Iran's Political System

The information gathered from various sources, to which I'll provide links at the bottom of this page, will comprise the bulk of this page.

The Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) of 2022 evaluates the progression toward democracy as well as contemporary economic and governance practices with a focus on the time frame from February 1, 2019, to January 31, 2021. --- During the review era, the Islamic Republic of Iran was reported to have faced serious difficulties and obstacles. One of these setbacks being the United States' withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, the "nuclear agreement"), it overshadowed economic and political developments in the year 2018. Tensions in Tehran have increased as a result of conflicts with Israel and numerous Arab countries. Following the violent suppression of large-scale protests in November 2019, at the time, President Hassan Rouhani and his proclaimed "reformist camp" almost lost all support among substantial portions of the people. Since then, the established political order has placed a significant emphasis on employing violence to protect its own existence. The lowest voter participation since the revolution in 1979 occurred in the parliamentary elections in February 2020. It was a major setback for Rouhani because his tenure as president was to end in August 2021. 

Although there are a total of 31 provinces, cities, divisions, municipalities, and villages in Iran, the country's administrative systems are extremely centralized. The president and the cabinet, in particular the interior minister, are responsible to the governors as the top officials of the government. Mayors and the leaders of each administrative level are chosen by elected local councils, who are also in charge of overseeing the administration of each organization. The system and the revolutionary leader must be obeyed and to whom all council members must be loyal (Bertelsmann Stiftung).

In his campaign for president in 2021, Raisi maintained his image as a staunch opponent of public corruption. Rasi expressed support for reaching a global nuclear accord which would take Iranian interests into account. He won that election with a just under 50% voting turnout and was elected as president in August (Zeidan).

However, the Islamic Republic may be dealing with a number of significant concerns at this time regarding Ebrahim Raisi's election as Iran's eighth president. Such issues may have consequences in the future that would hurt Iran as well as maybe have an impact on the rest of the region.

• Iran's political culture is changing. Several times in the past 10 years, the issue of Iran's political system has been raised and examined. According to Ayatollah Khamenei, the country's parliamentary system has additional challenges than the presidential system. The consolidation of political and economic power in the hands of one group with a definite worldview is one of the criteria for an oligarchy, which the expansion of the military, intelligence, and security forces will accomplish. Due to restrictions on information freedom as well as the impact of civil society and non-governmental organizations active in the field, Iran has been unable to raise its anti-corruption rankings. Because the independent media did not successfully expose the corruption, a tiny fraction has emerged as the main perpetrators in the corruption scandals in Iran. The Iranian president insists that corruption is not common despite there being examples of it.

• Systemic militarization is growing. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad worked as a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the years following the Iran-Iraq War (IRGC). Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of the house, and 24 other members of parliament are currently senior leaders of the IRGC and the Basij. Some experts believe that if Iran's whole political system is united under hardliners who support the IRGC, development may be easier to achieve. It is claimed that the absence of political competition and undermining will result in a greater concentration on progress.

The absence of strong civil institutions that are independent from politics, pervasive and institutionalized corruption, and other factors are pushing the nation toward social and financial collapse or possibly dissolution (Ziya). 

The Iran nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was finalized in July 2015. Iran agreed to its terms, which included allowing more extensive international inspections of its facilities and destroying a significant section of its nuclear program. The pact has remained in jeopardy even after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in 2018. Iran has resumed parts of its nuclear activities in retribution for the United States leaving and for deadly assaults on Iranians in 2020, one of which was carried out by the United States. President Joe Biden stated that the United States would rejoin the agreement in 2021 if Iran started to abide by it. The decision to reestablish diplomatic relations looked wise. The nuclear agreement's future is still up in the air (Robinson).

It is important to emphasize that these characteristics of Iran do not accurately represent the diverse Iranian community. If we give in to the animosity, negotiations—whether they be on nuclear weapons or otherwise—become impossible. 

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Works Cited

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BBC News. “Iran: How a Unique System Runs the Country.” BBC News, 18 June 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57260831.

Bertelsmann Stiftung. “BTI 2022 Iran Country Report.” BTI 2022, 2022, bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/IRN#pos2.

Freedom House. “Iran.” Freedom House, freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-world/2021. Accessed 5 Aug. 2022.

PBS. “Inside Iran - The Structure Of Power In Iran | Terror And Tehran | FRONTLINE | PBS.” Frontline, KCTS9, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2022.

Robinson, Kali. “What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?” Council on Foreign Relations, 21 July 2022, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-iran-nuclear-deal#chapter-title-0-11.

Security Council Report. “Iran, June 2022 Monthly Forecast : Security Council Report.” Security Council Report, 31 May 2022, www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2022-06/iran-9.php.

The United States Institute of Peace. “The Current Situation in Iran.” United States Institute of Peace, www.usip.org/publications/2020/06/current-situation-iran. Accessed 5 Aug. 2022.

Transparency International. “2021 Corruption Perceptions Index - Explore Iran’s Results.” Transparency.Org, 25 Jan. 2022, www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021/index/irn.

Wikipedia contributors. “Ali Khamenei.” Wikipedia, 31 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Khamenei.
---. “Ebrahim Raisi.” Wikipedia, 24 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebrahim_Raisi.
---. “Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.” Wikipedia, 8 May 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gholam-Hossein_Mohseni-Eje%27i.
---. “Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.” Wikipedia, 3 Aug. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Bagher_Ghalibaf.

Zeidan, Adam. “Ebrahim Raisi | Biography, Politician, and Views on Nuclear Deal.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2022, www.britannica.com/biography/Ebrahim-Raisi.

Ziya, Mohammad. “The 13 Crises Facing Iran.” Middle East Institute, 16 Sept. 2021, www.mei.edu/publications/13-crises-facing-iran.
www.mei.edu/publications/13-crises-facing-iran.