Social and Political Transformation in Iran Since 1979: The Role of Islam by Shah Alam

Author:Shah Alam [Alam, Shah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Middle Eastern, Political Science, World
ISBN: 9789384464745
Google: N3basgEACAAJ
Publisher: Vij Books India Pvt Limited
Published: 2015-01-15T13:49:37+00:00

ECONOMY IN THE POST-REVOLUTION

IRAN

The Revolutionary regime had sought to reshape economic policies. One of the basic thrust of the Islamic Revolution was to end the economic dependency on the US and West, and to be self-reliant economically. The Islamic regime debated the role of the state in the economy and the limits of private property rights.1 In the process of formulation of economy policy, the Iranian leaders and theoreticians had to resolve the issue of private property rights.

The resolution of the Ashura march (11 December 1978) served as a reflection of the economic orientation of the revolutionary movement. The resolution demanded, “honourable economic independence, rejuvenation of agriculture and independent development of industries to the limits of self-sufficiency and liberation from dependence from foreign domination, and an end to exploitation and colonialisation of, and dependence on, imperialism of East and West.”2 The Islamic Revolution’s slogan “Islam and independence” was also reflected in its formulation of its economic policies in the post-Revolution Iran.

The dominant tendency in the Islamic Republic, however, followed a populist-statist orientation. It emphasized the role of mostazafin (the oppressed) and perceived the Islamic Republic as an interventionist state that would impose extensive limitations on private property rights. The mixed-economy was adopted by the revolutionary regime. According to Article 44, the economy consists of state, co-operative, and private sectors, in that order. Such as the constitution of Islamic Republic reflects the Iranian Revolution as a movements aimed at the triumph of the oppressed and deprived over the oppressor.

The Revolution, decline in oil revenue, Iran-Iraq War, economic mismanagement, population growth, and political instability had led to major structural crisis in the Iranian economy. The crisis affected Iran’s economic growth, per capita income, trade, and virtually every other aspect of its economy. The war with Iraq and the glut in the international oil market, from 1985 to 1989, and since 1993, aggravated the economic crisis. The Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War had negative impact on Iran’s economic growth. The economy of this period can be called war-managed economy. After Iran-Iraq War, Iran faced many problems at domestic level: infrastructure problem, erratic real economic growth, a steady rising population, and declining per capita income.

Iran’s external trade was severely affected as a result of the Revolution. The drop in the oil revenues and decline in the total exports affected the economy as a whole because oil was the main source of revenue. Iran’s near total dependence on oil and gas related exports for foreign income, its growing dependence on exports, its growing trade deficit and problems with its current account showed its sever economic crisis.

To cope up with these problems, Iran moved to adopt from unplanned economy to planned economy. First economic plan was initiated in 1989/90. Rafsanjani and his supporters sought to implement their strategy of reconstruction. It was consisted of several integrated elements: economic reconstruction and development, economic reform of highly distorted economy, and an economic opening to the outside world. Economic reform implied a clear-cut rejection of the political economy of the radicals.

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