Iran’s Tide of History: Revolution, Counter-Revolution and After

About

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a historical turning point in the crisis of modern politics in Iran. The revolution was unique for the surprise it created throughout the world: it lacked many of the customary causes of revolution — defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military. It produced profound change at great speed and overthrew a regime which was thought to be heavily protected by a financed army and security services and protected by the Americans. The rise of political Islam in the course of the Iranian Revolution was not a historically pre-determined phenomenon, nor an accident. The crisis and decline of liberal institutions resulted in a political vacuum in Iran and provided an ideal opportunity for the Islamic forces to organize themselves and mobilize the population.

The regime derives its legitimacy from two main sources: Islam and the revolution. After four decades, the strength of both these sources has come down. In the past 44 years, the challenge to authoritarianism in Iranian society has translated into a culture of dissent among three main social groups: Women, youth, and intellectuals. Each of these three agents of dissent embodies deliberate and conscious forms of resistance against absolute sovereignty.

Despite the shock of the recent repression against Iranian teenagers and women by the Iranian regime, a re-evaluation of the ideological and political ideals of the Iranian revolution continues to feed into the collective sense of dissent and discontent among the Iranian youth and women. It has led them to dismiss all religious voices, including those of the reformists in the Iranian public sphere. The failure of Iran’s leaders to find a workable formula for saving the Islamic Republic seems to go hand-in-hand with the general view among the younger generation of Iranians that the ghost of the revolution continues to haunt the country.

Course leader

Ramin Jahanbegloo (Jindal Global University)

Target group

The IBEI Summer School in Global Politics and Policy is a program designed for graduate students and all those who have an interest in advanced knowledge of international security, international development and global politics issues. The objective is to offer different short courses on significant topics, taught by scholars and experts of international prestige. The School will enable participants to broadly discuss current developments in world politics in the light of core social-science and IR theories and perspectives.
Optionally, students may ask for an assessment in order to be able to obtain ECTS credits, provided they are recognized by their university. The 2023 edition of the IBEI Summer School in Global Politics and Policy is taking place in face to face format.

Course aim

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a historical turning point in the crisis of modern politics in Iran. The revolution was unique for the surprise it created throughout the world: it lacked many of the customary causes of revolution — defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military. It produced profound change at great speed and overthrew a regime which was thought to be heavily protected by a financed army and security services and protected by the Americans. The rise of political Islam in the course of the Iranian Revolution was not a historically pre-determined phenomenon, nor an accident. The crisis and decline of liberal institutions resulted in a political vacuum in Iran and provided an ideal opportunity for the Islamic forces to organize themselves and mobilize the population.

The regime derives its legitimacy from two main sources: Islam and the revolution. After four decades, the strength of both these sources has come down. In the past 44 years, the challenge to authoritarianism in Iranian society has translated into a culture of dissent among three main social groups: Women, youth, and intellectuals. Each of these three agents of dissent embodies deliberate and conscious forms of resistance against absolute sovereignty.

Despite the shock of the recent repression against Iranian teenagers and women by the Iranian regime, a re-evaluation of the ideological and political ideals of the Iranian revolution continues to feed into the collective sense of dissent and discontent among the Iranian youth and women. It has led them to dismiss all religious voices, including those of the reformists in the Iranian public sphere. The failure of Iran’s leaders to find a workable formula for saving the Islamic Republic seems to go hand-in-hand with the general view among the younger generation of Iranians that the ghost of the revolution continues to haunt the country.

Fee info