The Islamic Revolution of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Revolution of Iran is a fluid and dynamic movement by which is distinguished from the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In other words, the Islamic Revolution is a general phenomenon within which the Islamic Republic of Iran is included. The Islamic Revolution of Iran is a movement that emerged from some doctrines and thoughts that lead a movement with a leader and coherent ideology.

The system of governance within the Islamic Republic of Iran is divided into three branches including the legislature, executive, and judiciary. You may add to this system the security and armed forces as well. However, what we intend to address here is the foreign policy behaviour of the Islamic Republic, which is, of course, derived from the teachings of the Islamic Revolution. In this regard, first, we would talk about features of the Islamic Revolution and the theory presented by such revolution and then we will focus on the Islamic Republic of Iran as the only system that stands against the domineering powers.

Features of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in the Light of Theories of the Revolution

The Islamic Revolution of Iran has features that distinguish it from other revolutions across the world ‎(Malakoutian and Qolipour, The Islamic Revolution of Iran and the Reappearance: 17-‎‎22).‎ These characteristics, by which the revolution is identified as the theory of the fourth generation of revolutions, are as follows:

A) The Independent Movement and Revolution, Different From and Contradictory to the Ruling Political Structure

The study of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, apart from its influences on developments of revolutionary theories, shows that during the Pahlavi regime Iran was not influenced by phenomenon such as pressures exerted by external forces like a failure in the war or domination of powerful economic rivals ‎(Foran, The Iranian Revolution of 1977-79: A Challenge for Social Theory, 327)‎. This had made the Pahlavi regime very resistant to the people and the leadership of the movement. On the other hand, many writers and scholars who closely have studied the Islamic Revolution emphasize the absence of an international factor and, in some cases, the confrontation between the international factor and the revolutionary movement of Iran.

Michel Foucault describes the lack of the international factor in the Iranian Revolution and the nobility of the Shah’s military forces. He says “There is certainly a very significant fact in the developments of Iran. People were dealing with a government that was armed to the teeth and had a great army that was highly loyal; a regime that relied directly on the United States and received support from different parts of the world. In a sense, this regime had an ace up its sleeve and of course oil (Foucault, Iran: The ‘Spirit of a Spiritless World’: 59-60‎).

B) Defined and Purposeful Revolution

This revolution was neither without a purpose nor a plan, but an aim-oriented and well-defined revolution within the framework of the ideology of Shi’ah Islam which was led by religious leaders. It was a set of cultural and structural creeds that had been rooted in the Iranian urban society, which became the centre of people’s resistance against the Shah, as John Foran states: “culture and ideology in the revolutionary movement of Iran play a role beyond the inadequate attention that structuralist theorists have paid to them.” (Foran, ibid. 327-328)

Foucault acknowledges the prominent role of religion in the Iranian Revolution, saying that: “Religion is promised and guarantee for them and would bring fundamental changes in their subjectivity... They regard Islam as a revolutionary force. There was something more than a will for observing faithful obedience to shari’ah law; that is, the will to experience change by returning to the spiritual experience that they think lies within the heart of Shi’ah Islam... It should be said that Islam was not acted as the opium of the people in 1978 since it has been precisely the soul of a world that lacked a soul ‎(Foucault, ibid. 60-61).

C) The Iranian Revolution and the Critique of Modernity

As Derrick states, the Iranian Revolution in 1979 eliminated the link between modern political revolution and enlightened narratives of the advancement of reason, while illustrating that the emergence of a modern political revolution does not necessarily mean the expansion of enlightenment (Derek Sayer, Revolution. The Handbook of Political Sociology: 292)‎. Also, in terms of content and orientations, the Islamic Revolution of Iran is one of the most dynamic critiques of modernity and modernism, for which it has been called the first postmodern revolution.

Obviously, the Iranian Revolution was an uprising against some of the foundations and institutions of modernity and modernization that had been manifested in the Westernized regime of the Shah. This feature of the Islamic Revolution has abandoned the theories that were rooted in modernization (such as Eisenstadt’s attitude) based on which the revolution was a result of the tensions between global renewal and local structures. Today, according to Geoff Goodwin, one of the roots of a turn-taking place in the sociology of revolution is that revolutions do not necessarily follow the metanarrative of the Enlightenment (expansion of individual freedom or the liberation of the productive forces )Goodwin, Toward a New Sociology, 18).

The Islamic Republic System as the only Dynamic Factor in Opposing the Domination

As mentioned, the independence or political affiliation of states and governments has long been one of the most important issues in the international system and political sovereignty. Until the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the formation of an Islamic state i.e., simultaneous with the Cold War and the bipolar system, there was no political power claiming political independence because the states were bound to either belonging to the Eastern bloc or the western one in order to enjoy the right of political entity and sovereignty. Meanwhile, Imam Khomeini’s movement challenged the remaining ruling system of domination of the Westphalia Treaty. This led to the Islamic awakening and an increase in the awareness of dominated nations.

Thus, Islamic Iran has set out to lead a new camp of anti-domination and founded international relations on new bases in a manner that they were not likened to what is common in the literature of political sciences and international relations either structurally or conceptually. Considering this important transformation and subsequent developments in this theory, the paradigm of confronting the domination is raised (Mohammadi, ibid. 54).

One of the great manifestations of the Islamic Revolution and the formation of the Islamic system was that such revolution purposed the motto of “neither East nor West” and developed the pattern of the system of government based on the religious and national-domestic principles and values and without reliance on the Western and Eastern teachings ‎(Mansouri, A Look at Political Independence from the Perspective of the Quran)‎.

In the view of Imam Khomeini, Iran was the origin and starting point of the global movement. Evidently, since the beginning of the Islamic movement and especially after the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, he has always addressed the ideal world system from the Islamic and the Islamic Revolution’s perspectives while acknowledging that Iran is the starting point for all the oppressed nations. Now, inspired by his writings, we will elaborate on the framework of this system: the oppressed must rise. The oppressed people of all countries should step up and uphold their rights rather than expecting others to give them their rights. The arrogant powers will not give anyone his rights ‎(Imam Khomeini, Sahifeh Nour, volume 11: 259)‎ Oh oppressed nations of the world! Stand up and get your rights and do not be afraid of the powerful people since God is with you, and you would inherit the earth, and the promise of God Almighty is truth. (ibid.)

From his point of view, maintaining and survival of world peace do not depend on the existence of a balance of power and the other systems provided by western scholars and politicians; rather this would take place only with the annihilation and defeat of the domineering powers: the movement of an oppressed standing up against the oppressor should be spread in all parts of the world. Iran is the starting point for all the oppressed nations. Muslims should rise throughout the world. The divine promise includes the oppressed and says that “we wanted to confer favour upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them inheritors. Imamate is the right of the oppressed; they are the heirs. The oppressors should be stopped.” (ibid.: 268)

Until now, we have tried to define the basic concepts and as will be stated, in the analysis of the pattern of anti-domination interactive policy, these concepts and definitions will develop the indicators.

Archive of The Enemies of the Islamic Revolution