Iran: Sovereignty,

Authority, and
Power
AP Comparative Government

Warm-up

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.

 Everything in Irans government centers on the

religion of Islam

Theocracy

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 its possession of oil, its developing
economy ,and its multi-faceted government system

Legitimacy
in the
Modern
State

Irans 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

 The Constitution of 1979 and the amendments of

1989 are what legitimize the government

Legitimacy
in the
Modern
State

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

 Authoritarianism, but not totalitarianism

Even in ancient culture, the leaders of Iran have not
controlled all aspects of an individuals life
Local officals have played large roles in the governing of
society and the people generally look to those officals for
guidance

Political
Culture

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

 Escape from European colonization

Iran was never officially colonized by Europe even though
the surrounding region was heavily impacted by European
intrusion

Geographic limitations

Political
Culture

Much of Irans 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