Geopolitics Quarterly

Geopolitics Quarterly

The Role of Events and Power Struggle in Shaping the Islamic Political Order in Post-Revolutionary Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Hadi Salehi 1
Mohammad Ali Tavana 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Law and International Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Associate Professor of Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
10.22034/igq.2025.534114.2054
Abstract
How was the political order formed in Iran after the 1979 revolution? The dominant narrative emphasizes that this order arose from the Islamic nature of the Iranian revolution and was the most natural order possible. In contrast, there is another narrative that considers the order to be the result of the power struggle in the post-revolutionary space. By designing a simple theoretical model, the present article analyzes the role of the ideological field, political and social events, and the actions of rival groups in the formation of the post-revolutionary political order, and therefore attempts to present a new reading of the second narrative. Based on the findings of this research, in the ideological (space) field after the revolution, there was a relative balance of power and no group could dominate its ideas alone and at once. According to this research, each event led to the formation of a coalition of supporters and opponents, and the conflict between these two coalitions played a fundamental role in the formation of the post-revolutionary political order. Also, these coalitions were not fixed; that is, they changed with each event. Meanwhile, the jurisprudential Islamists, through temporary alliances with other rivals; institution-building - such as the establishment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Revolutionary Council, and the Islamic Republic Party - and ultimately closeness to Imam Khomeini, gradually transformed their ideas - such as the Islamic Republic, the principle of Velayat al-Faqih, and the fundamentalist Islamization of Iranian society - into the hard core of the post-revolutionary Iranian political order, while the ideological differences between the leftists (Marxists) and the nationalists were so fundamental that they could not even have common ideas. Although at the beginning of the revolution, the nationalists and Islamic liberals collaborated with the jurisprudential Islamists, they did not succeed in introducing any ideas into the hard core of the political order. On the other hand, the leftists achieved success in one case; namely, they succeeded in transforming the idea of ​​fighting imperialism and anti-Westernism into part of the hard core of the political order.
Keywords
Political Order
Iranian Revolution of 1979
Jurisprudential Islamists
Power Struggle
Events
Coalition
Institutionalization
Subjects
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4.       Islamic Republican Party (2008). Mavaze'-e Ma (Our Positions). Tehran: Jomhuri-ye Eslami Newspaper Publications.

5.       Jebhe Melli-ye Iran (National Front of Iran) (1978). "Osoul-e Hadafha-ye Jebhe Melli-ye Iran (Principles and Goals of the National Front of Iran)." N.p., n.d.

6.       Mojahed (1981). Year 2, No. 120, May 14, 1981.

7.       Mojahed (A) (1979). "Shoor-e Zedd-e Imperialisti-ye Khalq-e Ghahraman-e Iran, Kharooshantar Bad (The Anti-Imperialist Uprising of the Heroic Iranian People, May It Grow Stronger)." Year 1, No. 10, November 12, 1979.

8.       Mojahed (B) (1979). "Rohaniyat-e Shi'eh bar Sar-e Do Raha-ye Tarikhi (Shi'ite Clergy at a Historical Crossroads)." No. 7, October 22, 1979.

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10.    Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (1979). "Biyaniyeh-ye Mojahedin-e Khalq-e Iran Darbareh-ye Zarourat-e Tashkil-e Majles-e Mo'assessan az Tariq-e Entekhabat-e Omoumi-ye Sarasehri (Statement of the Mojahedin-e Khalq of Iran Regarding the Necessity of Forming a Constituent Assembly Through Nationwide General Elections)." N.p.: Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization Publications.

11.    Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (n.d.). "Biyaniyeh-ye Mojahedin-e Khalq-e Iran Darbareh-ye Referandom va Entezarat-e Marhale'i az Jomhuri-ye Eslami (Statement of the Mojahedin-e Khalq of Iran Regarding the Referendum and Stage-by-Stage Expectations of the Islamic Republic)." N.p., n.d.

12.    Movement of Muslim Women (1982). Mavaze'-e Nehzat-e Azadi (Positions of the Freedom Movement). Tehran: N.p.

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Geopolitics Quarterly
Volume 22, Issue 2
Spring 2026
Pages 287-321

  • Receive Date 25 July 2025
  • Revise Date 10 November 2025
  • Accept Date 21 November 2025