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This thesis argues that the laws of waqf in Iran lack modern relevance. Such laws have never been completely modernised, and the waqf system, no longer responsible for the delivery of public goods, still holds a vast array of properties and resources. Many of the ongoing socioeconomic and political disappointments of Iran, which, at the core, are the weakness of the country's private economic sector and its human capital deficiency, stand among the lasting consequences of the deficiency of resources which the institution of waqf has under its control. Traditional Islamic law laid the ground for the economic infrastructure of the Middle Eastern countries until the late 19th century. Among the institutions that contributed to shaping the economy of the region are the Islamic law of inheritance, which inhibited capital accumulation; the absence in Islamic law of the concept of a corporation and the consequent weaknesses of civil society; and the waqf, which locked vast resources into unproductive organisations for the delivery of social services. It is often argued that many of these obstacles to economic development were largely overcome through radical reforms initiated in the 19th century. However, the modern civil law of Iran has kept traditional Islamic law at the core of laws of waqf, and the process of modernisation of its laws remains incomplete.

This thesis is a study of the attempts made in the last four decades of Naser ad-Din shah's reign to reform the government and the administration in Persia.

The purpose of this study is to examine the position of the Persian ulama toward the idea of constitutionalism and the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, as exemplified in the life and politica1 thought of Mirza Muhammad Husayn Na'ini (1860-1936).

This study investigates the causes of the Iranian revolution of 1978-79. To this end, the different theories of revolution are reviewed in Chapter One. Chapter Two provides a discussion of the historical background of the country and the role the clergy played in shaping its political development. Socioeconomic and political factors which contributed to the outbreak of this revolution are examined in the following two chapters. Finally, an attempt is made to draw some conclusions on whether existing theories of revolution can fully explain the Iranian upheaval of 1978-79 or not. For the preparation of this study United States government documents and Iranian and English language scholarly works were consulted.

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The constitutional revolution of 1905 is seen to result from the impact of Western political values on Iran's traditional society. Reza Shah's dictatorship is explained in the context of compromise between feudalism and growing capitalism. The roles and interactions of nationalism, religion, communism and political parties in Iran, particularly during 1945-1953, shows they were the reflection of profound changes within society. The Shah's policies were politically motivated; they caused social dislocation and the politicization of the peasantry. The regime's failure to respond to these forces brought about its isolation. We confirm Huntington's concept of political development and decay. Iran's changes of discontinuity and violence are seen clearly. This study recommends the strengthening of the political channels of communication for Iran.

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This dissertation aims to study the attempts made by contemporary Iranian religious modernists at reconciling Islam and democracy on the theoretical level. The prevailing theme in earlier studies on contemporary Iran has been that of Islamic resurgence or the socio-political outcome of the 1979 Revolution to the neglect of other significant issues or intellectual challenges faced by religious modernists in both the pre- and post-revolutionary eras, such as that of the problematic of Islam and democracy. The present work therefore, considers the views of certain Iranian religious modernists of the last fifty years on the question of whether Islam is theoretically compatible or incompatible with democracy. To this end, we examine the main principles of democracy and critically evaluate their parallels among Islamic norms. Then, the democratic notions of seven major Iranian religio-political thinkers are analyzed and evaluated in depth. We also try to show the perception that these men had of democracy and of Islam, how they sought to bring the two into conformity, on what basis they structured their arguments, and how their attempt in this respect differed from that of their predecessors at the turn of the century. / Among the contributions of the present work to the field is its attempt to present, for the first time, the post-revolutionary religious intellectual trend in Iran with particular reference to the problematic of Islam and democracy. This is largely accomplished through an analytical study of its leading figure, Abdulkarim Soroush. The result suggests that his attempt is an unprecedented one in terms of content, method and consequences. Indeed it is a watershed in Shi'ite religious modernism in general and in the debate over the compatibility of Islam with democracy, in particular.

In this dissertation, I undertake an empirical analysis of Iranian punitive practices over the last century. In thiscontext, I set out to investigate three issues. First, I critically examine the claim that modernity is characterizedby a diminution of corporal punishments, considering both the older humanist-progressivist verions of this claim and therevisionist-Nietzschean versions that have been advanced by several scholars including Michel Foucault, David Rothman,Michael Ignatieff, John Langbein, Gerhard Oestreich and Marc Raeff. In particular, I examine the relationship betweenmodern torture and might be called the "disciplinary process" that is said to characterize modernization. Second, I evaluate Chomsky and Herman's hypothesis that developing societies are characterized by a specific economy of violence that might be described as "state terrorism." Third, I test the utility of Foucault's theoretical approach to the study of power. / Dans cette these, j'entreprends une analyse empirique des coutumes punitives iraniennes depuis un siecle. A cette fin, j'examine trois aspects. Premierement, j'examine d'une maniere critique le point de vue suivant lequel, la modernite se caracterise par une diminution des punitions physiques, tout en considerant l'interprétation traditionnelle humanistico-progressive de ce point de vue et les interpretations Nietzscheo-revisionnistes qui ont ete suggerees par plusieurs penseurs, tels que Michel Foucault, David Rothman, Michael Ignatieff, John Langbein, Gerhard Oestreich, et Marc Raeff. Plus precisement j'examine la relation entre la torture au XXieme siecle et ce que l'on pourrait appeler le "processus disciplinaire" qui, soi-disant, caracterise la modernisation. Deuxiemement, j'évalue les hypothèses de Noam Chomsky et d'Edward Herman suivant lesquelles les sociétés en voie de développement sont caractérisées par la violence d'une manière bien précise, et qui pourrait etre decrite comme "une économie de terrorisme d'état." Troisièmement, j'examine l'utilité de l'approche théorique de Michel Foucault pour l'etude du pouvoir. fr