The
Iranian Revolution
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There
are specific political dynamics which have typified the recent history of
Iran.
Political autonomy, foreign intervention, and revolution have been the capstones
of the
conflicts and turmoil which has gripped the nation.
Dr. Abbas Maleki is Chairman,
International Institute for Caspian Studies; Associate Professor on Energy
Security, Sharif University of Technology; and Associate Researcher, Belfer
Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School of
Government.
Regime sustainability despite
different internal crises and foreign threats underlines the fact that Iran
enjoys a relatively rational decision-making process. The central slogan of the
Iranian Revolution was "Independence, Freedom, and Islamic Republic."
Today, Iran is an independent state, as it does not belong to an Eastern or a
Western bloc. Although the country has not realized its ambition of economic
independence, the revolution has provided economic welfare. Rural development
has improved people's lives by providing villages with water, electricity, and
infrastructure. The essence of independence also referred to the specific
relations between the Iranian monarchy and the United States. The US-sponsored
1953 coup against the popular Muhammad Mosaddeq government made Iran an American
client state, leading to Iranian dependence in all aspects.
Iran has 1% of the world's
population and about 7% of global mineral resources.
1
Yet, the country's post-revolutionary economic performance has remained well
below its actual potential, due to war and regional crises as well as internal
problems such as mismanagement and other ills. Nonetheless, in recent years,
Iran has witnessed a period of sustainable growth with GDP growth rates above
the world average — a trend that is likely to continue.
...There is a lively
debate among Iranian intellectuals on these very questions. Emerging from this
debate is the suggestion that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
which has survived 30 years without ties with a superpower and which has
withstood various sanctions, would probably be more stable should it decide
pursue a rapprochement. As in the past, Iran's future will determined by the
complex interplay between key domestic political and economic factors on the one
hand, and the country's relations with its neighbors and with the United States.
Religion
and Politics in Iran
Introduction