The hardline conservatives have been a mainstay as one of the most influential factions in Iranian politics. Since the inception of Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the hardliners have successfully expanded their power in the non-elected bodies of the Iranian regime, headed by the ideological leader of their movement, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, the Iranians have not had nearly as much luck in obtaining control of the elected bodies in Iran. Since the Revolution, the hardliners have had difficulty in gaining control the presidency as well as the Iranian parliament. These hardliners define their movements by five particular stances: supporting the absolute rule of the supreme leader, combatting the internal threats of the reformist
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These sweeping victories were the result of a concerted effort by Iranian elites to create a reaction to the reformist policies proposed by the preceding president, Mohammad Khatami. Khatami threatened the Iranian regime by proposing policies that went contrary to the five principles of the hardliner movement, particularly his engagement with the western world, his movement away from Islamic Iran and towards cultural modernity, and his economic policies that increase the gap between the rich and poor. Today, we see a similar situation unfolding, as the current president, Hassan Rouhani, seeks to open up contact with the western world. This paper seeks to find the factors that precipitated the rise of the hardliner movement in the early 2000s and whether those factors are found in Iran today under Rouhani, which would indicate a future hardliner …show more content…
Because of this, the hardliners resorted to their domination of the unelected bodies of the Iranian regime to stifle his reformist agenda. The clearest example of these legislative fights between the Iranian elected and unelected bodies was the battle over Khatami’s ‘twin bills’. These bills were introduced on the heels of Khatami’s victory in the presidential election of 2001, where he gathered almost 77% percent of the popular vote. The first bill sought to introduce small, but key changes to the Iranian electoral process, specifically limiting the power of the Guardian Council to disqualify certain candidates. The second bill moved to clearly
These sweeping victories were the result of a concerted effort by Iranian elites to create a reaction to the reformist policies proposed by the preceding president, Mohammad Khatami. Khatami threatened the Iranian regime by proposing policies that went contrary to the five principles of the hardliner movement, particularly his engagement with the western world, his movement away from Islamic Iran and towards cultural modernity, and his economic policies that increase the gap between the rich and poor. Today, we see a similar situation unfolding, as the current president, Hassan Rouhani, seeks to open up contact with the western world. This paper seeks to find the factors that precipitated the rise of the hardliner movement in the early 2000s and whether those factors are found in Iran today under Rouhani, which would indicate a future hardliner …show more content…
Because of this, the hardliners resorted to their domination of the unelected bodies of the Iranian regime to stifle his reformist agenda. The clearest example of these legislative fights between the Iranian elected and unelected bodies was the battle over Khatami’s ‘twin bills’. These bills were introduced on the heels of Khatami’s victory in the presidential election of 2001, where he gathered almost 77% percent of the popular vote. The first bill sought to introduce small, but key changes to the Iranian electoral process, specifically limiting the power of the Guardian Council to disqualify certain candidates. The second bill moved to clearly