The Precarious Revolution: Unchanging Institutions and the Fate of Reform in Iran
Author(s)
Kazemi, Farhad
Abstract
The Islamic revolution of 1979 was the result of a grand coalition of diverse forces united against the ancient regime. Although the religious dimension eventually became supreme, the revolutionary process was much broader: it included powerful secular and liberal forces that yearned for a democratic post-authoritarian polity, not a theocratic state. The clerics’ eventual success in establishing an Islamic republic was largely a result of their ability to mobilize Shi’i religious institutions and focus on mass grievances against the Shah’s regime. The purpose of this article is not to analyze the process leading to the Iranian revolution. It is rather an assessment of the announced goals of the revolutionary regime and its successes and failures in meeting them. These goals have been stated in various forms. They were initially articulated through print, sermons and media routes during the period of revolutionary struggle. The revolution’s charismatic leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his lieutenants were the dominant and frequent articulators of these goals. Their ideas were subsequently enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the government’s domestic and foreign policies, and in statements before international forums and organizations.
