New states in world politics often emerge as the result of a change in government. However, the term ‘new state’ also applies to countries that have recently acquired power and are consequently able to enter into international relations to previously unobtainable lengths. One of these countries is the Republic of Iran. Iran’s relatively abrupt shift from an inconsequential state that portrayed steady dependency upon foreign actors to an independent, rogue state has caused politicians and historians alike to question Iran’s ability to come out of isolation and assert its claim as a permanent world power.
Within the last 100 years, Iran has experienced two changes in government. The first occurred in 1921 when Reza Khan seized the government and declared himself the shah. The second change arose during the 1979 revolution. This revolution called for the removal of western influence on the Iranian culture. The idea of this intrusion goes back to 1941 when Russia and Great Britain invaded in order to prevent Nazi Germany from gaining access to oil in Iran and because the west needed a secure transportation route to Russia for military supplies. Soon, they realized they needed a shah they could control and encouraged Reza Khan to abdicate to his son, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi improved relations with the west and even implemented a number of reforms at the encouragement of the Kennedy administration. These reforms, known as the White Revolution, helped the economy to flourish but also saw a decline in civil liberties. Many Iranians began believing that their own government valued Americans over its citizens, and ideology fuelled by Ayatollah Khomeini. In 1979, Khomeini became Supreme Ruler of the Republic of Iran and ended the ro...
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...ative Perspective Domestic and International Influences on State Behavior. Edited by Ryan K. Beasley, et al. Washington, D.C: CQ Press, 2002. 217-32.
Ilias, Shayerah. Iran’s Economic Conditions: U.S. Policy Issues. CRS Report for Congress RL34525. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, April 22, 2010.
Khan, Tanvir Ahmad. "Iran as an Emerging Power." QuarterFaust. 28 May 2011. .
Rawshandil, Jalīl, and Nathan Chapman. Lean. Iran, Israel, and the United States: Regime Security vs. Political Legitimacy. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2011.
Rubin, Barry. "Iran: the Rising of a Regional Power." The Middle East Review of International Affairs 10/10 10.3 (2006). Global Research in International Affairs Center, Sept. 2006. .
Not only did the religious history play a large role in Iran’s beliefs but also foreign invaders have been imposing their power on the Iranian region for thousands of years. Iran...
America and Iran had tricked the Soviets which left them very angry, and this inevitably led to the Cold War. But less than a decade later, America had done something which caused Iran to change their opinion of them. In 1951, Iran had recently elected a prime minister by the name, Mohammed Mosaddeq, which he nationalized the countryś petroleum industry, long the domain of the British-dominated AIOC. This move, however, pitted the two governments against each other in a bitter political fight. The Truman administration had tried to work between both sides, but Dwight Eisenhower had quickly concluded that Mosaddeq represented the problem rather than the solution to the crisis. They decided that they wanted him out and later he was kicked out and Mohammad Reza Shah took his place for the next twenty-five years. Shah not only gained access to sophisticated American weaponry, but also obtained tacit White House permission to forgo any serious effort at reform. Over the years, the internal resentment against the Shahś political and economic policies was building to a peak, but the depth of the problem escaped the notice of American
Prior to the Islamic Revolution, Iran was ruled by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and furthermore, not governed by religion. The Shah’s White Revolution launched a series of reforms in 1963 that are indicative of where women’s rights for Iran were heading prior to the Islamic revolution. The reforms included, giving women the right to vote, run for office and to become lawyers and judges. This large of a reform in regards to women’s rights, was far more drastic than anything Iran had experienced in the past, and the shock of these “extreme” measures, received a large backlash from over 90% of the population1, the Shia Muslims.
First, the Shah, out-of-touch with what his people wanted, became the catalyst for massive xenophobic and anti-Western feelings to spread throughout the nation. By giving up traditional Islamic ideals and becoming sort of a “puppet” for the U.S. and the Western world, the Shah made a mockery of himself and of those traditional Islamic values, which were paramount in Iran. For many years, Iranians wrote letters to the Shah, voicing their discontent with many aspects of his rule — the spread of the Bahá’í Faith, the collapse of Islamic traditions, and the crumbling economy. The Shah, however, did nothing to fix these issues. Instead, he designed a political reformation movement, hoping to silence his opponents, to introduce personal rights for women, and to establish a sense of fiscal equality. This series of reforms, which appeared to be a blatant attempt to Westernize Iran, became known as the “White
In no field other than politics does the justification for action often come from a noteworthy event and the true cause stays hidden behind the headlines. The United States’ transformation from a new state to a global superpower has been a methodical journey molded by international conditions (the global terrain for statecraft), the role of institutions and their programmed actions, and ultimately, the interests of actors (the protection of participants in making policy’s items and i...
