The thesis focuses on the Islamic Revolution of Iran by a comparative analysis of the monarchy regimes before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Although there is little doubt that the transformation of Imperial Iran to the Islamic Republic has played a vital catalyst in redrawing the "greater" Middle Eastern geopolitics ever since this thesis aims to compare the historical development of Iran during the monarchy and the effect of the revolutionary institutions brought on the Iranian society. Despite the extensive amount of resources used in this thesis being both from Iran and abroad, the author has made every effort to reduce the effects of the influences whether from the overzealous defenders of monarchy or the die-hard revolutionaries to a bare minimum and allow the facts on their own to project the picture through an objective lens. The goal of the thesis is for the objective research and comparison to try and provide a factual answer to the million-dollar question, whether the revolution was for better or for worse.

Iran´s reactions often seem very controlversial and inapprehensive to the western countries, therefore Iranian Islamic Republic represents an inscrutable actor in the international field. Construstivism introduces a new approach to this issue and it suggests not to consider Iran as an usual rational actor but to take into account the ideological factors as well. This paper deals with the construstivistic analysis of the foreign policy of the Iranian Islamic Republic towards the West and tries to answer the question if there is a role of the Iranian national identity in forming of the Iran´s foreign policy.

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During the ongoing Islamic rule in Iran, the school system has changed several times since the Islamic Revolution that occurred in 1979. As the kingdom fell and political fundamentalists assumed power in Iran, religion has become a focal point of reference in Iranian textbooks. The aim of this study is to find out how the school system was affected and what the main changes were after the revolution. By doing a qualitative textual analysis, the author expects to answer the primary question related to Iran’s educational policy through various research questions such as: how and why did the school system in Iran change after 1979? To fulfill the purpose of the research, the theoretical aim of the study will be based on Michael Gibbon's perspective of knowledge production. Where I will discuss the role of knowledge production in relation to political interests. All Persian words and concepts that will be presented in the study will be written with a Swedish translation for the sake of the reader. This is because the written language differs. The author is responsible for all translations of this essay.

The struggle of the Kurdish nation in Iran entered a new phase of modern nationalist movement since World War II, especially since the establishment of the Society for the Revival of Kurdistan (J.K.) in 1942. The J.K. was then transformed into the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which later changed its name to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in 1945. This dissertation addresses a major gap in the existing research about the study of Iranian Kurdish nationalism spearheaded by the PDKI. Offering a historical sociology, the dissertation argues that this movement should be understood within the context of the state-building process in Iran and nationalist and national liberation movements in the world. It offers, for the first time and in any language, the most extensively researched and detailed history of the PDKI, its struggles for Kurdish national rights, its programs, organizational structure, political strategies, achievements, internal conflicts, numerous splits and unifications, women’s status within it, and its relations with other parties. It critically analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the PDKI. The methodological components include: literature review, discourse analysis, content analysis, snowball sampling, in-depth, open-ended interviews with 29 high-ranking activists, archival research, fieldwork conducted in the Iraqi Kurdistan and in Europe, Internet research, and statistical data. Sources used were in English, Persian, Kurdish, and Turkish. While the PDKI has championed a democratic Kurdish nationalist movement, it has heavily undermined the democratic principles within and outside the party and underestimated women’s potential within the movement. In order for the PDKI to re-emerge as a party in sync with our times, it needs to undergo a radical reform and democratize its internal and external relations. / Graduate / 2023-08-22

