1: Introduction

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The Iranian Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 manifested the apparent contradictions of a religious authority replacing secular rulers in a country that was part of the modern capitalist world-system. The formation of the Islamic Republic was an unexpected event in the 20th century and the establishment of a form of theocracy in which a religious hierarchy managed the state. This created a paradox: the state appeared to be both anti-Western and religious – and so involving a medieval ideology – yet it is functioning within the international capitalist system. Hence, the Revolution and its outcome continue to pose several questions that have preoccupied scholars, students and the interested public. Why did the Revolution occur? How could Islamists take over power and manage the modern state for over 40 years? What is the nature of the Islamic Republic?

By 1979 the Iranian economy and society had gone through significant transformation, with industrialization, urbanization and expansion of the educational system – for example, the literacy rate increased from 12 per cent in 1950 to 36 per cent in 1979. This figure, according to UNESCO, increased in 2016 to 86 per cent – 90 per cent male and 81 per cent female (see http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/ir).

This book attempts to interrogate the relationship between Islam and theocracy on the one hand, and Iran’s trajectory of capitalist development on the other. It aims to clarify various confusions and mystifications about the Islamic Republic of Iran, focusing on how Islam as an ideology has been made consistent with capitalist development from 1979 to the present day.

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