Iran: Before and After the Revolution
The most recent Iranian revolution brought down not only the Shah of Iran, but the president of the United States. It is generally believed that Jimmy Carter was not reelected because of his inability to obtain release of the hostages taken under order of Khomeini. This was a powerful beginning. It represented a tremendous break with the modern development of Iranian society, with its Westernization and linkage with the United States. The intention in the following pages is to compare and contrast the Iran of the Pahlavi regime and the Iran of the Islamic Republic.
Interestingly enough, the birth of the Pahlavi dynasty is associated with European politics and the conflict between the West and communism. The West has long had an influence on what happens in the Middle East. The starting point was an agreement between the British and the Persians which recognized an independent Iran. However, it also provided for British dominance of the region, which caused the Iranian Parliament to reject the agreement. This left the country somewhat in chaos, with incursions from the north by Bolshevik forces. Ultimately, however, neither communist nor Western imperialist was to win out. What happened was that one of the leaders of an old style Cossack brigade took control of the government. This man was Reza Khan. Eventually he named himself shah, deposing the previous shah, and established what became the Pahlavi dynasty. That dynasty extended from 1921 until its overthrow in 1979 (Lewis, 1995; Mottahedeh, 1985).
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took control of the country in 1941. His basic orientation was to the West, and he became closer to the United States throughout his reign. The one real threat to his power occurred in 1953 when he almost lost control to a coalition of activists headed by Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh was a strong nationalist, leader of a movement that represented the basic thrust...