitimate overall, but many cracks are under the surface. With the trend of global democracy and enlightment movement with Iran, the legitimacy of theocratic regime is expected to diminish by the time.
Undoubtedly, Iran is a theocratic country, in which Supreme Leader holds most of the power and has the exclusive right to make the final decisions for the country.This dictatorial power roots in the religious belief that the clerics' power is endowed and passed down by the divine throughout the history, over any secular power. In other words, the legitimacy ruling class of the Iran relies on the masses' unshakable, somewhat zealous faith in the clerics. But the religious legitimacy has been gradually weakened these years when increasingly more young people start to cast doubts on those clerics' ability and shake in religious belief.
The Iran political system is also legitimate because of tradition. That is, holding office for so long time that people cannot imagine the other way when there is no Supreme Leader and Guardian Council. As a result, this political tradition has been accepted by the majority of Iranians At the first beginning, Ayatollah Puhollah Khomeini stayed in the post of Supreme Leader for 10 years after 1979 Iranian Revolution until his death(no limit on Supreme Leader's term length). Then later in 1989, Ali Khamenei was elected by guardian Council as Supreme Leader. Despite merely a middle-class cleric, Ali Khamenei, however, still has been holding the office even until now. His supreme status has not been seriously challenged and has been respected by most of Iranians simply because his lengthy control of the power.
Ideology is another important element contributing to the legitimacy of the Iranian government. Since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took over the supreme power, Iranian government has always strictly followed the Islamic fundamentalism (including but not limited to religious dogmatism, theological purity, social and political conservatism, and rejection of the modern world especially the western world) because the majority of Iranians are Islamic conservatives. Therefore, the traditional ideology in politics easily gains most Iranians' support, despite the fact that many began to voice their demand for freedom of expressing view different from traditional Islamic values.
In addtion, the charisma of leaders also lay the legitmacy for the govenment. For example, the founder of the Iran Republic, first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was quite attractive to the masses for his prudence, ability to make public speeches, charity, genial countenace and rich knowledge in Islam. Also, the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is regarded legitimate largely for his charimatic personalities as well.
Paradoxically, the democracy is also blended into the political system. Each level of the government officials and members of Majles(parliament)have been elected based on popular votes since 1997. However, the secular power has been widely regarded as untenable; the final decision are made by Supreme Leader, Guardian Council and other senior clerics. The Guardian Council (including Supreme Leader), which consists of 12 senior clerics of Muslim, have an all-encompassing power such as to elect Supreme Leader, to vet candidates running for high office and to veto bills passed by the parliament. Although trying to erect the image that rational-law is also a source of legitimacy, Iran still is not rational-law legitimate because of prevalent trickery and corruption in the election. Also, the Iranian constitution, which is based on Islamic Law, isn't rational at all. Citizens are still not entitled the basic right( freedom of speech) and female citizens are still not treated equally. Even the constituion itself donesn't deserve to be called rational since it doens't entitle everyone with equal right and basic huma nrights (women, non-Islam are defacto treated as second-class citizens).
The Supreme Leader and Guardian Council remain dogmatic, prohibiting freedom in expressing values and opinions that are different from Islamic doctrines. Only in 2000 alone, for example, more than 30 publications were forced to close for their expression of "heretic view'. Besides, recent protests and demonstrations against the rule of clerics have been ruthlessly crushed by Iranian security forces. Hence, the political efficacy in Iran is pretty low. People, especially the young, who desire for mor freedom, transparency of governmentr's decison-making process, feel themselves not part of the state and desperate as well. Supreme Leaders and clerics refused to respond to their demands and refuse give the decisive power back to secualr government but suppress the protests instead.
When it comes to veil of ignorance, although recent several presidents Hassan Rouhani promise to conduct reform , to promote social equality not just to maximize the benefits for government officals and clerics, yet the Supreme Leade and other senior clerics still stubbornly, dogmatically maintain the fundamental traditon of Islam and make the decisions favoring for their own interest .
To sum up, Iranian government still appear legitimate overall, but many cracks are under the surface. With the trend of global democracy and enlightment movement with Iran, the legitimacy of theocratic regime is expected to diminish by the time.
Useful Links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml
http://apcomparative.wikispaces.com/Iran
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/guardian_council.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/06/12/DI2009061202321.html
http://apcomparative.wikispaces.com/Iran
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/guardian_council.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/06/12/DI2009061202321.html