IRANIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM: “MULLOCRACY?”
Abstract
The definition of the Iranian political system which was structured after the 1979 Iranian Revolution has long been a matter of controversy among the political scientists. Although Iran is a self-declared Islamic Republic, scholars used or coined various terms such as democratic theocracy, oligarchic theocracy, and religious tyranny to define it. Iran has democratic institutions such as parliament and constitution, but the configuration of them does not make up a liberal democracy. This article analyzes Iranian political system by using the terms of comparative political science and seeks to define it. It examines major Iranian political institutions established after the 1979 Revolution and eventually concludes that the sui generis Iranian political system can be best defined with the term “mullocracy (government of the mullahs)” as the mullas hold the ultimate political power in the country.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
İsmail Kurun
NECMETTİN ERBAKAN ÜNİVERSİTESİ, SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ, SİYASET BİLİMİ VE KAMU YÖNETİMİ (DR)
Türkiye
Publication Date
January 31, 2017
Submission Date
January 11, 2017
Acceptance Date
-
Published in Issue
Year 2017 Volume: 15 Number: 1