Iran: Sovereignty, Authority, and Power AP Comparative Government

Identify the country studied in the AP Comparative Government and Politics course that limits the chief executive to one term. Describe how a one-term limit can be an advantage for a political system. Describe how a one-term limit can be a disadvantage for a political system. Warm-up

Everything in Iran’s government centers on the religion of Islam Since all government decisions in Iran are based upon following Islam, Iran is considered to be a theocracy The dominance of Iran as a theocracy is contradicted and challenged by increased secularization in the economy Iran has recently move further towards a more market based economy Iran is one of very few states that still identify as theocracies (another is the Vatican) Iran is extremely important throughout the world because of it’s possession of oil, its developing economy ,and it’s multi-faceted government system Theocracy

Legitimacy in the Modern State Iran’s history is based upon Authoritarian Rule From 1925 to 1979, the Pahlavi shahs Iran attempted to secularize the state The push for secularization failed due to the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini Khomeini led the Revolution of 1979 and pushed to center all parts of the government and society towards theocracy Khomeini is considered to be the protector of the true faith that unites the Shiite sect of religion Legitimacy in the Modern State

Legitimacy in the Modern State The Constitution of 1979 and the amendments of 1989 are what legitimize the government This document mixes the ideas of a theocracy and a democracy The preamble of the document reflects the importance of religion in the state Two conflicting ideas are at the heart of Iranian society The sovereignty of the people and divinely inspired clerical rule President Muhammad Khatami (1997-2005) was a popular reform president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected in 2005, and forced theocracy into greater strength Legitimacy in the Modern State

Political Culture Authoritarianism, but not totalitarianism Even in ancient culture, the leaders of Iran have not controlled all aspects of an individual’s life Local officals have played large roles in the governing of society and the people generally look to those officals for guidance Union of political and religious authority In ancient Iran political and religious leaders were often the same people They were separated for about 150 years of Iranian history and re- unified with the Revolution of 1979 Shiism and sharia central components 90% of Iranians identify themselves as Shiite Islamic law, the sharia, is an important source of legitimacy that the modern government particularly emphasizes Political Culture

Political Culture Escape from European colonization Iran was never officially colonized by Europe even though the surrounding region was heavily impacted by European intrusion Geographic limitations Much of Iran’s land is not suitable for agriculture Because of this most people live in cities in the northwest of Iran The influence of ancient Persia When the Arabs took over Iran, people continued to speak Persian rather than Arabic and their cultural habits remained the same This dual identity has shaped the culture of Iran Strong sense of Iranian nationalism Iranians generally have a strong sense of Nationalistic pride and look at themselves as Iranian first and Muslim second Political Culture