Political Culture in Iran
The term “political culture” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Politics as “[t]he attitudes, beliefs, and values which underpin the operation of a particular political system.” Political Analyst Jack C. Plano defines “political culture” as, “[t]he aggregate of learned, socially transmitted behavior patterns characterizing government and politics within a society…[a] political culture is the product of the historical experience of the whole society as well as the personal experiences that contribute to the socialization of each individual,” (Plano, J.C.). Political culture’s origin derives from a nation’s belief system, the means of its founding, and the historic traditions of a population. Political culture can be described as the attitude of a nation, rooted in empiric historic events. The people and their government shape political culture, leading to monumental differences specific to a nation’s culture, hardships, and triumphs.
From victories to atrocities, political culture remains actively changing, though bound by a nation's founding; specific to the country, political culture may be based on theology, a constitution, or both. U.S. political culture has drawn its influence from every war since the American Revolution, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and its proceeding Amendments. Iran’s government is based on both theology and constitution, yet the population remains divided in their decision to embrace partisanship. American political culture is primarily based on economics, foreign policy, liberty, and social values, while Iran’s political culture is a division between secularism and theocracy.
The political culture of Iran originated in Persia under Cyrus the Great (600-530BC); the first king of the Achaemenid Empire, (WorldHistory). Cyrus the Great’s rule as king sought to bring liberation; Zoroastrianism was the national religion at the time, though Cyrus did not impose his own beliefs nor that of government on civilians. According to the World History Encyclopedia;
although the ruling houses of the different empires had adopted Zoroastrianism, they did not impose that belief on their subjects. Freedom of belief and tolerance of other faiths was central to the vision of Cyrus the Great and was maintained by his successors, by the Parthians, and was fully embraced by the Sassanians even though they made Zoroastrianism their state religion.
Islam’s beginning in 610AD would transform Iran in the proceeding years, (WorldHistory). A report from Stanford University reports that, “Islam was brought to Iran [Persia] via Arab-Islamic conquest in 650 AD,” (Stanford). Over one century later Iran was born; the Iranian Chamber Society, (ICS) reveals that “in 1935 the Iranian government requested those countries which it had diplomatic relations with, to call Persia ‘Iran,’,” (ICS). In contemporary politics, Iran remains a divided state, as the government has modernized Iran, including the introduction of its own constitution.
Iran’s political culture is based on Islamic law, known as Shari’a Law. The Central Intelligence Agency declares Iran to be a “theocratic republic;” Iran’s government is simultaneously based on a constitution and Shari’a Law, (CIA). In 2011, the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, produced an International Religious Freedom Report on Iran, stating “The [Iranian] constitution and other laws and policies do not protect religious freedom and in practice, the government severely restricted religious freedom. The government’s respect for and protection of the right to religious freedom continued to deteriorate,” According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), “Iran’s system of government is not quite a democracy, nor a theocracy,” (CFR). Iran’s political culture is influenced both by its multi-system of government and its citizens; although many Iranians remain divided between observing Shari’a Law and embracing Western culture.
Iran has a long history of monumental shifts in political culture through imposed regime changes; from coups d’état; to the banning of the hijab; to further introducing modernization and secularization to Iran. In 2023, Iran began to experience further destabilization as citizens began rebelling against theocracy; many videos surfaced online of citizens burning their hijab in the streets. According to Iran International, “Hijab remains at the heart of Iranian politics 85 years after Reza Shah Pahlavi's decree of January 8, 1936 outlawing traditional Islamic veils and scarves,” (IranIntl).
Iran’s polity has experienced a divide since the 1930s secular movement imposed by government, and whose political culture remains actively shifting. Despite his ban on the hijab, Reza Shah Pahlavi’s attempt to align Iran with Western values resulted in his exile, as noted by Iranian reporter Maryam Sinaee, “many women went back to traditional ways of dressing when Reza Shah went into exile in 1941 due to his German sympathies and under British pressure for the succession of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi,” (IranIntl). According to U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, “[t]he Shah was perceived favorably by Washington and seen as a loyal supporter of U.S. interest in the region…[t]he Shah’s first and foremost goal was to Westernize the country…[t]he outcome was a far-reaching program of political, social and economic reform–the Shah’s so-called White Revolution,” (Mousavian, S.H., pp. 52-53). Iranian Diplomat Seyed Hossein Mousavian writes that the CIA and MI6 were both complicit in Iranian coups d’état in effort to enact regime changes; this resulted in massive reforms to Iran, shifting its political culture; writing, “[t]he first attempt at the coup failed on August 15th, 1953 and the Shah fled to Italy, while Colonel Fazlollah Zahedi…tasked with leading the coup, went into hidhing only to be encouraged by the CIA and MI6 to initiate another attempt on August 19th,” (Mousavian, S.H., Loc. 717). Iran’s political culture has historically been shaped by Western influence, whose contemporary polity remains divided. The effort to secularize Iran was supported by Washington, as U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering notes, “Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst and Iran expert, and Ray Takeyh, a former State Department official and advisor on Iran issues, admit that ‘it [is] exceptionally difficult for outsiders to perceive Iranian motives and intentions...the best the outside observers can do is guess Tehran’s motives.’” (Mousavian, S.H., Loc. 288). Iran’s government remains isolationist, known for its abduction of U.S. citizens.
