Comp Gov ALL countries/concepts

single member districts vs. multimember districts

single member district - one representative per district; multimember has more than one member per district

society of militant clergy and association of militant clergy

society is conservative socially and economically statist, association is less conservative socially and have a laissez-faire approach economically

rafsanjani

President of Iran from 1989 to 1997, part of association of militant clergy, # of clerics on Majles goes down which leads to conservative purge of 1992

khatami

president from 1997-2005; well liked cleric, part of Khordad front, had many proposals/reforms that were passed by Majles but vetoed by Guardian Council

Ahmadinejad

president from 2005-2013; non-cleric, won because: he was populist (wanted to reduce gap between rich and poor), for government aid for poor, very conservative, supported by revolutionary guards, reformists had too many other candidates, bush pissed off Iran; he was known to reverse liberal reforms ("second cultural revolution")

Rouhani

president of Iran from 2013-2021, cleric and reformist, focused on reconfiguring Iran's relationship with the West for the sake of inviting foreign investments into Iran

Last Shah of Iran

puppet of british, had conflict with Mossadeq, when came back to power used SAVAK (secret police) to crush opposition

the body of statues with no sacred basis in the Iranian system is called

qanun

The expediency Council was first created by the Ayatollah Khomeini for the purpose of

refereeing disputes between the Gaurdian Council and the Majles

Under the Pahlavis, Iran was transformed into a rentier state because of its

reliance on income from oil

Unlike the Russian and Chinese Revolutions of the 20th century, Iran's Revolution of 1979 was almost completely based on

religion

1979 revlolution

revolution against shah, US had lectured shah about giving more rights, when shah leaves to go to Italy, Khomeini takes over, revolutionaries take over and military gives in

president of Iran

second highest ranking, democratically elected but vetted by guardian council; powers: heads cabinet, signs treaties, proposes budget and some laws, appoints governors; two consecutive four year terms; members directly elected (though many candidates disqualified)

ultimate legal authority in iran rests in

sharia

In Iran ultimate legal authority rests in

sharia laws

White Revolution

(1963) Last shah wanted to get opponents on his side, so he gave them land, rights, and literacy corps, which all failed

religion in iran

- Religiously unified, as it is overwhelmingly Shi'a Muslim and about 9% Sunni - Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are recognized religious minorities with protections that don't always pass over into reality - The Baha'i faith is legally persecuted and are denied even the most basic things

constitutional revolt

1905 - ulemma (religious leaders who aren't getting attention from monarchy), merchants, intellectuals (unhappy with authoritarian regime) forced king to agree to new demands (a new constitution) that are mostly empty promises

strait of hormuz

20% of the world's oil has to go through it. In the case of a crisis, they could sink a bunch of ships in the Strait which would disrupt the flow of oil

khatami's reforms

50-50 divorce, raise marriage age, hijab vs. chador, foreign investment up, instituting jury trials

population of Iran

70% of the population lives on 25% of the land - 85 million people

1979 Referendum

99% of citizens voted for an islamic republic with a more democratic system

Safavids

A Shi'ite Muslim dynasty that ruled in Persia from the 16th-18th centuries that had a mixed culture of the Persians, Ottomans and Arabs. Acknowledged people of the book. They converted all the muslims to Shi'ism

rentier state

A country that obtains much of its revenue from the export of oil or other natural resources.

theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

supreme leader

Chief spiritual and political leader of Iran; has a life tenure; chosen by assembly of experts; powers: executive (inaugurate and dismiss president), legislative (uphold and enforce laws), judicial (power over supreme council), commander in chief, controls media, pardon powers, appointment powers, can issue a fatwa

which of the following are elected to office by direct popular vote in Iran

Assembly of religious experts and the Majles

which of the following accurately compares elections in Mexico and Iran

Both have direct elections for president

qom

City south of Tehran, where religious schools are. location of many early Khomeini supporters

Second Khordad Front

Coalition of 18 reformist groups who wanted to reform the Majles to be more progressive but many were disqualified by the Guardian Council. Most of these tries have been unsuccessful

which of the following countries did not have a major internal revolution in the 20th century

Great Britain

conservative purge of 1992

Guardian council vets candidates for the majles. Once they see that the # of clerics has gone down, they start blocking the more moderate non-cleric candidates from running to increase the # back.

cultural revolution

Had to revamp the whole system (education) to make it less about the shah and more about islam, shut down all universities for three years in order to retrain teachers. Occurred at the beginning of the islamic republic (1979)

12th Imam (Shi'a)

In hiding, will return as a Messiah to bring peace and justice

Which of the following pars of countries are unitary states

Iran and China

which of the following was not part of the nuclear agreement reached between Irana nd the US and five other world powers in 2015

Iran will never be allowed to enrich uranium to the level necessary for creating a nuclear weapon

Which of the following is the best description of the political system of Iran

It is a unitary state, with few signs of real authority granted to local officials

Which of the following ethnic groups in Iran tend to be Sunni Muslims

Kurds and Arabs

oversight of majles

Legislative branch has the power to investigate what is going on in the executive branch (has oversight over president and the cabinet)

prophet of islam

Muhammad

Shiites

Muslims that believe that only direct descendants of Muhammad should become caliph, make up 90-95% of Iran; sunnis believe that the power should be given to someone in the community

ethnicities of Iran

Persian (60%), Kurds/Azeri (15%), Arab (only 1%)

accomplishments and failures of qajars

Power suffered due to imperialism and lost oil - auctioned off away parts of territory and economy. Had a bazarris revolt and constitutional revolution during their time

book of Islam

Quran

pahlavis

Reza Khan staged a coup and overthrew Qajars. This was the first non-tribal dynasty, was authoritarian and western (modernizes Iran). During WWII, Russia and Britain took over parts of Iran and forced Reza Khan to leave and let his son take over

qajars

Separation between government and religion widened. Claimed absolute authority. Generally dominated by foreign powers (nationalized oil)

