Alina Liu - Iran Vocab - AP Comp Gov

Theocracy

A governance system in which the power is stowed in a religious leader, like a priest, who guides the country based upon the divine guidance of a deity.

Supreme Leader

Head of state; the highest political and religious authority of Iran. Overviews execution of the general policies in the system; delineates public policy.

Guardian Council

An appointed 12 member council that has considerable power, half of whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader and the other half are nominated by the judiciary and approved by the Parliament. Vets electoral candidates and vetos legislation “inconsistent with Islamic Principles”

Expediency Council

Appointed group meant to connect Majles and Guardian Council, appointed by Supreme leader and has some power over all branches of the government.

Majles

The Unicameral Legislative body.

AKA Islamic Consultive Assembly; Iranian Parliament; ICA

Assembly of Religious Experts

An 88-member body of Islamic jurists, elevated by direct popular vote every eight years that can appoint the Supreme Leader.

Basij

A volunteer paramilitary organization operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Many duties, especially internal security, law enforcement, special religious or political events and morals policing. The Basij have branches in virtually every city and town in Iran.

Shia Islam

Second largest division of Islam, constituting approximately 9-13%.

Zoroastrian

The oldest religion still practiced in Iran; offiically recognized; somewhere around 7.7% of population

Ba’hai

Monotheistic religion founded in the 1800s by Bahá'u'lláh. Believes he is the last messenger of God, instead of of Mohammad. Believes in the unity of God. Religion, and Humanity; emphasized prayer, meditation. and brinyg of service to fellow Man. Imprisoned, totured, and killed in Iran because they are seen as heretics.

Farsi

Official language of Iran. AKA Persian.

Kurds

One of the world's largest peoples without a state, heavily marginalized and persecuted.

Azeri

The Turkic peoples of Iran's northwestern historic region of Azerbaijan.

White Revolution (1963)

Series of reform by Shah in order to modernize the Imperial State of Iran in 1963. Resulted by great amount of redistribution of wealth, explosive economic growth, rapid urbanization, and destruction of feudalist customs.

Islamic Revolution of Iran

A series of events leading to the overthrowal of the Imperial State of Iran.

Velyat-e Faqih (Jurist’s guardianship)

The justification for why the clergy/theocracy should rule over the state. Iran has used it since 1979.

Marja

The highest ranking cleric given legal permission to make legal decisions for followers and clerics below him in rank.

Bonyads

Charitable trusts in Iran that play a major role in Iran's economy.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard

The Iranian state's armed force charged with defending Iran's revolutionary regime after the 1979 revolution and countering the regular army, reporting directly to the supreme leader.

“Dual Role” (Iran Specific)

The dual existence of the authoritarian, theocratic government, and the democratic, elected government. Can lead to tensions and power struggles.

Ayatollah Khamene’i

The second and current supreme leader.

OPEC

An intergovernmental organization founded in 1960 to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among member countries, aiming to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers and collectively influence the global oil market.

Revolutionary Guard [Iran]

The Iranian state's armed force charged with defending Iran's revolutionary regime after the 1979 revolution and countering the regular army, reporting directly to the supreme leader. [Iran]

Rentier State

A country that derives a lot of its national budget through renting out parts of its country. In Iran’s case, it rents out land to let other countries/companies get the oil there.

Multimember District

Electoral systems where more than one representative is elected from each geographic constituency.

Shah

The king/ruler of Iran. The last Shah was Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi from 1941-1979, until he was overthrown by the Iranian revolution.

Unitary

A governance system in which the power is centralized in the central, national government.

Separation of Power

In which the power is divided among three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Checks and Balances

The ability of each branch to respond to the actions of the other branches and keep each other in check.

Brain Drain

The situation in which a country loses a large proportion of its skilled workers or those with higher education because they immigrate to another country for economic/social/political incentive.

Welfare State

A government system in which the government plays a pivotal role in the promotion and safety of the people.