A Comparative Historical Analysis of Political Modernity in Iran (1906-1941)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Sociology, Faculty of humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Political Science, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran, Tehran

10.22059/jisr.2024.372684.1486

Abstract

This paper focuses on a comparative historical examination of political modernity in Iran from 1906 to 1941. The research problem is centered on the assertion that political modernity in Iran has become problematic during the consolidation stage. Despite numerous efforts by liberals, the absolutist state has been replicated in various historical periods. Based on empirical evidence, it is argued that Iran underwent the destabilization of political modernity, which led to the resurgence of authoritarianism and the reproduction of the absolutist state in 1908 and 1925. The study’s theoretical framework is founded on a combinative approach. The theoretical framework’s logical structure implies that political modernity is the result of the interaction of four causal conditions: Institutionalization of political system, separation of civil society from the state, recognition of individual and citizenship rights in the constitution, and the positive involvement of external agents.
A comparative historical methodology is implemented in this historical investigation.
The empirical evidence presented in this research suggests that the destabilization of political modernity in Iran took place in the context of weak political institutionalization, lack of separation between the state and civil society, the weak representation of individual and citizenship rights in the constitution, and the negative influence of foreign actors on domestic politics

Keywords

References

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Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran
Volume 13, Issue 3 - Serial Number 52
September 2024
Pages 345-367

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