Contemporary Research on the Islamic Revolution

Today, the approach of separating spirituality from religion in modern spirituality, in competition with spirituality derived from established religions, is prevalent. One of the key foundations of this approach is the liberalism towards Western readings. The present study aims to critique the basis of liberalism in separating spirituality from religion in order to clarify the fundamental flaws of this approach and the inadequacy of its results in providing for human spiritual life. In this regard, the works of Allamah Tabataba’i, as one of the greatest interpreters of Islamic teachings, have been extensively utilized. To this aim, data collection was done through library research and information processing using descriptive-analytical method with a critical approach. According to the findings, liberalism towards Western readings, rooted in individualistic humanism, is ineffective in the foundation of human spiritual life regarding the three major criticisms. Firstly, absolute freedom, which is the basis and component of the approach of separating spirituality from religion, is unattainable and non-existent. Then, freedom is not the ultimate goal but a tool to achieve genuine and true spirituality, and finally, rights-based approaches, considered as consequences of liberalism, are in contrast and on the other hand, duty-based approaches are the crucial basis for achieving true spirituality and without it, it is unimaginable.

General policies in any country act as a guiding light indicating the path to progress. In Iran, 41 general policies have been formulated and announced from the year 1377 until now. One of the vital among them is the general policies of the resistance economy. Achieving the goals of these policies is subject to precise and targeted planning. One of the crucial aspects of planning in the country is the five-year development plans. The Seventh Five-Year Development Plan for the years 1402-1406 has been approved while more than a decade has passed since the announcement of the general policies of the resistance economy. It is clear that the more crystallized the measures of the resistance economy in the Seventh Development Plan, the less the hope for reduction of Iran's economic challenges. In the second phase statement, the characteristics of an economy in balance with the revolutionary system have been specified. In the revolutionary system, a strong economy is not the goal but an important and effective means without which the goals of the revolutionary system cannot be achieved. A strong economy leads to internal satisfaction of the people and the impenetrability of the revolutionary system, and vice versa. Therefore, the question arises as to ‘What are the characteristics of an economy in balance statement for creating a revolutionary system?’ The second phase statement introduces an independent economy as part of the revolutionary system. To achieve this independent economy, the implementation of the policies of the resistance economy in the second phase statement has been proposed as a solution. Now the important question arises as to ‘Whether the Seventh Development Plan, in its economic dimensions, guarantees the implementation of the policies of the resistance economy to achieve an independent economy as a crucial and determining variable for creating a revolutionary system or not?’ The present study aims to answer this question by exploring the policies of the resistance economy and focusing on the 24 dimensions and chapters of the Seventh Development Plan. Based on the results, the Seventh Development Plan has covered 86% of the expectations of the general policies of the resistance economy and 14% of the points of the general policies of the resistance economy were not included in the Seventh Plan and were not addressed. 

The fulfilling of justice and hence political justice as the primary goal of the Islamic Republic of Iran faces challenges as it is perceived as a significant obstacle to achieving this goal and, on the other hand, poses a threat to the efficiency of the system. Therefore, the present study focuses on the topic of law in response to the main question: ‘What challenges does the Islamic Republic of Iran face in achieving political justice in the legal sphere?’ By utilizing the conceptual framework of political justice and employing a descriptive-analytical method, the research aims to evaluate the progressive challenges of the Islamic Republic based on the current status of political justice. The findings indicated that while the conditions for equality at the level of legislation are relatively favorable, the elements of equality are not well realized at the levels of implementation and monitoring. The failure to apply and promote the element of competence in law-making is considered a barrier to achieving political justice. 

The present study aims to explore and explain the collapse of Pahlavi II using the destabilizing state theory. The reasons for the collapse of the said government have been analyzed based on historical documents and the destabilizing state theory. The paper portrays the subject by scrutinizing historical reasons and evidence found in credible sources. The fundamental issue is the identification of factors and explaining their role in the collapse. The indicators of the destabilizing state theory have been used to examine and explain various historical data. This research, based on library sources, memoirs, documents, and newspapers, and a descriptive-analytical qualitative method, aims to answer the question of ‘Which variables involved in the collapse of the Pahlavi II government are based on the destabilizing state theory and why did the Pahlavi government collapse?’ The results indicated that the variables involved in the collapse of the Pahlavi regime include: Legitimacy crisis, inefficiency in providing public services, law evasion accompanied by violence, coercion and suppression, infiltration of the SAVAK security forces, foreign interventions, especially by the United States, demographic pressure, migration from villages to cities and particularly to Tehran, superiority and decisiveness of revolutionary forces, undeveloped economic structure, rapid and erratic economic growth, and financial corruption. 

The Constitutional Revolution is of great importance regarding its direct impact on the political system and legal developments in contemporary Iran, as well as the changing relations between the rulers and the people. One of the important issues is the transformation in the position of the king and his rights, powers, and responsibilities in the legal sources of the constitutional era; with the focus of the constitutional revolutionaries on curbing despotism and ultimately drafting and promulgating the constitutional law and its supplements, efforts were made to separate the three branches of the legislative, executive, and judicial powers and prevent the concentration of power in the person of the king by establishing new institutions. However, a reflection on the process of political and legal transformations in the subsequent stages of the constitutional era until the Islamic Revolution reveals the crystallization and continuation of old despotism within the framework of the constitutional system, from the period of minor despotism to the Pahlavi era, where absolute rule of the king was not based on law but enforced through the law. Hence, considering that the philosophy behind the drafting of the constitutional law and its supplements fundamentally aimed to limit the despotism of the monarchy, while witnessing the reappearance and reproduction of despotism in the subsequent stages of the constitutional era until the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the question arises: ‘What role did the constitutional law and its principles play in the reproduction of despotism during the Pahlavi period?’ The present study aims to examine the hypothesis that with the infiltration of the monarchist movement, both overt and covert, in the drafting of the constitutional law and its supplements, the previous powers and authorities of the king were preserved in various principles of the constitutional law and its supplements, and under favorable conditions and based on these principles, the despotism of the monarchy was reproduced.

Land and "Land Policy" have always been important social issues that are related to and dependent on the policies and governance models of different countries. In contemporary Iranian history, the issue of land has always been an unresolved matter and a focus of the government's attention. The significance and sensitivity of this issue led policymakers to immediately address it after the Islamic Revolution, and the specific legal, social, and political concerns in this area prompted the formulation and implementation of a new policy for land distribution in rural areas of the country. Given the importance of this topic, the central theme of this research is the transformations that occurred in the field of rural land ownership in Iran under the influence of the Islamic Revolution, with the main goal of examining the impact that the phenomenon of the Iranian Islamic Revolution had on land policy in Iran. Therefore, the main question of this article is ‘What was the land policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in rural areas and on what principles, foundations, and implementation methods was it based?’ In response to this question, using a comparative method, we have addressed the land policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in rural areas and ultimately examined this policy by presenting a model.