AP Comp Iran
What is unique about Iran's geography and population?
-crossroads -historically vulnerable to invaders -much of territory inhospitable to agriculture -Its population of 80 million is very large and also very young. -not an Arab country
Define theocracy
A form of government in which a country is ruled by religious leaders.
Define a rentier (rent-seeking) state. Describe a problem that a rentier state typically faces that has an impact on economic development.
A rentier state is a state which derives all or a substantial portion of its national revenues from the rent of indigenous resources to external clients. A problem that occurs in rentier states such as Iran is that the importance of the main exports has disincentivized the country from diversifying its economy into other industries and has dampened overall development. Also, global drops in product value directly cause recessions in the rentier state, hindering economic stability.
How are members of the legislature chosen?
A single-member district election system is used to democratically elect members of the Majlis. Candidates up for election are vetted by the Guardian Council.
How has the age breakdown impacted Iran's development?
After the revolution, the regime encouraged the formation of large families and early marriage, and gave benefits to citizens based on family size. Economic pressures forces these policies to change in favor of birth control and sex education in the 1990s. Today, more than 50% of the population are under 35 years old, and they are very politically active. Older Iranians are more likely to support the current regime, but young Iranians are concerned with the lack of jobs available and religious restrictions. The youth vote swings reformist and has helped reshape the Iranian political landscape.
Describe the causes of 1979 Iranian Revolution (both underlying and immediate).
Alienation of the Shia clerics and the religious community through forced westernization, alienation of Iranian liberals, and the increasing autocratic nature of the regime, promises made during the White Revolution to deliver prosperity to more Iranians which could not be fulfilled, rising Iranian nationalism opposed to the influence of Britain and the United States, and a sharp and sudden economic contraction in 1977-1978 which drove working class Iranians to go on strike an take to the streets in protest.
Describe the regime before and after revolution.
Before the revolution, the country was led by a sole monarch. After the revolution, the country established a new constitution, placed Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader, instituted Jurist's Guardianship, and ruled that only senior clerics could interpret Sharia Law.
Identify forms of political participation in Iran, including the role of political parties, voting, interest groups, protests, NGOs & civil society.
Civil society has been suppressed in nearly all sectors, including unions, teachers, human rights groups, lawyers, doctors, women, academics, and journalists. Protests have become an increasingly common method for frustrated supporters of liberalization to voice their opposition to the regime. For the most part, political parties are fluid and temporary, but are all rooted as either conservative or reformist based. There are no stable enduring political parties.
How have Conservative and Reformist leaders clashed in terms of their view on economic development?
Conservative and reformist leaders clashed in their opinion on westernization and opening up trade with western nations.
Conservative vs. Reformist Leadership:
Conservative leadership- support the Islamist government and are more aggressive and openly confrontational toward the West Reformist: less based on religion, open towards the west,
What is the relationship between the Majles and the Guardian Council?
Disputes between the Majlis and Guardian Council are settled by the Expediency Council, which was created in 1988 as a means to better the relationship between them. The Expediency Council gives the Majlis an opportunity to correct a law the Guardian Council rejects, and if the two are unable to work out an agreement, the Expediency Council resolves the dispute.
What type of electoral system does Iran have?
For president, Iran uses a two-ballot majority system every four years. For the Majlis, Iran is divided into 290 single-member-district constituencies, each of which elects a member in a first-past-the-post plurality system. A candidate for the Majlis must get at least 25% to win, otherwise a second round of voting must occur. The Guardian Council exercises a tremendous amount of control over who runs for the Majlis!
Explain how the Ayatollah was able to institutionalize the Islamic concept of jurist guardianship.
He created the Assembly of Religious Experts who drafted the new Iranian constitution, which centered power in the Islamic concept of jurist guardianship, the idea that the chief interpreters of Islam, the high-ranking clerics such as Khomeini, needed to be responsible for all aspects of Iranian society. This power would be vested in the Supreme Leader, who would be elected by the Assembly of Religious Experts who naturally chose Ayatollah Khomeini as the first Supreme Leader.
