Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1995

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

Alexander T. Smith

Committee Members

Palmira Brummet, Robert Peterson, David Welbourn

Abstract

The goal of this research is to analyze the social, economic and political origins of Iranian Revolution. This analysis concentrates on two major questions. First, what factors led to the emergence of a pre-revolutionary society in Iran, and second, what variables were necessary to mobilize this revolutionary potential? This study found that both of the above conditions existed in Iran concurrently. A pre-revolutionary society had developed, and a highly organized contending elite, armed with a charismatic leadership and appealing ideology, and with access to mass scale communications network, had evolved with the intention to lead a revolution. Without the juxtaposition of these two factors the revolution would not have occurred. The emergence of a pre-revolutionary society in Iran can best be explained, as a matter of faith, by the concepts of relative deprivation, modernizing dictatorship and resource mobilization. In Iran, a pre-revolutionary society had evolved because on the one hand the major groups were experiencing relative deprivation in one form or another and on the other hand the concentration of power in the hand of the shah led to the militarization and bureaucratization of the society. Against that background, the Shi'ite establishment mobilized its vast array of resources and powerful network, including more than 80,000 religious centers, 200,00 clerics, an appealing ideology, a charismatic leadership, and a strong financial base to bring about the revolution.

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