L’objectif de cette thèse de doctorat consiste à étudier les évolutions dans les discours des leaders politiques et religieux au Liban exprimés publiquement mais aussi en cercle restreint durant la quinzaine d’années du conflit qui débute en 1975 et ne termine qu’en 1989 avec les accords de Taëf. Le travail porte sur une présentation et une analyse des projets politiques proposés pour le Liban par plusieurs personnalités provenant de différents partis politiques dans le pays durant la période étudiée. L’originalité de l’approche est de regrouper deux partis politiques qui s’opposent fortement, mais qui adoptent une idéologie établie sur des fondements communs. A partir de supports écrits, radiophoniques et télévisuels ainsi qu’avec l’aide d’entretiens que nous avions réalisés au cours de nos recherches au Liban et en France, nous étudions les projets politiques élaborés au Liban entre 1975-1989. Nos analyses dévoilent une évolution dans l’approche de la part d’acteurs confessionnels et politiques libanais d’influence quant à leur vision de l’avenir de la configuration politique de leur pays tout en se situant, d’une manière ou d’une autre, par rapport au Pacte national de 1943 ainsi que du rôle qu’ils envisagent pour eux-mêmes. / The objective of this PhD dissertation is to study the evolution in the different discourse of political and religious leaders in Lebanon expressed in public as well as within closed circles during the fifteen years of conflict which began in 1975 and finished in 1989 with the Taif Agreement. This dissertation centers on a presentation and an analysis of the political projects proposed for Lebanon by several leading personalities coming from different political parties in the country during the period studied here. The originality of the approach is to group together two political parties which strongly oppose one another but which adopt an ideology based on shared criteria. Based on written documents as well as radio and televised programs and press conferences in addition to interviews which we have conducted in Lebanon and in France, we studied the political projects which were developed in Lebanon during 1975-1989. Our analyses reveal an evolution in the approach on the part of Lebanese religious and political persons of influence vis-à-vis their vision for the future regarding the political configuration of their country, all the while with respect to their strategic positioning in relation to the National Pact of 1943 as well as the role which they envision for themselves.

The aim of the thesis is to classify the form of political leadership and domination in Shia islam's political ideology, their development and ability to succeed in political reality. I especially focus on the Shia understanding of political power and its connection to infallible Imam as secular and religious leader of the Shia community. For analysis of the concepts I use the description of early Islam, including the Shia reasons for the dissolution of Muslim ummah, as well as the reasons that led to the multiple division of Shiism. I analyse specific examples of ideological break up of the Shia community (Ithnasharia, Isma'ila, Hashashins, Alawi, Duryz and modern Islamic Republic of Iran) and finally cardinal reformulation of understanding of political leadership and domination by Ayatollah Khomeini. His concept Wilājat al-faqīh (Guardianship of the jurist) started the era of radical transformation of the Shia political ideology, although he wanted only to modernize it and not to establish a brand new set up. My aspiration is therefore to analyze whether Wilājat al-faqīh can still be seen as the return to the roots of traditional Shiism or if it has a new quality without connection to previous Shia history.

American Foreign Policy towards Iran: 2006-2010 author: Daniel Soukop date: 16 May 2013 Abstract In the long term, relations between the United States and Iran can be painted as complicated, tense and hostile. This diploma thesis analyzes the American foreign policy towards Iran between 2006 and 2010. This time period was essential for American-Iranian relations for several reasons. First, the American rhetoric towards Iran got significantly intense during the George W. Bush administration. It started with the Bush's "Axis of Evil" and peaked with the National Security Strategy of 2006, according to which the United States were aiming at a complete change of Iranian internal and external behavior, and were ready to use all means necessary to achieve this ultimate objective. The highest Iranian leaders consequently gave in to paranoia and under the fear of losing their own power brought Iran into an even more defensive position, although the United States needed the direct opposite. Second, in February 2006, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) handed over the issue regarding the Iranian nuclear program to the UN Security Council. Thereby the United States got an opportunity to push for multilateral sanctions on Iran. Third, at the beginning of 2009, the United States awaited the change of...

