DECENTRALIZATION AND DEMOCRACY IN IRAN SAEID NOURI NESHAT THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENTMalaya OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHYof FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA UniversityKUALA LUMPUR 2017 i Abstract It was only twenty years after the 1979 Revolution that local Islamic councils were legalized and launched everywhere in Iran as part of reforms to strengthen decentralization and enhance people’s participation in policy planning. However, although these councils comprise elected members, they have not been fully institutionalized within the local government system and within Iran’s hierarchy of power. Local councils, therefore, have not led to the greater empowerment of people. This study assesses the decentralization process within the power structure after the Iranian Revolution. The research aims to provide insights into these key questions: how was the structure of the post-revolution decentralization system different from that of the previous regime? Why has the policy of decentralizationMalaya not led to the sort of devolution that would enable people to participateof in decision-making? What are the political obstacles to the empowerment of the people, a professed goal of the post- revolution government? A qualitative research method involving a multiple case study approach is used here. Urban and rural communities were selected for assessment through purposive sampling. Easton’s theory of political system was applied as it provides an effective conceptual framework to examine and explain the data. TheUniversity results indicate that the post-revolution system is one that can be classified as a filtered democracy. In this type of political system, inputs from society have to pass through filters created by power elites. The feedback loop within society does not connect the inputs to the outputs. Demands from society, therefore, are not the basis for decision-taking at the top level of the political system. Only certain urban-based councils, particularly those in Tehran, showed degrees of power devolution. In Tehran, ii the councils have moved from beyond their defined legal functions. The whole decentralization process faces a series of political obstacles that cannot be removed until the system reforms its centralized hierarchy of power. There is a tightly controlled hierarchy of government bodies, from the center down to the provinces, townships, districts and villages, in all parts of this filtered democracy. The councils are not institutionalized in the political system. The decentralized councils are only connected to municipalities that are responsible for certain municipal services. These councils are not decision-making organisms, rendering invalid the post-revolution objective of people empowerment. Malaya of University iii Abstrak Pembentukan majlis-majlis Agama Islam tempatan di seluruh Iran sebagai salah satu daripada proses reformasi dan pemerkasaan rakyat dalam perancangan polisi selepas berlakunya peralihan kuasa daripada kerajaan pusat kepada kerajaan tempatan hanya dibenarkan oleh undang-undang Iran 20 tahun selepas Revolusi 1979. Walaubagaimanapun, majlis-majlis ini tidak diinstitusikan sepenuhnya ke dalam sistem kerajaan tempatan serta hierarki pemerintahan Iran walaupun ia terdiri dari ahli-ahli yang telah dilantik. Ini membawa maksud pembentukan majlis-majlis tempatan ini telah gagal untuk memberi kuasa kepada rakyat untuk bersuara di dalam sistem pemerintahan di Iran. Kajian ini menilai proses peralihan kuasa dari kerajaan pusat kepada kerajaan tempatan di dalam struktur pemerintahan selepas Revolusi Iran.Malaya Kajian ini juga bertujuan untuk memberi jawapan dan pemahaman yang lebih mendalam kepada persoalan-persoalan berikut; Apakah perbezaan dari segi strukturof pemerintahan selepas Revolusi dengan pemerintahan rejim sebelumnya? Mengapakah polisi-polisi yang terdapat dalam peralihan kuasa kerajaan pusat kepada kerajaan tempatan tidak membolehkan rakyat terlibat sama dalam membuat keputusan? Apakah halangan-halangan dari sudut politik yang dihadapi dalam pemerkasaan peranan rakyat di dalam sistem pemerintahan yang juga merupakan antara tujuan utama kerajaan pasca-revolusi? MetodologiUniversity kualitatif telah digunapakai dalam penyelidikan ini melalui pendekatan kajian ke atas berbilang kes. Beberapa komuniti urban dan luar bandar telah dipilih berdasarkan tujuan tertentu dan teori sistem politik Easton digunakan untuk memberikan konsep rangka kerja yang efektif dalam penilaian dan penerangan data. Keputusan kajian telah menunjukkan bahawa sistem pasca-revolusi ialah suatu sistem yang boleh diklasifikasikan sebagai demokrasi 'tersaring' (filtered decmocracy) dimana segala input daripada masyarakat harus melalui proses tapisan atau saringan yang iv dicipta oleh pemegang kuasa elitis atasan. Tiada maklumbalas serta hubungkait terhadap input yang diberikan oleh masyarakat dengan ouput (hasil keputusan). Oleh itu, boleh dikatakan bahawa permintaan dari masyarakat bukanlah menjadi dasar kepada proses membuat keputusan di peringkat atasan dalam sistem politik. Hanya segelintir majlis-majlis tempatan dari kawasan bandar terutamanya di Tehran yang ada menunjukkan sedikit peralihan kuasa dari kerajaan pusat. Di Tehran, majlis-majlis agama Islam ini ada yang memainkan peranan lebih dari fungsi yang telah dibenarkan dalam undang-undang. Secara keseluruhannya, proses peralihan kuasa dari kerajaan pusat kepada kerajaan tempatan ini menghadapi beberapa siri halangan politik yang tidak dapat dielakkan sehingga sistem ini mereformasikan hierarki kuasa kerajaan pusat. Kerajaan pasca-revolusi masih mengawal ketat hierarki badan-badan kerajaannya dari pusat sehinggalah turun ke peringkat wilayah, Malayabandaran, daerah dan kampung- kampung; ini adalah sebahagian daripada sistem demokrasi tersaring. Majlis-majlis tempatan tidak diinstitusikan sepenuhnya diof dalam sistem politik Iran; sebaliknya hanya dihubungkan kepada pihak berkuasa bandaran yang bertanggungjawab menyediakan beberapa perkhidmatan untuk masyarakat di dalam kawasannya. Oleh itu, majlis-majlis tempatan ini bukanlah organisasi pembuat keputusan di dalam sistem pentadbiran tempatan sekali gus menggagalkan objektif pasca-revolusi untuk memperkasakan rakyat. University v Acknowledgment Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the people in local communities in Oudlajan (Tehran), Salemi Yek in Roudbar Jounoub (Kerman), Koye Shahid Rajaee in Kiashahr (Gilan), Houkard, Posht-e Lor and Ghaleh No in Jiroft (Kerman), Ahmadabad in Shahroud (Semnan), Bardasht in Sanandaj (Kurdistan), Sarab Karyan (Kermanshah), and Tajabad (Hamedan). The trust they had in me was a great help during the research. Without their cooperation, I was not able to collect the necessary data. I would especially like to thank my supervisor, Professor Terence Gomez for accompanying me throughout the research. His guidance enabled me to look at the issues from different points of view. His involvement through dialogue on the research topics always generated new ideas; his strong powerMalaya of analysis led me to new areas of exploration. of I am also thankful to Dr. Makmor Turin for his sincere assistance during the research. His positive spirit, support and invaluable suggestions helped me a great deal. Also, many thanks to the staff and students of the Faculty of Economics and Administration for their continuous support, feedback and comments. I am thankful to my colleagues, Mr. Mehdi Almasi and Ms. Parvin Pakzadmanesh for all their assistance during the research, especially during my visits to the local communities.University Finally, I would like to thank everyone who helped me in the research one way or another, even though I may have forgotten to mention their names here. vi Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Abstrak .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgment .......................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xii List of Symbols and Abbreviations .............................................................................................. xiii List of Appendices ....................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter One .................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction: .................................................................................................................................. 1 Problem Statement, Key Questions and Objectives ...................................................................... 1 1.1. Setting the Context ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Problem Statement ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3. Key questions ...............................................................................................................