This project explores the power dynamics within the Iranian political system, asking what accounts for the rise and fall of a president's power relative to the other dominant formal and informal institutions in Iran. Comparing perspectives that focus on charisma, ideology and political bargaining, I argue that the relative power of the president is contingent on a variety of institutional and behavioural factors which define his ability to bargain within an institutional structure of overlapping spheres of control. Within this study, I challenge the traditional emphasis on process as a point of departure for analyses, and stress the need for a change in orientation to effect or output. Finally, I argue that the extensive factionalism within Iranian politics defines the political system and is integral to the cost-benefit calculations of various actors within the institutional matrix of the state.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.116032 |
Date | January 2008 |
Creators | Jacobsen, Donavan. |
Publisher | McGill University |
Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Format | application/pdf |
Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Political Science.) |
Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
Relation | alephsysno: 002841116, proquestno: AAIMR66969, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0322 seconds