<p>The Islamic Republic of Iran‟s alleged pursuit of nuclear missile capabilities is proving in-creasingly problematic for the international community, which places the country in a sig-nificant position in world politics. In turn, the world‟s attention towards the thirty-year-old Republic established by the late Ayatollah Khomeini has resurged. The Republic of Iran based on Ayatollah Khomeini‟s interpretation of Islam has long stood in the spotlight of both public and scholastic scrutiny, particularly due to its perceivably radical manoeuvres on the international stage. However, as the focus of these scrutinizing views has been the Iranian unwillingness to subdue and conform to western norms, the issue of the „<em>Islamicness‟ </em>of the Republic has been overlooked.</p><p>Hence, this thesis seeks to draw further attention to this question - whether Iran can truly be regarded as an Islamic State - in order to ensure a deeper and more accurate under-standing of the Republic of Iran. The purpose of this paper is thus to investigate and re-flect on the theory of Islamic governance promoted by Ayatollah Khomeini and the politi-cal system of the Islamic Republic through the prism of Islamic history. The theory of the Islamic State and the Shia Islamic leadership has been and continues to be central in Aya-tollah Khomeini‟s and the Islamic Republic‟s official rhetoric, being claimed as the sole foundation of the „new‟ Iranian system. In consequence, this paper delves into the Islamic theory of State and the concept of the Imamate in order to critically analyze Ayatollah Khomeini‟s theory and the Islamic Republic. This is aimed at yielding a conclusion whether Iran is justly labeled an Islamic State.</p><p>By performing this norm-fulfilling analysis of the subject in question reliant on a qualitative data collection, the thesis has found that the correlation between the two theories of Islam-ic governance is one of considerable disputability. The paper has, based on the investigated material, been able to conclude that the Islamic Republic of Iran holds a political structure lent from non-Islamic sources, but that its personnel and political field of contest can still be considered Islamic. What the paper has thus revealed is that Khomeini‟s reasoning con-stitutes a novel and unique form of Islamic fundamentalism formed in conjuncture with political ideas of modern and non-Islamic nature. Hence, the results of the study suggests that the <em>Islamic </em>Republic of Iran is in need of serious reconsideration as the Iranian model of Islamic governance remains a source of contention because of the significant deviations from what it claims as its sole basis.</p> / <p>Den Islamiska Republiken Irans påstådda strävan att uppnå kärnvapen kapacitet har visat sig vara ett stort problem för det internationella samfundet, vilket har gett landet en bety-dande position i världspolitiken. Detta har i sin tur medfört att Iran återigen har fått värl-dens uppmärksamhet riktat mot sig, endast trettio år efter Ayatollah Khomeinis upprättan-de av den Islamiska Republiken. Irans statsskick, som uteslutet bygger på Ayatollah Kho-meinis egen tolkning av Islam, har länge stått i fokus för både offentlig och akademisk granskning, i synnerhet på grund av dess tillsynes radikala manövrar på den internationella scenen. Men eftersom fokuset för denna granskning har varit Irans ovilja att rätta sig efter västerländska normer så har frågan om Irans Islamiska natur förbisetts.</p><p>Utifrån detta så ämnar denna uppsats att uppmärksamma och belysa frågan om Iran verkli-gen kan betraktas som en islamisk stat, vilken är en nödvändighet för en djupare och mer korrekt förståelse av landet. Syftet med denna studie är således att undersöka och reflektera över teorin om Islamiskt styre som Ayatollah Khomeini främjar och hans senare republik genom att jämföra dessa med deras påstådda grundpelare: Islamisk statsteori och dess le-darskap. Islamisk statsteori och det shia Islamska ledarskapet har alltid varit centralt i Aya-tollah Khomeinis och den Islamiska Republikens officiella retorik, där de hävdas vara den enda inspirationen för Irans statsskick. Detta är dock något som denna uppsats ifrågasätter, och den har därav undersökt Islamisk statsteori och dess ledarskap för att i sin tur kritiskt granska Ayatollah Khomeinis teori och den Islamska Republiken Iran. Denna studie har därav gett upphov till en slutsats om Iran är rättvist märkt ‟en Islamisk stat‟.</p><p>Denna studie har genom att utföra en norm-uppfyllande analys av ämnet i fråga, vilande på en kvalitativ datainsamling, funnit endast en vag korrelation mellan de två modellerna för Islamiskt styre. Baserat på det undersökta materialet så har studien kunnat konstatera att Iran har en politisk struktur som lånats från icke-islamiska källor, men att dess aktörer och politiska ‟spel‟ trots det är av en islamisk natur. Vad som därav har påvisats i denna uppsats är att Ayatollah Khomeinis teori och stat utgör en ny och unik form av Islamisk fundamen-talism som skapats i konjunktur med moderna och icke-islamiska idéer. Resultaten av den-na undersökning indikerar på så vis att den Islamiska Republiken Iran är i behov av en om-prövning i förhållande till dess Islamiska natur, vilket är speciellt tydligt då Iran visar prov på betydande avvikelser från dess påstådda grundpelare.</p>

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