In the 1970’s Iran, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a very centralized military state that maintained a close relationship with the USA. The Shah was notoriously out of touch with working class Iranians as he implemented many controversial economic policies against small business owners that he suspected involved profiteering. Also unrestricted economic expansions in Iran lead to huge government expenditure that became a serious problem when oil prices dropped in the mid 1970’s. This caused many huge government construction projects to halt and the economy to stall after many years of massive profit. Following this was high rates of inflation that affected Iranians buying power and living standards. (Afary, 2012) Under the Shah, political participation was not widely available for all Iranians and it was common for political opposition to be met with harassment, illegal detention, and even torture. These measures were implemented by the Iranian secret police knows as ‘SAVAK’. This totalitarian regime combined with the increasing modernisation of the country paved the way for revolution.
Maghen, Z. (2009, January). Eradicating the "Little Satan": Why Iran Should Be Taken at Its
Throughout the 20th century, the United States tried to control Iran to ensure the exportation of oil to America. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came to power in 1941 and became allies with the United States. However in the 1950s, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh began to gain political power. Unlike the Shah, he was extremely against western influence in Iran. Mossadegh won national elections and he demanded more power. In order to retain influence in Iran, the CIA helped overthrow Mossadegh and bring Pahlavi back to power....
Griffith, William E. “The Revial of Islamic Fundamentalism: the Case of Iran.” International Security. Volume 4, Issue 1, 1979, 132-138.
Under the Shah's son, Iranian citizens were often whipped, killed execution style, or went to prison for speaking out. Brainwashing people into believing, that the way to heaven was by obeying the Shah's rules and if they did not honor the Shah they would go to hell. After the deposing of the shah by revolution, the people of Iran elected a democratic leader.... ... middle of paper ...
Maynes, Charles. "The Middle East in the Twenty-First Century." Middle East Journal 52.1 (1998): 9-16. JSTOR. Web. 6 June 2011.
In February of 1979, Muhammad Reza Shah was in exile and Ayatollah Khomeini arrived as the triumphant leader of a revolution. Throughout the remainder of the year, the execution of former prime ministers, SAVAK agents, and high- ranking military officers took place. Muhammad Reza Shah’s regime was no longer in power and the Iranian Revolution was in full effect, but what caused this rapid shift of power? In the years leading up to the revolution, the Shah implemented the White Revolution in attempts to modernize Iran. The White Revolution was an attempt to turn Iran into an economic power, however; it went against many of the core beliefs of Islam. The White revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s caused the Iranian revolution because it marginalized
"IRIN Middle East | SYRIA: Wealth gap widening as inflation hits poor | Syria | Economy." IRIN • humanitarian news and analysis from Africa, Asia and the Middle East - updated daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012
Proceeding from a simplistic perception of regional stability, Washington utilized the surrogate strategy to control the outcomes of regional interactions in the Middle East and chose Israel to play the role of regional surrogate. But Israel, in many cases, instead of maintaining regional stability on behalf of the US, served its own interests which were not always consistent with US interest in regional stability. The Israeli violations, however, were either condoned or even approved by the US administrations. These reactions comprised what this chapter addressed as a pro-Israel model of intervention.
Although the Iranian Revolution was both a political and religious movement in that it resulted in major shifts in government structure from an autocracy to a republic and that Islamic beliefs were fought to be preserved, it was more a religious movement in that the primary goal of the people was to preserve traditional ideology and in that the government became a theocracy intertwined with religious laws and desires of the people. Although the Iranian Revolution was caused by combination of political and religious motivations and ideas, the desires of the people supporting the movement were more dominantly religious ideas that were wished to be imposed in society and in a new government. The Shah, or king, of Iran at the time was Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who had developed relations with nations in the “western” world, specifically with the United States. The United States supported the White Revolution, which was a series of social reformations the Shah made to remove Islamic values, law and tradition from the government to boost the country’s economy (White Revolution, 2010).... ...