AP Comparative Government: Iran

Terms in this set (41)

authoritarian regimes
In this type of regime, decisions are made by political elites - those who hold political power - without much input from citizens. These regimes may be ruled by a single dictator, an hereditary monarch, a small group of religious clerics, or a single political party. The economy is generally tightly controlled by the political elite.
Iranian Sovereignty lies in
God (Allah) and the Iranian people (elections)
Theocracy
A ___________ entrusts rule of the state to clerical religious authorities simultaneously with their religious role.

Rules of the regime and laws passed by the government are often required to be consistent with religious doctrines asserted by clerics.

In Iran, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country has been an Islamic Republic, in which supreme political authority rests with the Supreme Leader, a senior cleric chosen by a body of fellow clerics
Revolution of 1979
events involving overthrow of Iran's monarchy and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution
Union of political and religious authority is a central component of Iranian political culture
Union of political and religious authority- From the days
of the ancient Persians, political and religious leaders were often one and the same. However, starting with the rule of the Qajars (1794-1925), the two types of authority were separated, only to be brought back together by the Revolution of 1979.
civil society
______ refers to voluntary organizations outside of the state that
help people define and advance their own interests. ______ is usually strong in liberal democracies where individual freedoms are valued and protected. The organizations that compose it may represent class, religious, or ethnic interests, or they may cross them, creating strong bonds among people that exist outside of government control.
civil society in Iran
Since the revolution, Iran has been slow to develop a functioning civil society. Government insistence that all activities in Iran are in accordance with Islamic teachings is largely responsible for this fact.
Political Participation in Iran
Citizens of Iran can join political parties that are approved by the government, run for elective office if approved by the government, petition the government on a limited range of issues, form interest groups if they are acceptable to the government, and vote for some government officials from lists of government-approved candidates.
The Iranian Green Movement
The Iranian Green Movement refers to a political movement that arose after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office after highly suspicious election results
Shiism and sharia are central components of Iranian political culture
Shiism and sharia as central components - Today almost
90% of all Iranians identify themselves as Shiite, a fact that links citizens to the government, which is officially a theocracy. Islamic law, the sharia, is an important source of legitimacy that the modem government particularly emphasizes.
political institutions
structures of a poltical system that carry out the work of governing-legislatures, executives, judicial systems, bureaucracies, and armies
Unelected leaders of Iran
Supreme Leader
Expediency Council
Guardian Council
Judiciary
Revolutionary Guard Officers
Elected Leaders in Iran
President
Majlis
Assembly of Religious Experts
Unelected Supreme Leader
ExpediencyCouncil
Guardian Council
Judiciary
Cabinet
Directors of Bonyads
Revolutionary GuardOfficers
President of Iran
administers government
presents annual budget to Majlis
supervises economic matters
proposes legislation to Majlis
is chair of the National Security Council
appoints vice president(s) and cabinet (except Justice Minister)
appoints local governors and mayors
Formal Powers of the Iranian Supreme Leader
* is the "vital link" between branches of government
* determines the "interests of Islam" can dismiss the president
* is the commander-in-chief of the military and can appoint and dismiss officers
* nominates and can remove judges and prosecutors
* appoints half the members of the Guardian Council
* appoints the Minister of Justice
* appoints the director of national radio and television
Formal Powers of the Iranian Guardian Council
• reject any law passed by the Majlis if it is contradictory to the constitution or principles of Islam, and send it back for correction.
• reject candidates for the presidency or Majlis based on their interpretation of the qualifications in the constitution.
• administer a test and interview to candidates for the Assembly of Religious Experts, and determine what "threshold" will be applied for allowing candidates on the ballot or not.
The formal powers of the Iranian Majlis (legislative branch)
______ is directly elected by Iranian voters every four years, after candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council.

The Majlis has the power to:
• introduce and pass legislation (although most is proposed by the president).
• approve the six members of the Guardian Council nominated by the Chief Judge.
• investigate corruption and misconduct in the bureaucracy and judiciary.
• approve the president's choices for Cabinet, and remove Cabinet members.
• approve the budget devised by the president.
Expediency Council
resolves conflicts between Majlis and Guardian Council
meets in secret
initiates legislation
Assembly of Religious Experts
elects and can dismiss the Supreme Leader
Guardian Council
This is the most powerful theological body in Iran. It consists of 12 members 6 clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and 6 judges appointed by the Majils. The importance of them is they have to approve all candidates and all legislation.
The Guardian Council v. Majlis
The Guardian Council also exercises a tremendous amount of control over who runs for the Majlis.

