Comp Gov Iran Quiz

Sunni v. Shia

• Sunni

  • leader should be person elected

• Shia

  • leader should be descendant of Prophet Muhammad

Government Overview

• theocratic

  • religious

• secular

  • non-religious

• theocratic and unelected

  • supreme leader

  • guardian council

  • expediency council

• theocratic and elected

  • assembly of religious experts

• secular and elected

  • president

  • majlis

Supreme Leader (Ayatollah)

• chosen by assembly of religious experts

  • can also be removed by them but doesn’t really happen

• current ayatollah: Khamenei

• chief jurist and overall interpreter of islamic law

• can dismiss president or members of guardian council

• command military

• appoint administrators and judges for all levels

• choose half of guardian council

• appoint heads of all SOEs

• head of state

Majlis

• directly elected

  • candidates allowed to run vetted by guardian council

• 4 year terms, 290 members

• can introduce & pass legislation

• approve of guardian council candidates

  • the 6 nominated by chief judge (ayatollah)

• investigate corruption and misconduct

• approve president’s choices for cabinet & remove cabinet members

• approve budget

• can impeach president

Guardian Council

• 12 men

  • six elected

  • six appointed by ayatollah

• six year terms

• can reject any law majlis passes if it goes again Islam

• can reject candidates for president and majlis

• some say in candidates for assembly of religious experts

Assembly of Religious Experts

• 88 members

• elected directly after passing test administered by guardian council

• must meet at least twice every 6 months

• can remove supreme leader and appoint new one (if vacant)

• basically just “monitors” supreme leader

Expediency Council

• settles disputes between guardian council and majlis

• majlis makes law → guardian council rejects it → majlis can “correct” the law → guardian council still doesn’t approve → they start fighting → matter goes to expediency council

• chosen by supreme leader

The President

• can serve 2, 4 year terms

• elected, but candidates must be approved by guardian council

• head of government

• issue executive orders

• pardon crimes

• devise budget and propose legislation to majlis

• appoint members of cabinet (with majlis approval)

Judiciary

• Shari’ah Law

  • supreme law

  • religious

• Qanun

  • civil law

  • majlis enacts civil law

• Iranian courts are divided by function

• very severe punishments

Elections

• 2 rounds

  • if candidate gets over 50% of vote in first round → win automatically

  • if none do → top two candidates advance

  • mix of SMD and PR

• very low voter turnout

• political factions

  • conservatives— oppose modernization and secularization

  • reformists— approve modernization and secularization

Cleavages

• religious vs. secular orientations

• urban vs. rural populations

• persian vs. ethnic minorities (Kurds, Azeris, etc.)

• reformists vs. conservatives

• class-based divisions

Jurist Guardianship

• theological basis for Iran's political system

• concept that Islamic jurists should have guardianship over society

  • basically they interpret Islam better than anyone

• justifies Supreme Leader's authority

• developed by Ayatollah Khomeini

Civil Society

• NGOs must be approved by government

• very very little civil society allowed by government, but people want it

Women

• hijab is enforced → domino effect of oppression

• lots of uprising by all types of people! #yay