A social revolution in the name of a religion? The Islamic Revolution of 1978/79 in Iran

Abstract

The year 1979 witnessed an event that was to impact the world for decades to come. The Western-friendly monarchic regime of Iran that had pushed through a rapid modernization program by leaning on a repressive security apparatus was toppled by a nationwide protest movement and replaced by an Islamist regime. This study delivers, from a historical sociological perspective, an analysis of the major factors that led to this major transformation of Iranian society. The focus lies thereby on the dialectical interplay of endogenous and exogenous factors in-cluding imperialist interventions, a rentier state, a social split, a supply crisis, radical ideologies and the dynamics of a Shiite community.