The Myth of the White Revolution: Mohammad Reza Shah, Modernization and the Consolidation of Power
Author(s)
Ansari, Ali M.
Abstract
Evaluates the “White Revolution” in Iran which was formulated between 1958 and 1963, adopted by Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1963, and lasted until 1978. The objective was a bloodless revolution aimed at meeting the expectations of a general public that was becoming politically aware and a growing professional socioeconomic group – the overall goal being avoidance of a bloody revolution from below. It was fundamentally a political program devised by the elite to retain as much of their dominance as possible, with the motivating ideology being modernism and the monarchy regarded as the lynchpin of the state. Opposition to the program came from landowners and Communists, but the revolution was endorsed by a referendum with a suspicious 99% in favor – though the three key players in the government each had their own agenda.