Iran’s isolationism is noted by the Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) writing;
The most defining feature of the Islamic Republic’s international posture today is its isolation. Tehran has managed to feed the hostility and suspicion of its Arab neighbors and of Israel. Iran is not a member of any security arrangement…Moreover, four regional powers surrounding Iran – India, Israel, Pakistan and Russia – enjoy the security guarantees provided by nuclear weapons, (AIS).
Beyond their isolationism, Iran’s government is known for its kidnapping of American citizens. On September 18th, 2023, President Joe Biden announced in a Press Conference the return of five detained American citizens, warning Americans that;
The U.S. State Department has a longstanding travel warning that states: ‘Do not travel to Iran due to the risk of kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.’ All Americans should heed those words and have no expectation that their release can be secured if they do not.
Iran’s government began a shift in political culture as early as 1921 under the Pahlavi Dynasty, which ended in 1979. Since then Iran has become a split theocracy and republic, depending on who’s elected to office, unlike the previous Iranian rule through Pahlavi bloodline. According to J. Tyler Dickovick et al.,
In 1921, Reza Khan helped to organize a coup d’état, with Sayyid Ziya al-Din Tabatabai emerging as Prime Minister and Reza Khan as Minister of War… Reza Khan would become Prime Minister himself in 1923 and then, in 1925, he would become the country’s monarch…as Reza Shah Pahlavi, inaugurating the Pahlavi Dynasty, which would last until 1979. Reza Shah, like his son and successor, Mohammad Reza Shah (often referred to simply as ‘the Shah’), was secular, Westernizing, and modernizing in orientation, (Dickovick, J.T. et al., p. 473).
In 1963 Iran’s Reza Shah began the Westernization and modernization of Iran, deemed the “White Revolution;” so began the rapid implementation of Western values and political modernization. According to U.S. Major Todd S. Afshar, “[t]wenty years after his [Reza Shah’s] ascension to power, the shah’s economy was booming, his military was stronger than any in the region, and his aggressive social reforms under the White Revolution of 1963 rivaled those of any nation at the time,” (Afshar, T.S., p. 4).
One year before the Shah was deposed, he executed the power of his monarchy, transforming it into a dictatorship. In an act of democide, the Shah ordered military assault on thousands of protestors demanding his removal from office. Seyed Hossein Mousavian writes that “on September 8, 1978 in what became known as Black Friday, when the Shah’s troops fired on demonstrators, (Mousavian, S.H., p. 59). Tehran Times, describes Iran’s Black Friday, “about two million people in Tehran gathered in Azadi Square (formerly Shahyad) to hold a massive rally against the monarch,” (TehranTimes). The Shah then imposed martial law where “2000 to 4000 people were slaughtered on that day, after forces of the Pahlavi regime were instructed to open fire on peaceful demonstrators. Tanks and military helicopters reportedly also took part in killing people, (TehranTimes).” This represented a violation of human rights and resulted in sanctioning by U.S. government; yet President Jimmy Carter allowed the Shah to seek medical treatment in the U.S., fleeing responsibility of his country and from the effects of his democide.
According to the CIA, “President Jimmy Carter reluctantly allowed the Shah to come to the US for medical treatment on October 22, a move many believed would outrage the Iranians.” In response, on November 4th, 1979, Iranian students gathered outside the U.S. embassy to protest the return of the Shah. The Central Intelligence Agency claims that “[t]he Iranian hostage crisis began on November 4, 1979 and was one of the greatest US foreign policy crises of the last century… Fifty-two of the hostages, including the CIA officers, remained in captivity for 444 days,” (CIA). Seyed Hossein Mousavian writes that on “December 1977, while hosting the Shah in Washington, President Jimmy Carter raised a toast and stated, ‘Under the Shah’s brilliant leadership, Iran is an island of stability in one of the most troublesome regions of the world. There is no other state figure whom I could appreciate and like more,” (Mousavian, S.H., pp. 58-59). Jimmy Carter proved to be a double-sided president when it came to foreign policy, with one foot in America and the other in Middle Eastern regime change. On the domestic front, Carter was able to veil himself in Christianity; yet his actions greatly proved otherwise.
