Political+and+Economic+Change

Political history in Iran started with the founding of the world’s first empire- the Achemenian Empire- by Cyrus the Great in 559 BC. In 330 BC Alexander the Great overthrew the Achemenian Empire and started the Parthian Dynasty. This empire lasted until 651 AD when Arab armies defeated the Persian army and introduced Islam to the country. In 1501 the Safavid Empire was founded- lasting until 1925 through the lineage of the Qajar dynasty. Then as a result of political turmoil in World War I army officer Reza Khan overthrew the Qajar dynasty and declared himself shah of Iran. His reign lasted until 1941 when Allied forces forced him to abdicate in favor of his son Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi because of his perceived pro-German sentiments. In 1951 Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadegh nationalized the countries oil resources causing outcry in the West and forcing Shah Pahlavi to flee the country. But, in 1953, with the help of British and American intelligence services Pahlavi successfully overthrew Mossadegh and returned to power. During the 1960s and 70s Shah Pahlavi led a national campaign to modernize and Westernize Iran through various reforms espoused through his government. He made a big effort to modernize Iran in every respect. While his reforms were forward thinking and secular, he ruled with an iron fist and put down opposition and protests brutally. Ayatollah Khomeini came up with the idea of a theocracy and inflamed followers into fiercely opposing the Shah's government. He accused the Shah's regime of being pro-Western and pro-Israeli and thus gained even more supporters. The Shah's government fell apart when in January 1979 unrest among Shi’ite Muslims throughout Iran forced Pahlavi to flee the country. On February 1, 1979 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after fifteen years of exile, overthrew the Shah’s government in a matter of days and established the current government of Iran.



Despite politcal and institutional change, Iran has remained economically stagnant for quite some time. At the beginning of the 20th century, Iran's economy was primarily agrarian and primitive. The Shah and his sons attempted to institute reforms to build infrastructure, and encourage foreign trade and foreign investments. However, the results were not always positive. Many Iranians remained nomads, and the country advanced haltingly. Towards the end of the 20th century, Iran's economy was very dependent on the exportation of its crude oil. The Revolution of 1979 promised to change this but never did. In fact, by the 1990's Iran was more dependent on oil than ever. As Iran emerges into the 21st century, it continues to be dependent on its oil production as well as suffer from a stagnant economy. Iran's economy has difficulty growing because of the sanctions put in place by the international community as a result of its secretive nuclear program. The sanctions target the import of raw materials, consumer goods, and its banking system.

Iran is a country with a history of political and social unrest and a culture of revolution. People in Iran are not easily oppressed by regimes, and there is a precedent for rapid political change and outspoken political opponents, despite the oppressive nature of the regimes that Iran has undergone. The advent of technologies such as social networking sites and blogs and mobile devices has made it easier for the opposition to the regime in power to organize and orchestrate protests. These new tools coupled with Iran's culture of change will either lead the government of Khameini and Ahmadinejad to gradually loosen their grip on Iranian society or will lead to an abrupt regime change of a more democratic and less conservative nature. James Brock Maria Alvarez

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