Identify the political system in Iran. Unitary/Federal? Authoritarian?
Iran is a unitary system. Iran is neither completely authoritarian nor completely democratic, but a hybrid of both.
Describe the role of the bureaucracy in Iran.
Iran's bureaucracy is massive and employs millions of Iranians. In addition to the typical functions of bureaucratic approval and enforcement of laws, Iranian bureaucracy also manages many of the large state-owned enterprises and monitors access to information for the purposes of the theocracy.
Describe major economic policies, both historically and currently.
Iran's economy is heavily dependent upon oil and gas, which are responsible for over 60% of the government's revenue.
Describe the role of the judiciary, including the status of judicial review.
Iranian courts do not possess any power of judicial review, as this power is associated with interpretation of the Sharia law, a power held by the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council. The courts are highly decentralized, with a Chief Judge overseeing their administration of cases. The judiciary believes that the spirit of Sharia law was for local judges to decide cases most often, so national level courts are not as widely used.
Identify social cleavages in Iran. Classify them as coinciding or cross-cutting.
Iranian social cleavages include age, ethnicity, religion, and social class. Lower class more religious
What are the lengths of the legislature's term?
Members of the Majlis are up for election every 4 years, 240 members (some are women)
Can you make comparisons to revolutions in Russia and China?
Much like revolutions in both Russia and China, the government of Iran repressed protestors by declaring martial law and banning demonstrations. Similarly in Russia, a bill was passed that outlawed demonstrators to stand within 50 feet of each other after protests began in an attempt to reduce dissent.
Does the parliament have term limits?
No there are no term limits for members of the Majlis, but the Guardian Council can choose to not put a candidate on the ballot, thus ending their term.
iran basics
Persian country -speak Farsi (Persian) -Shia muslim -young population
Describe the factors that shape political culture in Iran.
Political culture in Iran is shaped by authoritarian influences, the union of political and religious leadership, Sharia law, and an ongoing east vs. west rivalry.
How would you classify Iran's Presidents: Rafsanjani, Khatami, Ahmadinejad, Rouhani
Rafsanjani and Khatami were reformists. Ahmadinejad was conservative. Rouhani is conservative but is also open to change and a bit of reform.
Difference between Sunni vs Shiite
Same origin but difference paths -majority of Iran is Shia muslim which says there needs to be a scholar leader in the line of Muhammad
Describe current major public policy issues in Iran today as well as policymaking factions within Iran.
Some major public policy issues in Iran include gender, economics and oil, population, and foreign relations and the nuclear program. face severe sanction
Are there any checks on the supreme leaders power?
The Assembly of Religious Experts can remove the Supreme Leader.
How has Iran addressed minority groups?
The Constitution is accommodating towards minority groups, but the government has not always followed through with their constitutional promises. The Azeris seem to be better integrated than other minorities, and play a larger role in Iranian high-level politics than the other non-Persians. The Rouhani government has promised to better involve ethnic minorities in its political decisions, and gave assurance that language protections would remain in place for schools in minority regions.
Constitution of 1979: How does it set up a theocratic state? What features are democratic? What features are not?
The Constitution of 1979 sets up an Islamic theocracy. The democratic feature of protecting the equal rights of all people of Iran is set up in the Constitution of 1979. A non-democratic feature is that constitutional provisions are required to be in conformity with Islamic criteria.
Which minority religious groups are officially recognized by the state? Which are not?
The Constitution recognizes Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians as religious minorities. Baha'i are not officially recognized by the state, but are officially persecuted by the state.
Does the president have a term limit?
The President can serve no more than 2 consecutive terms or more than 8 years.
What is the length of the presidents term?
The President has a 4 year term length.
What are the president's powers?
The President has the power to devise the budget for approval of the Majlis, propose legislation to the Majlis, nominate Cabinet members for approval of the Majlis, chair meetings of the Cabinet, the National Security Council, and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, send and receive foreign ambassadors, issue executive orders, and issue pardons for crimes.
