A Theoretical Explanation of the Problem of Constitutionalizing Political Power in Contemporary Iran

تاریخ و فرهنگ

Article 4, Volume 57, Issue 1 - Serial Number 114, September 2025, Pages 95-131   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jhistory.2025.92143.1364

Authors

Rohollah Eslami^{* 1}; Alireza Sahraie²

¹Associate Professor, Department of Political Sciences, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

²PhD Graduate, Department of Political Sciences, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Iranians made considerable efforts to establish a modern legal-political system and limit and legalize power. However, they failed at constitutionalizing power. Following the Constitutional Revolution, the drafting of a Constitution, the foundation of the “Majlis-i Shūrā-yi Millī” (National Consultative Assembly), and the restraining of the King’s power, many anticipated the emergence of a “constitutional” state and government in Iran. Yet, the chaos resulting from the revolution led to the suspension of constitutionalism. Despite Reza Khan’s rise to power, the restoration of order in provinces, and the establishment of order based on absolutism, the fundamental problem of constitutionalizing power remained unsolved. Therefore, the present study poses the research question as follows: Why did the process of constitutionalizing political power (i.e., limiting and conditioning authority) failed and led to suspension in contemporary Iran, despite early efforts like the Constitutional Revolution and the drafting of the Constitution? The study aims at investigating the reasons behind the suspension of Constitutionalism and the persistence of exception in the political history of contemporary Iran, spanning from the end of the Qājār era to the first Pahlavī era. In doing so, the study employs the conceptual framework of “exception and suspension”. The research hypothesis is formulated as this: The internal structures of the concept of “suspension” and the conceptual framework of “state of exception” can provide a suitable theoretical answer to the problem of rejecting the constitutionalizing of political power in Iran. Findings show that the inherent conflict between the two states of “chaos” (post-revolution turmoil) and “absolutism” (authoritarian order) in contemporary Iran has led to the persistent suspension of Constitutionalism and the dominance of the “exception” state (extralegal or absolute government). A causal analysis of late Qājār and first Pahlavī era using the theoretical framework of “state of exception” explains an enduring failure to institutionalize law and achieve lasting constraints on political power.

Keywords

Qājār era; Constitutionalism; political power; becoming constitutionalized; state of exception; suspension

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