iran terms Flashcards
basij
the people’s volunteer militia; poorly equipped; fueled by religion and nationalism; controlled by supreme leader; play a role in politics
From Mrs. Hawkins → They were used to break up the Green Movement protests you saw in the film
dual executive
system with president, prime minister, and cabinet; semi presidential; head of gov + head of state
From Mrs. Hawkins → in general, dual executive means the head of state and head of government are different people. UK, RUS, China and Iran all have dual executives; Nigeria and Mexico have single executives
election system for the Majles
directly elected; combo of SMD and MMD; in SMD districts, if nobody gets over 25% of the vote there is a runoff; in MMD voters vote for each seat, runoffs if needed; guardian council can block canidates
election system for president
two-round run-off between the top two candidates unless one wins a majority first round
From Mrs. Hawkins → all candidates are screened by the Guardian Council. Majority required like Russia
role of expediency council
appointed by the supreme leader for 5-year terms; final decision cannot be overturned; restricts majles
role of the guardian council
reviews legislation from majles to make sure it fits islam; can send legislation back for revision; expediency council mediates; serve 6 year phased terms; 6 members are lawyers appointed by cheif justice and approved by majles; 6 are religious law clerics appointed by supreme leader
significance of islamic/iranian revolution
overthrew shah; hoping for democratic republic, got more authoritarianism; stressed relations with US; hostage crisis; chaos of revolution prompted iran-iraq war
From Mrs. Hawkins → Relatively nonviolent with widespread support. Example of regime change. From authoritarian monarchy to an authoritarian theocracy.
jurist guardianship/cleric rule
govern by clergy; continues political system from Muhammad; only way to govern “consistent with god”
role of majles
limited amount of authority; initiating/passing legislation in accordance with god; budget management; approving members of cabinet; can remove cabinet members with vote of no confidence; important role in local politics
resource trap
when a country with lots of resources is made poorer instead of richer; the money goes to those in power; non-diversified economy
significance of 2009 presidential election
accusations of election fraud caused protests/deaths; opposition (mousavi) arrested; formation of “green wave” calling for more rights; ahmadinejad “won” and people hated him
role of supreme leader
most powerful office; serves for life; “upholds religious duty”; commander in chief; appoints chief justice; control over state-owned businesses; can’t be checked by other branches; theoretically chosen by assembly of experts
theocracy
a style of government where religious elite dominate the regime; iran follows islam; clerics are chosen as gov officials