How is the president chosen?
The President is elected but must first be vetted by the Guardian Council. Presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council in order to appear on the ballot.
Explain the role of the President:
The President is the head of government and possesses many administrative powers.
Who is the Head of Government (title and current leader)?
The President, currently Hassan Rouhani is the Head of Government.
Explain the consequences of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
The Shah was forced to leave Iran and he never returned. The exiled Khomeini returned to Iran and appointed his own government to compete with the existing authorities. He staged a referendum of the Iranian people asking if the monarchy should be abolished and replaced with an Islamic government, resulting in 98% voting in favor. - created jurist's guardianship (valeyat-efaqih) which gave senior clergy all encompassing authority over the whole community
Describe the relationship between the government and the military. Who holds the power? What role has the military played in Iran? What role do the Revolutionary Guards play?
The Supreme Leader acts as Commander-in-Chief of the military. The armed forces protect new leaders and institutions, fight those opposing the regime, and control volunteer militias. Revolutionary Guards initially defended the new regime and destroyed rival groups, but recently has become more independent and more of a direct player in Iranian domestic and international affairs.
Describe the role of religious leadership in Iran. How much accountability do they have?
The Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council are responsible for interpreting Sharia law and leading Iran in terms of Islam. They have barely any checks on their power and are not often accountable. The Supreme Leader is often the cause of instability in Iran.
What are the supreme leaders powers?
The Supreme Leader can dismiss the president or members of the Guardian Council for any reason, command all branches of the Iranian military, declare war and peace, appoint administrators and judges at all levels of the Iranian government, choose six of the twelve members of the Guardian Council, and appoint heads of all state-owned enterprises, including media outlets.
How is the supreme chosen? What are his qualifications? How did they change after Khomeini's death in 1989?
The Supreme Leader is chosen by the clerics who make up the Assembly of Religious Experts. typically the Supreme Leader is the highest-ranking cleric, but lower-ranking clerics are now allowed as a result of Khomeini's death. Khomeini was not pleased with any of the marja (leading high ranking clerics who are prepared to become the new Supreme Leader) so the Constitution was altered to make it possible for less academically credentialed clerics to take this position, such as Ali Khamenei.
Explain the significance of the Supreme Leader:
The Supreme Leader is the chief jurist, the leading interpreter of Islamic (Sharia) law for the Shia people.
Are there any checks on the president's power?
The Supreme Leader may dismiss him from office at any moment he chooses.
What is the length of the supreme leaders term?
The Supreme Leader serves for life.
Who is the Head of State (title and current leader)?
The Supreme Leader, currently Ali Khamenei is the Head of State.
What role did Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini play in the revolution?
The charismatic leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, a leading cleric, to unite religious, liberal, and working class forces together against the regime motivated Iranian protesters, contributing to the massive demonstration on a major Islamic holiday in which 200,000 and 500,000 protestors marched through the streets of Tehran.
How does the executive compare to the other countries we've studied?
The dual executive system is very unique, but has some similar characteristics to the parliamentary system where a prime minister and a president or monarch share power. Iran's executive is unlike any other in that the Supreme Leader is the most powerful figure and is directly connected to religion, unlike in Britain where the leader with religious ties has only limited symbolic and ceremonial powers.
What makes the judiciary in Iran unique compared to the countries in the AP6 that we've studied?
The element of special types of law being implemented and enforced in Iran make the judiciary unique in comparison to the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Sharia law acts as the supreme law of the system, as interpreted by the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council. Civil law (qanun) has no basis in sacred texts or Sharia interpretation, and covers all aspects of modern life regarding business, labor, and the environment, which is mainly the Majlis's job to enact.
What relationship does the judiciary have to other institutions in Iran?
The judiciary works closely with the Supreme Leader and with the Guardian Council in order to best interpret Sharia law.
Are there any checks on the legislature's power?
The laws passed by the Majlis must keep the approval of the Guardian Council, otherwise the Guardian Council can reject the laws. The Guardian Council can control which members are on the ballot, thus controlling the makeup of the legislature.
