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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
Opposing the political elite through much of the twentieth
century has been the bazaar, an important political, economic, and
social force in Iran since at least the time of the Qajar dynasty.
The Pahlavi shahs viewed the bazaar as an impediment to the modern
society that they wished to create and sought to enact policies
that would erode the bazaar's importance. They were aware that the
alliance of the mercantile and artisan forces of the bazaar with
the Shia clergy posed a serious threat to royal government, as
occurred in 1890 and again during the Constitutional Revolution of
1905-07. The emergence of such an alliance in the period from 1923
to 1924 is believed by many scholars to have convinced Reza Shah
not to establish a republic, as Atatürk had done in Turkey, but to
establish a new dynasty based upon his family.
Reza Shah recognized the potential power of the bazaar, and he
was apparently determined to control it. As his secularization
programs had adversely affected the clergy, many of his economic
reforms hurt the bazaar. His son also sought to control the
influence of the bazaar. As a consequence, the bazaar remained a
locus of opposition to both Pahlavi shahs. During 1978 the bazaar
spearheaded the strikes that paralyzed some sectors of the economy
and provided support for the political actions of the Shia clergy.
In essence, the feared alliance of the bazaar and clergy had once
again come to play a pivotal role in effecting political change in
Iran.
The Republic has been much more solicitous of the bazaar than
was the Pahlavi dynasty. Several of the early economic programs
implemented by the governments of the Republic have benefited the
interests of the bazaar; nevertheless, the complexities of managing
an economy under the impact of a total war have also forced the
central government to adopt economic policies that the bazaar has
opposed. Generally, the government leaders have favored varying
degrees of state regulation over such economic issues as the
pricing of basic commodities and foreign trade, while
entrepreneurs, bazaar merchants, and some prominent clergy have
opposed such restrictions. These economic issues have been among
the main reasons for the emergence of two contentious factions
among the political elite
(see The Consolidation of Theocracy
, ch.
4).
Data as of December 1987
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