RYAN STARR, MUHAMMAD AKRAM, YOON JUNG JANG, JORDAN EPP, NIK BLANKS, SANA KHAN

1. Islamic Republic of Iran RYAN STARR, MUHAMMAD AKRAM, YOON JUNG JANG, JORDAN EPP, NIK BLANKS, SANA KHAN

2. Introduction • Islam • Cultural History • Political Rule • Violence

3. Geography • Arid • 68% Urban • 4th largest oil exporter • 83% literate

4. Origins of Government • Islamic Revolution of 1979 • Ayatollah Khomeni

5. Levels of Government • Unitary • Centralized • Theocracy with Democratic Processes • 30 provincial governor-generals

6. Executive • Islamic Constitution • President (HOG, HOS) • Supreme Leader • Assembly of Experts • No Vice President: Presidential Deputies • Add recent election results on next slide

7. 2013 Presidential Election

9. Legislature • Unicameral • Majles • Asymmetric

10. Majles • Arabic term for “assembly” • Iranian Parliament • Regular elections every 4 years

11. Majles • 290 Seats • “represent the nation” • Qanuns (statutes)

12. Guardian Council • Committee created in Iranian constitution to oversee Majles • 12 members (all male) • Shari’a (divine law)

13. Powers of Majles • Making/changing laws • Supervising affairs of state • Approving/Ousting cabinet ministers • Choosing half of GC • Many powers but must be approved by GC

14. Powers of GC • Represent theocratic principles • Review bills passed by Majles • Decides who can compete in elections

15. Expediency Council • Committee set up in Iran to resolve differences between the Majles (parliament) and the Guardian Council

16. Electoral System • Plurality, winner-take-all • ONLY for Majles • 2 rounds of elections • 1st round narrows down to 2 candidates • Run-offs

17. Recent Election • “Fair Elections” • Guardian Council approves candidates before voting • 2004: conservatives win but lowest voter turnout • 2009: more voter turnout but controversial

19. 2012 Election

20. Policymaking • Highly complex • Constitution vs. ruling clergy • Many amendments • Maslahat • “reasons of state”

21. Political Parties • Not competitive • No huge role in politics • Coalitions and groups • Interest groups vs political parties

22. Major Political Parties • Islamic Iran Participation Front • Islamic Labor Party • Formed by Khatami reformist supporters • Servants of Reconstruction • Formed by Rafsanjani • Centrist

23. Leadership and Elite Recruitment • Elites • Clergy

24. Interest Groups • Islamic Association of Women • Green Coalition • Workers' House

25. Bureaucracy • Role in Policy Making • Clergy • Ministers • Major Ministries

26. Military • Clergy • Military • Revolutionary guard • Law Enforcement Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran(Gendarmerie) • VEVAK

27. Judiciary • Court system • Retained the Shahs court structure. • “Independent” • Constitution • Head of the Judiciary is appointed by the Leader • The clergy are regarded as the ultimate interpreters of the Shari'a • Law • The Penal Code • Judicial Review

28. Iran: Day 2 Political and Economic Trends

29. Islamic Revolution 1979 • Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini • Dominant ideology was religion instead of communism • Theocracy • Islamic Fundamentalism

30. Iraq-Iran War of 1980 • Saddam Hussein lead Iraq • Officially began with an Iraqi land and air invasion of western Iran • War over disputed territory

31. Social Movements • Jurist’s Guardianship • Intermingling of politics with religion • Dual society  society and economy are sharply divided

33. Social Movements • Cultural Revolution • Purify the country • White Revolution  Fight against Communism

34. Influences on Modern Political System • People of the Book • Monotheistic people who subjected their lives to the holy scripture. • Majles(Legislature) • Guardian Council

37. Pahlavis • White Revolution • Focused on land reform • Encourage farmers to be modern entrepreneurs • Import Substitution Industrialization

38. Pahlavis • Transformed Iran into a rentier state • Heavily supported by state expenditures, while receiving rent from other countries • Income from exporting oil and leasing out oil fields • No longer had to rely on internal taxes

39. Effects of Rentier State • Transformed Iran into a one product economy • Creation of a divide in the society • Brought Globalization

40. Islamic Revolution and the Republic 1979-present • Fundamentalism • Jurist Guardianship • Assembly of Religious Experts • 73-man assembly of clerics elected directly by the people

42. Islamic Republic • “Economics is For Donkeys” • Khomeini’s response to questions about the economy • Said to be the reason for Iran’s inchoate economy

43. Islamic Republic • Reformers v. Conservatives • Debate about the merits of a theocracy v. a democracy • Statists v. Free-marketers • Debate about command economy v. market economy

44. Globalization • OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) • Major trade between developed countries in the west.

45. Political Culture • Government has maintained legitimacy among its people • Requests for reforms • Iranian citizens feel oppressed compared to other countries

46. Political Socialization • Education system • Military conscription • The media

47. Cleavages • Religion – Shiite vs Sunni • Ethnicity • Social class • Large differences in political views

50. Political Participation • There are multiple political parties that range in the spectrum and fall under categories named above. Including • Islamic Society of Engineers • Front of Islamic Revolution Stability • Moderation and Development Party • Combatant Clergy Association • Islamic Coalition Party