More than 5,000 candidates registered to run in 2012, but only 3,400 of them were approved to be on the ballot.
Hassan Rouhani
current Iranian President, seen as a moderate more willing to engage the West,
Ayatollah Khomeini
Iranian religious leader of the Shiites; when Shah Pahlavi's regime fell Khomeini established a new constitution giving himself supreme powers (1900-1989)
Nuclear Weapons and Iran
Iran is facing international scrutiny over the possibility that it is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Although Iran has stated that it wishes to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, as is its right under international law, it has also stated that it is not fair that five powers have the legal right to nuclear weapons while the rest of the world does not.
Pragmatic conservatives (Iran)
__________ are clergy who favor liberal economic policies that encourage foreign trade, free markets, and direct foreign investment. wealth redistribution and price controls. President Hassan Rouhani is often described as pragmatic.
jurist's guardianship
Together the supreme leader and the Guardian Council exercise the principle of jurist's guardianship, making sure that the democratic bodies always adhere to Islamic beliefs and laws.
Level of Transparency (Iran)
Very low because the decisions of the Supreme Leader are open to little public scrutiny.
Has the Supreme Leader ever been removed from power?
NO, The Supreme Leader is chosen by the Assembly of Religious Experts, and can also be removed from office by the Assembly of Religious Experts- although this has never been tested!
Who is more powerful? The Iranian President or the Supreme Leader?
The Supreme Leader is vested with real and significant powers, far greater than the head of government, the president.
The Majlis
______ is directly elected by Iranian voters every four years, after candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council. The Majlis acts as Iran's unicameral legislative assembly, though its laws must keep the approval of the Guardian Council. The Majlis has the power to:
• introduce and pass legislation (although most is proposed by the president).
• approve the six members of the Guardian Council nominated by the Chief Judge.
• investigate corruption and misconduct in the bureaucracy and judiciary.
• approve the president's choices for Cabinet, and remove Cabinet members.
• approve the budget devised by the president.
The Majiles v. The Guardian Council
The Majlis acts as Iran's unicameral legislative assembly, though its laws must keep the approval of the Guardian Council.
The president of Iran
• elected by voters every four years and can serve up to two terms.
• Presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council in order to appear on the ballot. The president is the head of government, possessing many administrative powers, but his actions are always under the shadow of the Supreme Leader, who may dismiss him from office at any moment he chooses.

The president has the power to:
• devise the budget for approval of the Majlis.
• propose legislation to the Majlis.
• nominate Cabinet members for approval of the Majlis.
• chair meetings of the Cabinet, the National Security Council, and the Supreme Council
of the Cultural Revolution.
• send and receive foreign ambassadors.
President Hassan Rouhani
-Iranian pres since 2013; considered more moderate, better for US interests than predecessor; has sad he wants to repair Iran relationships w/ international community and recalibrate nation's diplomatic goal. Considered a Pragmatic reformer
The Guardian Council
comprised of twelve men, six of whom are clerics chosen by the Supreme leader, and six of whom are lawyers nominated by the Chief Judge (who is himself
appointed by the Supreme Leader), and confirmed by the Majlis.

They have the power to:
• reject any law passed by the Majlis if it is contradictory to the constitution or principles of Islam, and send it back for correction.
• reject candidates for the presidency or Majlis based on their interpretation of the qualifications in the constitution.
• administer a test and interview to candidates for the Assembly of Religious Experts, and determine what "threshold" will be applied for allowing candidates on the ballot or not.
The Guardian Council v. The Iranian Presidential election
There are significant restrictions on who may run for president in Iran. The Guardian Council has the power to vet the list of candidates and reject any they do not approve of.
The formal powers of the President of Iran
• elected by voters every four years and can serve up to two terms.

The Iranian president has the power to:
• devise the budget for approval of the Majlis.
• propose legislation to the Majlis.
• nominate Cabinet members for approval of the Majlis.
• chair meetings of the Cabinet, the National Security Council, and the Supreme Council
of the Cultural Revolution.
• send and receive foreign ambassadors.
The President of Iran v. The Supreme Leader
The Supreme Leader is considered the chief jurist, the leading interpreter of Islamic law (the Shari'ah).

The Iranian president is the head of government, possessing many administrative powers, but his actions are always under the shadow of the Supreme Leader, who may dismiss him from office at any moment he chooses.
Social cleavages
the boundaries between citizens of different religions, ethnic groups, race, and social and economic classes.
Iran Cleavage - social class
The peasantry and lower middle class are sources of support for the Iranian regime.
However, middle and upper-middle class people are largely secularized, and so they tend to be highly critical of the clerics and their control of the society.
Cleavages - Reformers v. conservatives
Iranian conservatives want to keep the regime as it is, under the control of clerics and sharia law, and the reformers would like to see more secularization and democracy.
Iranian Social Class Cleavages
Social class - The peasantry and lower middle class are sources of support for the regime, partly because they have benefited from the government's social programs that have provided them with electricity and paved roads (patron-client)
However, middle and upper-middle class people are largely secularized, and so they tend to be highly critical of the clerics and their control of the society. (Neda Agha-Soltan and her family)
OTHER SETS BY THIS CREATOR
;