Political culture, its intervention, and design were not just limited to Iran during the Carter Era. Former President Carter was utilized the essence of peace to achieve U.S. hegemony in Iran, Afghanistan, among other nations. In a 1998 interview from the University of Arizona, Former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski reminded that “it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul,” (UOA). Carter’s funding of opponents to the pro-soviet regime in Afghanistan ultimately led to the formation of the modern Taliban, ISIS. Economist Jeffrey D. Sachs writes on Iran, “[t]he U.S. installed the Shah of Iran, who ruled with his secret police until 1979. After that, the United States predictably and understandably became the Great Satan for the Iranian Revolution that followed, (Sachs, J.D., p. 36).
Iran’s religious state remains a modern state, although divided; Reza Khan initiated Iran’s Westernization; Reza Shah further secularized Iran, as citizens were free to choose whether or not to be ruled by theocracy; in 1979 the Iranian monarchy was ended. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Politics, “[i]f the Shari’a is not implemented, there is not the possibility of social justice… Modern Islamists are shifting away from a blanket acceptance of a ruler toward an emphasis on the authority of the community and the responsibility of each believer,” (Oxford, Loc. 15469). Iran has historically been a monarchy; though it is considered a republic, its constitution was formed in 1979. Author Mike Evans writes “The Shah, who had placed the future of his monarchy squarely in the hands of the U.S., was convinced, as he told Ford’s Vice President Nelson Rockefeller during a visit to Iran in May 1978, that ‘the Americans and Russians have divided the world between them.’ It was this that led not only to the Shah and his supporters in Iran but educated Iranians worldwide to determine that Pahlavi’s reign had ended because the U.S. wanted it to end,” (Evans, M., p. 128.).
Iran's citizens called for three referendums following the 1979 revolution, leading to the establishment of the Iranian Constitution, (IranDataPortal). This enacted a revolutionary change in Iran that remains in effect. Despite the government’s implementation of its constitution, a Western concept, it began to cultivate the means to become a nuclear threat. On June 7th, 1981, the Israeli Air Force launched Operation Opera, destroying Iraq’s unfinished nuclear reactor, (NSA). Mike Evans adds that Israel’s “mission was to attack and destroy Osirak, the nuclear reactor built for Saddam Hussein by the French,” (Evans, M., p.32). This led to the newly established government in Iran to decentralize its nuclear reactors, hoping to prevent the same fate from occurring. A Congressional Research Service issued a report on July 28th, 2023 that read “Iran’s nuclear program has generated widespread concern that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons…A May 2023 IAEA report estimates Tehran’s total enriched uranium stockpile to be 4744.5 kilograms of uranium” (CRS).
In speaking to an Iranian contact who wished to remain unnamed, through an encrypted messaging platform, a first-hand account of the history of Iran’s government can be seen; the Iranian citizen writes that “[a]t the time of Cyrus, our religion was Zoroastrian. Generation after generation, religion became very intense. During the time of Reza Shah, anyone could choose. It was up to us where it was Islamic or free. When our generation lived, it was the future of other countries.” She noted of the division facilitated by Iran’s government stating that, “if you want to rule Iran, you must be Islamic, and from the other front against Islam, this is exactly what the government is doing;” adding that, “[a]t the time of Reza Shah, no one hated religion, but now people hate it.” Comparing Saudi Arabia’s government with Iran’s, the Iranian citizen noted that “see Saudi Arabia, God’s house is there, and they are all progressing and even providing comfort to their own people, but this [Iranian] government only has a dictatorial mindset for its own sake.” She provided examples of this; as “people must observe hijab,” while “one group of people is fed and the other group is hungry, so that it uses these two groups to fight conflict, divide and rule, this is the same policy.” The perception of citizens gives evidence that despite Iran’s implementation of its constitution it still bears the foundation of a dictatorship; many citizens prefer the style of government found in other nations Saudi Arabia, yet simultaneously Iranian nationalism still exists in the country shaping its sui generis political culture.
Conclusion
From Iran’s “White Revolution” to “Black Friday,” its political culture has been shaped by both secular and Western influence. What began with Cyrus the Great’s determination to build a religious democracy, devolved into a nation under a monarchal dynasty. That dynasty was ended by revolution and the abdication of Iran’s tyrannical Shah; despite Reza Shah’s atrocities, he was still given refuge by the U.S. government further shaping the polity of the Iranian nation. Contemporary Iranians remain diverse in their allegiance to government, seeing it as distinct from religion. While it still displays the elements of theocracy, its republic has only existed since 1979. As Iran’s government continues to evolve away from its monarchal past, its constitution provides the opportunity for a lasting change in favor of the union of its citizens.
–September 21st, 2023
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