AP Comparative Government- Iran

Iran-Iraq War

1980-1988, more than 500,000 were killed when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran

Khordad Front

80% of the Majles House in 2000 election, for reform but essentially banned in the election of 2004 so the conservatives could win

Assembly of Religious Experts

86-man house, elected every 4 years, requires some type of leadership in the Islamic church, directly elected as of 1989, the most powerful group of men in Iran (an unofficial upper house)

Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran

Abadgaran, a political party that is the majority... conservative

Muhammad Reza Shah

Became shah in 1941, fled in 1953 after Mosadeq was elected the PM, MI5 and CIA led overthrow to reinstate the Shah

qanun

Body of statues made by legislative policies, passed by the Majles and have no sacred meaning, temporal laws that cannot contradict sharia law

axis of evil

Bush's quote regarding Iran, Iraq, and North Korea

Powers of the Majles

Enacts or changes laws, interprets legislation, appoints six members of the Guardian Council, investigate public complaints

Pahlavi

Group of shahs in the 20th century who tried to secularize Iran

Safavid Empire

Iranian kingdom (1502-1722) established by Ismail Safavi, who declared Iran a Shi'ite state

Ayatollah Khomeini

Man who led the Revolution of 1979 back to the Shi'ite government, unifying political and religious interests into an anti-American theocracy

jurists guardianship

Term for the principle that leaders have authority over all the people; Khomeini claimed that clerics have authority over the entire community

Majles

Unicameral house in the Iranian legislature, directly elected with 209 seats, created in 1906 and validated in Constitution of 1979

theocracy

a government ruled strictly by religion

Stuxnet

a virus that targeted the uranium enrichment facility in Nantaz, Iran; source of the virus is unknown, but likely started by the US or Israel, caused computers to burn and lose all their information

Ali Khamenei

curent Supreme Leader of Iran

Expediency Council

defers disputes between the Majles and Guardian Council

Powers of the President

develops the budget, proposes legislation, comes up with policies, signs treaties and laws, chairs the Security Council, selects the VP and cabinet

equality-with-difference

divorce and custody laws now follow Islamic standards that favor males, women are offered limited education and employment opportunities

Powers of the Supreme Leader

eliminates presidential candidates, dismiss the president, command armed forces, declaration of war and peace, appoints and removes judges, nominates six members to the Guardian Council, appoints non-government directors

import substitution

encouraging domestic industries to provide products that the population needed

Revolutionary Guards

established by the Ayatollah in 1979 as his personal guard, focused more on internal defense while the traditional army focuses on external defense, gaining power in policy making

President

head of the executive branch of government in Iran, serves as the head of government with nominal powers

rentier state

heavily supported by state expenditure and rent from other countries, in Iran through oil leases

U.S. trade embargo

imposed on Iran from the beginning of the Hostage Crisis, prohibiting and sales or purchases with the country

Hostage Crisis

in 1979, student demonstrators stormed the US embassy in response to the US admitting the shah to the US for cancer treatment, took 53 employees captive for around a year and only let them free when Reagan was inaugurated

caliphate

leader of the Islamic Empier of the Arabs, defeated by invading Mongols in the 1200s

faqih

leading Islamic jurist to interpret the meaning of religious documents and sharia, function of the Supreme Leader

Mir Hossein Mousavi

led the opposition in 2009 with 34% of the vote under the Iranian Reform Movement party

Constitution of 1979

legitimizes the state, along with the 1989 amendments, and mixes theocracy with democracy

Basij

loosely organized part of the Revolutionary Guards who were accused of brutality and human rights violations during recent elections

Guardian Council

made up of 12 male clerics, 6 appointed by the Supreme Leader and 6 by the Majles, reviews laws and candidates to make sure they comply with sharia law

Worker's House

major interest group in Iran for factory workers, limited amount of autonomy

Sunni

majority Muslims, favor choosing the next caliph from the accepted leadership group, not necessarily hereditarily

People of the Book

monotheistic people who subject their lives to Holy Books, such as Christians, Jews, and Islams

Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1909

originated in Western movements, promoted democracy and free speech, created new government

Etemad-e Melli Party

party that seeks compromise between conservative and liberal factions

Pahlavi Foundation

patronage system, controlled large companies that financed the shah... eventually developed into the Resurgence Party and a one party state

revolution of rising expectations

political discontent is generally fueled if the crisis is preceded by a period of relative improvement in the standard of living and attempts to better human rights due to Jimmy Carter's policies

economics is for donkeys

quotation by the Ayatollah, intended to discourage active economic study and policy

U.S.S. Vincennes

shot down an Iranian airline flight in 1988, killed 290 passengers on board

Shiism

state religion of Iran, favored hereditary relationship through Ali (Muhammad's son in law) and his heirs

Zoroastrianism

state sponsored religion of the Persian Empire (600-400 BC)

reformists

support some Westernization and democratization

conservatives

support upholding sharia law and increasing authoritarianism, insularism, and totalitarian antagonism to the United States and its allies

secularization

the belief that religion and government should be separated

sharia

the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed, governs Iran and judicial review

imam

the highest ranking Muslim prayer leader, Shi'ites believe that the Hidden ______ will return some day

Iran-Contra Scandal

under Reagan, when he tried to make a deal to exchange arms for hostages while also funding the Nicaraguan rebel groups that supported democracy with dangerous tactics

Supreme Leader

Imam of the community, written into the Constitution of 1979 for Khomeni and later chosen by the Assembly of Religious Experts, serves as the head of state

1979 Revolution

a clash of civilization, during which Iran returned to a theocratic democracy based on conservative Islam

White Revolution

mean to counter the spread of communism, focused on land reform and modernization, further secularized and added some human rights to the authoritarian state

Iranian Reform Movement

party for reform and liberalization in Iran

Qajar Empier

(1794-1924) Turkish group, capital of Tehran under Shiism, claimed to be clerical experts since they weren't direct descendants of Ali, suffered under European imperialism

Pahlavis

(1925-1979) Colonel Reza Khan led the coup d'etat in 1921, declared himself shah-in-shah, and re-established authoritarian rule with pro-Western sentiments

Muhammad Khatami

(1997-2005) President under the Tehran spring and a period of political liberalization

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

(2005-2013) return to conservative, closed society with violations of human rights, growth in civil society among youth and more anti-American sentiment