Wood On Iran - Ap Comparative Gov't

Front 1

theocracy

Back 1

gov't ruled strictly by religion

Front 2

secularization

Back 2

belief that religion and gov't should be separated

Front 3

Zoroastrianism

Back 3

state-sponsored religion during era of Persian sovereigns

Front 4

Shiism

Back 4

brand of Islam that believes in hereditary imams and was established as state religion in 16th century by Ismail, reestablished as state religion today

Front 5

Ismail

Back 5

founder of the Safavid Empire

Front 6

Sunni

Back 6

brand of Islam that favored choosing the caliph from the leadership

Front 7

Hidden Imam

Back 7

the 12th descendant imam that disappeared as a child in the 9th century, someday to return

Front 8

Pahlavi

Back 8

authoritarian leaders, or shahs in the 20th century

Front 9

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Back 9

the charismatic leader who, in 1979, powerful religious/political leader who led the revolution of 1979

Front 10

Revolution of 1979

Back 10

led by Ayatollah Khomeini, event that transformed the legitimacy of the state to anchor it in the principals of Shiism

Front 11

Constitution of 1979

Back 11

document that legitimizes the current state, mixing theocracy and democracy

Front 12

Muhammad Khatami

Back 12

President of Iran from 1997-2005 - reformers who supported a democratic gov't gained power

Front 13

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Back 13

current Iranian President, elected in 2005 - conservatives who endorsed theocracy took control

Front 14

Qom

Back 14

city south of Tehran where the conflict between reformers and conservatives is reflected in the seminaries

Front 15

authoritarianism

Back 15

began with Safavid Empire, central political leaders controlled gov't but not all areas of people's lives. People payed attention to local leaders and lived own lives.

Front 16

union of political and religious authority

Back 16

from the days of ancient Persians, political and religious leaders were the same. Qajars separated them, but Revolution of 1979 brought them back together.

Front 17

sharia

Back 17

Islamic law

Front 18

Shiism + sharia

Back 18

almost all Iranians are Shiite, so sharia gives gov't legitimacy

Front 19

geographic limitations

Back 19

due to geographic limitations (desert and mountains), early Persians had to expand, causing uneven distribution of population

Front 20

influence of ancient Persia

Back 20

people identify themselves as Persian rather than Arabic

Front 21

Assembly of Religious Experts

Back 21

Assembly that drew up 1979 constitution, giving power to Ayatollah. In current gov't,
democratically elected 86-man house given authority of constitutional interpretation. They elect the Supreme Leader and can dismiss him.

Front 22

Baha'i

Back 22

broad Islam minority religion in Iran

Front 23

Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1909

Back 23

revolution against Qajar shah to create a more democratic and liberal state. more secularization as well.

Front 24

Cultural Revolution

Back 24

after the 1979 revolution, a "cleansing" of all foreign and secular influences from Iran

Front 25

Economics is for donkeys

Back 25

the Ayatollah's focus on only the religious aspects of politics

Front 26

jurist's guardianship (velayat-e-faqih)

Back 26

control of the senior clergy over all of society

Front 27

fundamentalism

Back 27

emphasizes literal interpretation of the Islamic texts

Front 28

Ali Khamenei

Back 28

Khomeini's sucessor as supreme leader

Front 29

white coup

Back 29

bloodless coup. under Ahmedinejad, his assertion of theocratic values by appealin to Iranian nationalism

Front 30

"Tehran spring"

Back 30

under Khatami, a period of cautious political liberalization, limited by conservative powers. Stopped after Khatami left office.

Front 31

"equality with difference"

Back 31

policy towards women, meaning divorce and custody laws follow Islamic standards, which favor males.

Front 32

Pahlavi

Back 32

the dynasty started in the 1920s by Reza Khan, lost power in 1979

Front 33

Reza Khan

Back 33

started Pahlavi Dynasty in the 20s

Front 34

People of the Book

Back 34

religions that are monotheistic and follow a holy book - Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism

Front 35

Muhammad Reza Shah

Back 35

took power after his father in 1941 - Pahlavi ruler. Started White Revolution.

Front 36

White Revolution

Back 36

started by the second Pahlavi shah, an attempt to liberalize Iran and prevent communism

Front 37

Pahlavi Foundation

Back 37

a patronage system set up to keep the shah in power with lots of $$

Front 38

Tudeh Party

Back 38

communist party in Iran that challenged Pahlavi shah

Front 39

National Front

Back 39

party led my Muhammad Mosaddeq, attempted to nationalize the Iranian oil industry

Front 40

rentier state

Back 40

state dependent on foreign expenditures

Front 41

Resurgence Party

Back 41

Muhammad Reza Shah's new one-party state

Front 42

Khordad Front

Back 42

alliance of reformist opposition parties that won reelection for Khatami in 2000 but was banned in the Majles election of 2004

Front 43

Mojahedin

Back 43

guerilla party that fought the shah's regime

Front 44

Fedayin

Back 44

Marxist guerilla group

Front 45

Rafsanjani

Back 45

former president with moderate and pragmatic views, leader of the Executives of Construction Party. chairman of Assembly of Religious Experts

Front 46

Islamic Society of Engineers

Back 46

Ahmedinejad's conservative party

Front 47

Iranian Militant Clerics Society

Back 47

left-wing pro-reform party led by former president Khatami

Front 48

Islamic Iran Participation Front

Back 48

led by Khatami's brother

Front 49

Worker's House

Back 49

interest group for factory workers that has a newspaper - support the Islamic Labor Party

Front 50

Expediency Council

Back 50

referee of the disputes of the Guardian Council and the Majles

Front 51

faqih

Back 51

leading Islamic jurist to interpret meaning of Islamic documents and sharia law

Front 52

Guardian Council

Back 52

consists of 12 clerics, 6 appointed by Supreme Leader and 6 by the chief judge. reviews bills from the Majles to ensure conformity with sharia.

Front 53

jurist's guardianship (current)

Back 53

the Supreme Leader + Guardian Council - makes sure democratic bodies adhere to Islamic beliefs & laws

Front 54

revolution of rising expectations

Back 54

revolutions are most likely to occur when people are doing better than they once were, but some type of setback happens