ARMENIA
AZERBAIJAN
KAZAKHSTAN
TURKEY
Iran
Caspian
Sea
Tehran
AFGHANISTAN
IR AN
IRAQ
PAKISTAN
KUWAIT
SAUDI
ARABIA
Arabian Sea
Economic Traits
Federal or Unitary?
■
■
■
■
■ Unitary, but divided into 30 provinces
Lesser developed country
Visible middle class, concentrated in large cities
GDP/capita-PPP (2009 est.): $11,7506
Minimally globalized economy
Political Culture
■ Relatively collectivistic, but less so than other
Middle Eastern countries
■ Political values more supportive of democracy
than those of many neighboring countries
■ Difficult to ascertain political system legitimacy
Identity Traits
■ Population
❏ Approx. 75 million
❏ Estimates differ significantly depending on
source
■ Ethnic groups
❏ Approximately half Persian
❏ One-quarter Azeri (concentrated in areas
bordering Azerbaijan)
❏ Sizeable Kurdish minority
■ Languages
❏ More than half speak Persian
❏ A little more than one-quarter speak Azeri or
another Turkic language
■ Religions
❏ Almost entirely Muslim
❏ 90% Shiite and 10% Sunni
Political System
■ Authoritarian theocracy; some comparativists
consider it a semi-authoritarian system because
of its elected president and legislature
Presidential or Parliamentary System?
■ Presidential, with a dual executive approach
(Supreme Leader and president)
Chief Executive
■ Head of government: President
❏ Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, since August 2005
❏ Next election scheduled for mid 2009
❏ Less powerful than the Supreme Leader
■ Head of state: Supreme Leader
❏ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, since 1989
■ Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and
Assembly of Experts also perform important
executive functions
National Legislature
■ Islamic Consultative Assembly
❏ Majles-e-Shora-ye Eslami (Majles [sometimes
spelled Majlis])
❏ Next election scheduled for the spring of 2012
Judiciary
■ Supreme Court
❏ Highest appeals court
❏ Does not review cases against clergy, which
are handled by a separate judicial body, the
Special Clerical Court
■ Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and the
Supreme Leader play a role in reviewing laws
passed by the Majles
■ The Head of the Judiciary has significant powers
❏ Appoints half of the members of the Guardian Council and all members of the Supreme
Court
6
Source: International Monetary Fund World Economic
Outlook Database, April 2008
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❏ Supreme Leader appoints the Head of the
Judiciary to a five year term
precedence over many small and constantly
changing political parties and organizations
Interest Group System
Broad Ideological Blocs
■ Mixed system with elements of pluralist, corpo-
■ Hardliners (sometimes called “conservatives” or
ratist, and state-run interest group systems
National Legislative Electoral System
■ Members of the Majles are selected through
modified majority system, with a threshold
requirement for candidates to avoid a runoff
❏ Many single-member districts
❏ The district that includes Tehran has 30 representatives and its voters can vote for up to 30
candidates
❏ Small number of seats are reserved for religious minorities
Political Party System
■ Loosely constructed electoral alliances that give
“principlists”)
■ Pragmatic conservatives
■ Moderates
Other Important Features
■ Often labeled the Islamic Republic of Iran
■ Iran’s theocratic system has been in place since
1979
■ Guardian Council uses its power to review candi-
dates for the Majles in order to prevent candidates from running who support reform of Iran’s
theocratic system
■ The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) took a large toll on
both countries
supporters lists of preferred candidates take
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