What powers does the legislature have?
The legislature has the power to introduce and pass legislation (although most is proposed by the president), approve the six members of the Guardian Council nominated by the Chief Judge, investigate corruption and misconduct in the bureaucracy and judiciary, approve the president's choices for Cabinet, and remove Cabinet members, and to approve the budget devised by the president.
Identify ethnic groups in Iran, including majority/minority groups.
The majority ethnic group in Iran is Persian Iranians, who account for 51% of the population. The Azeri account for 24% and live in the NW. Some other ethnic minority groups include the Gilaki, Mazandarani, Kurds, and the Arabi.
important protest in Iran
The most notable protest in recent years is the Green Movement, which was born in protest to the alleged rigging of the 2009 presidential election to discourage Mir Hossein Moussavi from beating Ahmadinejad's reelection. Government crushed the protest
What is the relationship between president and supreme leader? Who holds the power?
The president possesses many administrative powers, but his actions are always under the shadow of the Supreme Leader, who may dismiss him from office at any moment he chooses.
Institutions/leaders that represent religion in Iran. What are their purpose/powers?
The theocratic state institutions are the Supreme Leader, the Guardian Council, the Expediency Council, and the Assembly of Religious Experts.
Describe the role of the media/press/censorship in Iran, both historically and currently.
There is a balance of privately owned and state owned media in al formats, but the media is subject to significant censorship. The government can revoke the license of any media outlet from publishing material considered anti-religious, slanderous, or detrimental to the national interest.
Does the supreme leader have a term limit?
There is no term limit for the Supreme Leader.
What impact do these issues have on the political and/or economic development of Iran?
These issues often hinder the political development of Iran. Gender boundaries in Iran restrict women from being a part in politics. Iran's dependence on selling its oil reduces its ability to diversify its economic success into other sectors. Its young population does not routinely stay interested in politics when there is not a reformist president in office. Iran needs to find a way to incorporate the youth into politics, as well as find them jobs. The unemployment rate in Iran is around 10%, and many young people are struggling to find jobs. The need to find balance between isolationism and opening trade up to the West is increasingly important as the Nuclear Deal is being deliberated with the US.
Describe the role of women in Iran, in both government and society. In which areas have women made gains? In which areas have women been restricted?
Women's role in society depends on the leadership, which is particularly seen in the enforcement of the hijab. During his westernization effort, the Shah forbade the wearing of the hijab in public, and police would force women to remove it. After the revolution, the hijab was required attire. Women often faced punishments from Iranian police. About a third of the Iranian labor force is female, 60% of university students in Iran were women until a conservative policy was enacted in 2012 that ensured the genders were equally balanced.
Describe population policies in Iran over time? How do they compare with China?
at first, the state encouraged people to have large families by giving larger shares of rationed goods to larger families. When the population grew too big for comfort given the state's dependence on oil, President Rafsanjani urged the use of family planning services, contraceptives, and sex education to reduce the number of babies being born. Recently Khamenei has described contraceptive services as wrong, and Iran seems to be gutting the services provided for the previous 24 years. China has been more consistently loosening their one-child policy in recent years, where Iran has begun to make their policies less family-friendly.
Civil Society in Iran
civil society is restricted and government controlled. Have censored control of the media
expediency council
members are appointed, and religious advises the supreme leader -appointed by supreme leader -if parliament and guardian council disagree they decide
IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)
military in Iran tasked with protecting the regime from internal threats - holds immense power within Iran and has immense economic holdings within the country. Serves Supreme leader
Institutions in Iran for which members are directly elected by citizens. What are their purpose/powers?
ranians directly elect the members of three national level institutions: the president, the Majlis/Parliament, and the Assembly of Religious Experts.
assembly of experts
religious -elected -8 year terms -check supreme leader- can pick, remove and monitor
Identify the Dual Executive in Iran.
the President and the Supreme Leader are the dual executives.
Identify Iran's legislature as unicameral or bicameral.
unicameral