Gholam Reza Haddad
Abstract
The Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be classified in the classical models of regimes in political economy, and understanding the internal and external logic of its behavior in conventional theoretical frameworks faces difficulties. This research seeks to present a conceptual model in understanding the ...
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The Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be classified in the classical models of regimes in political economy, and understanding the internal and external logic of its behavior in conventional theoretical frameworks faces difficulties. This research seeks to present a conceptual model in understanding the nature of political order and behavioral drivers in the Islamic Republic of Iran under the theories of political economy. Uncertainty in the fundamental relations between the institutions of the state, market and civil society has organized the political economy order of the Islamic Republic in a way that, while being incompatible with all kinds of classical liberal, socialist, fascist and communist orders, elements of each of these orders has in it. This uncertainty is rooted in the simultaneous presence of two conflicting philosophical bases regarding the nature and functions of the state, which are conceptualized in organic and instrumental approaches, and these two conflicting philosophical bases, in the simultaneous existence of parallel and hierarchical structures of conflicting social roles have been determined. In addition, the rentier nature of the state in Iran, as a mediating variable, has weakened the possibility of adjustment and reform in this political economy system. In this research, an appropriate conceptual model for understanding this order of political economy has been conceptualized in " Rentier pseudo-capitalist state".
Ariabarzan Mohammadighalehtaki
Abstract
Kuwait is a rentier state which obtains most of its income from oil revenues. However, and despite the arguments that suggest rentier states hinder democracy, the Kuwaiti system almost exclusively among the GCC states, could maintain a relatively good reputation concerning the development of its democracy. ...
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Kuwait is a rentier state which obtains most of its income from oil revenues. However, and despite the arguments that suggest rentier states hinder democracy, the Kuwaiti system almost exclusively among the GCC states, could maintain a relatively good reputation concerning the development of its democracy. What helped Kuwait overcome its rentier state tendency for authoritarian rule, is the focus of this paper. While many scholars have emphasized the role of citizens' taxation as the most important driver of political participation and, at the same time, promoter the legitimacy of government, my paper focuses on the historical process from the perspective of historical institutionalism and emphasizes that the legitimacy of the state in the eyes of the Kuwaiti public, based on a parliamentary model, and the organization of the Kuwaiti parliament itself, have been institutionalized in a historical process, and what we see from the progress of democracy and the outcomes of these two institutions in the political sphere of Kuwait today, is the result of this historical institutionalization. Now the fundamental question is how to evaluate the rentier state dynamics in relation to the historical institutionalization of parliament in Kuwait, and what is the role of a variable called a consolidated institution in this regard?
Fatameh Mirabasi; Ahmad Saie
Abstract
This paper aims to understand the nature and causes of fragility of bureaucracy in Iran from the perspective of political economy. Starting from the presupposition that bureaucracy crisis is first and foremost the reflection of the nature of state and its structure of capital accumulation, the present ...
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This paper aims to understand the nature and causes of fragility of bureaucracy in Iran from the perspective of political economy. Starting from the presupposition that bureaucracy crisis is first and foremost the reflection of the nature of state and its structure of capital accumulation, the present research argues that the twofold nature of Sultanist–rentier state in the second Pahlavi period gradually caused the structure–role distortion of bureaucracy, a decline both in the quality of bureaucratic elites and in the relative autonomy of bureaucrats from politics, the predominance of prebendal spirit and morality, the growth of bureaucratic bourgeoisie, and finally the emergence of a fragile bureaucracy which, in Weberian terms, intermediated between the Sultan and society. Such an intermediary position of bureaucracy exacerbated the crisis of legitimacy of power elites since bureaucracy not only lost its modernist spirit but also later turned into an obstacle to modernization. This situation eventually led to the inability of bureaucracy in performing its intermediary role and making a compromise and balance between the interests of state and social classes on the one hand and to the function of bureaucracy as a factor contributing to the dialectic of state and society, a delay in political development in society, and the facilitation of revolution on the other hand.
Shahrouz Shariati
Abstract
Geographical continuities, intraregional requirements, underdevelopment, and energy issue are among the issues which can justify the convergence of the Iran-Iraq economic relations; Iran and Iraq both are among Middle Eastern countries whose fundamentals of power and political legitimacy have been ...
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Geographical continuities, intraregional requirements, underdevelopment, and energy issue are among the issues which can justify the convergence of the Iran-Iraq economic relations; Iran and Iraq both are among Middle Eastern countries whose fundamentals of power and political legitimacy have been formed on the basis of religion. These two countries have many convergence grounds including Kurds issue, cooperation with OPEC, cultural and religious subjects, and the problem of foreign intervention. But despite the convergence factors, there are some factors such as capturing the regional consumer markets and production and the sale of oil that place the two countries against each other. This article by political economy approach and using a theoretical framework which is based on "the rentier state theory" and "integration theory" will assess the internal problematic of integration between Iran and Iraq by studying the structure of power in the region, and it will deal with the feasibility assessment of the convergence grounds of these two countries. This essay will show that domination of rentierism over the two countries’ state is the most significant obstacle for regional integration. Finally, the article will present some proposes which can help the promotion of economic cooperation and integration between Iran and Iraq in the region.
Ali Morshedizad; Saleh Zamani
Abstract
Purpose:The main goal of this article is to provide an answer to the question as to why the second Pahlavi government became vulnerable and paved the path for the Islamic revolution. Moreover, this article tries to evaluate the political behavior of the Shah with structural and state-oriented responses. ...
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Purpose:The main goal of this article is to provide an answer to the question as to why the second Pahlavi government became vulnerable and paved the path for the Islamic revolution. Moreover, this article tries to evaluate the political behavior of the Shah with structural and state-oriented responses. The other goal is providing an ‘analysis model’ for social and political scholars in order to apply it in terms of comparative studies with other cases of revolutions/quasi revolutions which are similar to sociopolitical context of Iran. Design/Methodology/Approach: The main methodological strategy of this article is qualitative approach and historical studies. In reaction to the “why” question of regime collapse, three structural hypotheses /answers will be mentioned which demonstrate the mechanisms through which the ancient regime became vulnerable. The first hypothesis is related to the sultanistic nature of the Pahlavi government. The second hypothesis is seeking to consider the rentier nature of government and its mechanisms which stem from beingas other reason of vulnerability. The third hypothesis presents foreign pressures and decreasing of United States supports than the Shah’s government. The combination of these answers to the problem of vulnerability puts forth a relative comprehensive analysis model which can explain some aspects of state’s ineffectiveness in the second Pahlavi era. Findings:The historical review of the most significant sociopolitical events during 1941-1979 shows that the Pahlavi government experienced the process of vulnerability through sultanism, rentierism and dependency to the United States. Actually, the state vulnerability on the one hand resulted from extension of the Shah despotic power, personal authority, and corruption of his relatives as well as lack of rule of law and on the other hand, depended on the autonomy of state from social classes, establishment of one party system, and extension of patronage policy. The crisis of decrease in President Carter’s support and his pressures in terms of human rights in Iran was the last factor which accelerated the process of vulnerability and approached the Shah into vulnerability. According to these findings, the proposed model, structurally, is capable to explain the reasons of Pahlavi regime overthrowing. Originality/Value: With regards to the most important sociological and political sciences on the studies of Islamic Revolution in Iran, this article is taken account as a new step and insight for multi factors understanding of Pahlavi government’s vulnerability. Although some scholars considered the reasons and roots of the Shah’s vulnerability in light of variety of factors, the presented structural/state-oriented model and combinational hypothesis in this article can enrich the literature of sociopolitical research on Islamic Revolution studies.