Majles

The Iranian parliament; powers: pass laws (based on Qanun), pass budget, ratify treaties, impeachment (of president), public complaints, no confidence vote (of cabinet member), oversight; 290 seats, 5 of which reserved for religious minorities (combination of single member and multimember districts); very few female members; members directly elected (though many candidates disqualified)

persepolis

The capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great. Now a tourist location

Which of the following accurately compares the Chinese military to the Iranian military

The military in both countries actively participates in policymaking

economically statist

The state and the government have a role in regulating the economy (ex. income is more equally distributed, no outside investments coming in)

In which of the following areas of life are women in Iran best represented

University enrollment

cleric

a priest or religious leader, especially a Christian or Muslim one.

patron-client network

a structure in which a central officeholder, authority figure, or group provides benefits to supporters in exchange for their loyalty.

People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK)

an Iranian political-militant organization. It advocates overthrowing the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran and installing its own government.

In contrast to Mexico, the political history of Iran does not include

an era in which the ciuntry lost its independence to european imperialists

Achaemenid Empire

ancient persian empire - monarchy, fought wars against Alexander the Great, which made them lose their status as an empire

Political parties in both Iran and Russia tend to be organized

around prominent political leaders/ personalities

which of the following characteristics have shaped the political cultures of Russia, China, Mexico, Iran

authoritarianism

iranian judiciary

based on Sharia law (interpreted from Quran) and Qanun - secular law (Majles), have public courts (that lead up to supreme court), clerical and revolutionary courts, no judicial review

bazars revolt

business class was mad about their territories being auctioned away during the qajars

Tehran

capital of the Qajar dynasty and present-day Iran

majles factions

conservatives (majority - chairman is conservative), reformists - often don't vote, independents/undecideds, second khordad front, statists, free markteters

raisi

current president, part of death committee (5-10 k executed under a fatwa), has had many goverment positions, anti-west/us

revolutionary courts

deal with national security: drugs, spying, etc.

clerical courts

dedicated to crimes committed by clergy (who are accountable to supreme leader)

controversy over Ahmadinejad

denied the holocaust, had a conflict with the supreme leader (embezzlement scandal)

Which of the following is a political power held by both the Iranian president and British PM

devising the budget

Presidents in both Iran and Mexico are

directly elected by the people

Iran's constitution of 1979 differed from the constitution of 1909 because the 1979 one put more emphasis on

divinely inspired clerical rule

problems with judiciary

executions and death penalty (kids considered adults under the law are put to death or put in prison with adults), women are seen as half of a man, controversial punishments - stoning, amputations, flogging,

The Ayatollah Khomeini changed the meaning of Jurist's gaurdianship by

expanding it to give clergy authority over the entire Shia Community

the political party system in Iran is characterized by

factional splits

khameini as president

from 1980-1988, during cultural revolution

national front

group of intellectuals that were mad about Mossadeq

reasons for raisi's win

has had many government positions, friend of Supreme Leader

chief judge

head of judiciary (ensures it adheres to Sharia law), appoints half of guardian council, 2 5-year terms, not responsible for special clerical court

An important cultural characteristic that separates Iran from most of its near neighbors is its

identity as shiite rather than sunni

majles checks

impeachment power (of president), no confidence votes (for cabinet members), oversight

problems with Safavids

lack of money and consequences - no centralized state, no bureaucracy or military, corrupt kings, no oil, tribal leaders controlled different areas

Khomeini

leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and first supreme leader (1979-1989), came up with guardianship of jurisprudence (ayatollah rule until hidden imam reappears at end of world), exiled in 1963 for criticism of white revolution

Assembly of religious experts

meet twice a year to talk about performance of Supreme leader, have the power to nominate and remove supreme leader, elected by popular vote but can be vetted, 88 members with 4 year terms

shah's three pillars

military - paid well, had good equipment, bureaucracy - paid well, families like shah, patronage - people who work for bonyads

zagros and elborz

mountains in Iran

A major geographical limitation of Iran is the

much of the lang is either desert or mountains

Mossadeq

part of national front (intellectuals), popular prime minister who decided to nationalize (controlled by government) oil (shah was against it), wanted a constitutional monarchy, shah left because Mossadeq was so popular, CIA stages a coup to get rid of him

Tudeh Party

party that challenged the shah, gained most support from working class trade unions

Which of the following policymaking factions is most likely to support the government taking an active role in controlling the economy

pragmatic clerics

Radical clerics differ from pragmatic conservative clerics in their support of

state-provided welfare benefits to the poor

Qanun Law

statutory law produced by the Majles

khameini

supreme leader of iran

persian gulf and caspian sea

surround Iran, giving it easy access to trade

twelvers

the largest group within the Muslim Shi'ites, those who hold there have been twelve Imams; also called the Imamis, the 12th is hidden

Which of the following is not a feature of the Iranian political system

the president's exercise of jurist's gaurdianship

sharia law

the system of Islamic law, based on varying degrees of interpretation of the Qu'ran

opponents of Shah

tudeh (typical communist), religious (clerics), national front - mad about Mossadeq

guardian council

very conservative body who decide who can run for any elected office and can veto any decision made by Majles. 12 members - half elected by Supreme leader, half nominated by Chief Judge and approved by Majles

geography of Iran

very diverse, surrounded by two bodies of water and big players of middle east, #2 in gas and #4 in oil

people of the book

what Muslims called Christians and Jews which means that they too only believe in one god

Civil society in Iran expanded most noticeably during the time

when Muhammad Khatami was president

According to the table, which of the following is the best description of Women's participation in the Iranian Legislature

women are seriously underrepresented