IRANIAN INTELLECTUALIZATION

Iran: Executive Branch

• Iran’s executive branch is made of two execs:

  • The Supreme Leader

  • The President

• The Supreme leader is chosen by the Assembly of Experts who are a group of 88 individuals who choose and in theory can check the Supreme leader’s power. The Supreme leader holds ultimate authority over pretty much everything and has a chain of control to influence every part of the government. (appoints head of Judiciary, 6 of the Guardian Council, Expediency Council). (The Supreme Leader serves for life)

• The President is directly elected by the people, but presidential candidates must first be vetted by the Guardian Council(through the concept of Jurist Guardianship which entitles senior clerics to have extensive power to make sure the country is in abidance with Islam). The President often has limited powers and is less powerful than the Supreme Leader but can have impact on policy-making. (2 term limit, 4 years each, Voted in by Majority)

Iran: Legislative Branch

• Iran’s legislative branch is called the Majles

• The Majles are elected directly by the people, but candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council. In addition, the Guardian Council also checks the Majles power by being able to veto any law by the Majles. Therefore, the Guardian Council essentially serves as a powerful “upper house” to Iran’s unicameral legislative branch.

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If in the case of a deadlock between the GC(unwilling to let law pass through) and the Majles(unwilling to change law). The Expediency council steps in and has the final say.

Iran: Judicial Branch

Like most authoritarian countries, Iran’s courts are often a weapon used by the regime to target political opposition and corruption is also common

• Iran has two court systems:

  • Sharia Courts that rule by Sharia Law(as described in the Islamic religion)

  • Qanun Courts that rule “monotonous” stuff like traffic violations and such

  • Sharia Law overrides Qanun in any case though

• The Head of Judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader(again… chain of command) who then appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

• Supreme court- Highest court of appeals. All judges are high ranking clerics

• Revolutionary Court- Handles cases sensitive to the state like crimes to national security, propoganda against the regime and drug smuggling(not fair trials and is a weapon against the state)

Iran: System of Government

• Iran is a Unitary state with little devolution to its subnational units.

• Citizens on a local level can vote for representatives in the Majles(SMD & MMD systems) and the President(majority)

Green Movement(2009)

sparked by what event in what country?

The Green movement was sparked by widespread controversy around the 2009 election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected. This re-election was considered fraudulent, leading to widespread protests around Iran.

The goal of the Green movement was initially to annul the election, but evolved into a broader protest on government reform.

The movement was met with violent repression.

Mahsa Amini

Gave rise to (hint) what movement?

“Women, Life, Freedom” movement surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini who was arrested, then mistreated due to a loose headscarf. This sparked widespread protests.

Bazaaris

Bazaaris are the class of people associated with the “bazaar” or market economy in Iran. They are usually wealthier merchants and have been a strong base of support for the Iranian regime for many years. However, with the recent rising costs, bazaaris have become less supportive of the Iranian regime.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The IRGC is a specialized military group focused on protecting the ideals of the Revolution. As such, they report directly to the Supreme leader.

They are separate from the regular military and also control vast amounts of the economy.

Bonyads

Bonyads are “charitable” foundations that are tax-exempt.

They control vast amounts of Iran’s economy, report to the Supreme leader and have a lack of transparency.

So. Pretty clear that they’re just instruments of the government to control more of Iran and function as corrupted inefficient conglomerates.

Iran’s economic policies

Khomenei

Pahlavi