The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to the Voting Behavior of Iranian People in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to the Voting Behavior of Iranian People in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013) THE IMPACT OF UNITED STATES ECONOMIC SANCTIONS TO THE VOTING BEHAVIOR OF IRANIAN PEOPLE IN IRAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (2010-2013) By AZHAR FUADI ID no. 016201100089 A thesis presented to the Faculty of Humanities President University In partial fulfillment of requirement for Bachelor Degree in International Relations Major in diplomacy Studies 2015 THESIS ADVISER RECOMMENDATION LETTER This thesis entitled “The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to The Voting Behavior of Iranian People in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013)” prepared and submitted by Azhar Fuadi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in the Faculty of Humanities has been reviewed and found to have satisfied the requirements for a thesis fit to be examined. I therefore recommend this thesis for Oral Defense. Cikarang, Indonesia, 15 January 2015 Thesis Adviser Dr. H. Munawar Fuad Noeh, MA DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I declare that this thesis, entitled “The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to The Voting Behavior of Iranian people in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013)” is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, an original piece of work that has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, to another university to obtain a degree. Cikarang, Indonesia, 15 January 2015 Azhar Fuadi PANEL OF EXAMINER APPROVAL SHEET The Panel of Examiners declare that the thesis entitled “The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to The Voting Behavior of Iranian people in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013)” that was submitted by Azhar Fuadi majoring in International relations from the Faculty of Humanities was assessed and approved to have passed the Oral Examinations on 25 February 2015. Hendra Manurung, SIP., MA. Chair-Panel of Examiner Prof. Anak Agung Banyu Perwita, Ph.D. Examiner Witri elvianti, MA. Thesis Advisor ABSTRACT Title: The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to The Voting Behavior of Iranian people in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013) Among the discussion about the efficiency of economic sanctions as a foreign policy, this thesis will try to give political analysis on the usability of economic sanctions to achieve expected goals. By the purpose of analyzing the relevance of economic sanctions with a political leadership transition in the receiver country, this thesis could give an understanding on how we see the concept of economic sanctions implementation on a country could give impacts not only to economical aspect, but also to the political aspect. Are economic sanctions a viable strategy in this globalizations era especially in regards to influencing domestic political aspect of the target country? The author uses study case of Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA) imposition on Iran (2010-2013). This thesis will analyze the impacts of the economic sanctions as independent variable into the Iran presidential election in 2013 as the dependent variable. The results show that the surprising victory of Hassan Rouhani was the impacts of CISADA 2010 toward Iran Presidential Elections 201. The author believes that the CISADA could affect the outcome of Iranian presidential election 2013 by casting great audience cost to Iranian people which then could influence the Iranian constituents to behave as expectation of United States. Key Word: Economic Sanctions, CISADA, Bilateral Relations, Iran Presidential Election 2013, Audience Cost, Voting Behavior. i ABSTRACT Title: The Impact of United States Economic Sanctions to The Voting Behavior of Iranian people in Iran Presidential Election (2010-2013) Di tengah-tengah panasnya diskusi mengenai keefektifan sanksi ekonomi sebagai alat kebijakan luar negeri, skripsi ini akan mencoba untuk menyuguhkan pandangan berbeda terhadap konsep keefektifitasan sanksi ekonomi sebagai alat kebijkan luar negeri. Skripsi ini mencoba untuk menganalisa hubungan antara sanksi ekonomi dengan transisi kepimpinan politik di negara penerima sanksi. Skripsi ini memberikan pandangan berbeda bahwasanya sanksi ekonomi tidak hanya semata dapat mempengaruhi keadaan ekonomi suatu Negara, namun juga berdampak kepada politik dalam negeri. Apakah sanksi ekonomi adalah kebijakan yang tepat terlebih dalam fungsinya untuk mempengaruhi keadaan politik dalam negeri dari Negara penerima sanksi? Dalam rangka untuk mencari jawaban tersebut, penulis menggunakan kasus dari implementasi Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA) terhadap Iran (2010-2013). Skripsi ini akan menganalisa pengaruh dari sanksi ekonomi sebagai variabel independen terhadap pemilihan presiden di Iran tahun 2013 sebagai variable dependen. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sanksi ekonomoi dari Amerika Serikat melalui pelaksanaan CISADA telah memainkan peran yang penting di dalam terpilihnya Hassan Rouhani. Penulis percaya bahwa CISADA dapat mempengaruhi hasil akhir dari pemilihan presiden di Iran dengan mengakibatkan audience cost terhadap masyarakat Iran sehingga dapat mempengaruhi mereka untuk memilih calon yang diharapkan oleh pihak Amerika Serikat. Key Word: Sanksi ekonomi, CISADA, Hubungan Bilateral, Pemilihan Presiden Iran 2013, Audience Cost, Voting Behavior. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate All thanks and praises be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the Almighty, on whom ultimately this thesis would not be done without Allah‘s permission and power. May blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions. I would never have been able to finish my thesis without the guidance of my supervisors, lecturers, family, and friends. Therefore I would like to express my deepest gratitude to both of my advisors, Mr. Munawar Fuad and Ms. Witri Elvianti, for their excellent guidance, caring, patiently corrected my writing, and providing me with handful of suggestions. I would also like to thank the fabulous lecturers of International Relations president University, Mr. Eric Hendra. Mr. Agung Banyu Perwita, and Mr. Teuku Rezasyah which whom also have given me so much suggestions, and humbly provided great assistance not only to me, but also to all the IR students. I also wish to thank wish my most awesome companions during this thesis writing, Mahfudz, Rajiv Ambara, Aris Munandar, Nuraya Widhantisa, Dina Herliana, who were always supporting and encouraging me through day and night. Not to mention, biggest gratitude to all of my dearest friends of International relations 2011, Zahirul Ma‘ala who have always inspired me all along during the process. Special thanks, tribute and appreciation to all those their names do not appear here who have contributed to the successful completion of this study. Finally, I am forever indebted to my parents and sisters. They were always supporting me and encouraging me with their best wishes. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .......................................................................... vii LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................ viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Identification ................................................................................... 5 1.3 Statement of the Problem: ............................................................................. 6 1.4 Research Objectives: ..................................................................................... 7 1.5 Research Methodology .................................................................................. 7 1.5.1 Case Study .............................................................................................. 8 1.5.2 Research Framework .............................................................................. 8 1.5.3 Research Time and Place ........................................................................ 9 1.5.4 Data Collection ....................................................................................... 9 1.6 Significance of Study: ................................................................................. 10 1.7 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................... 11 1.7.1 Domestic Audience Cost ...................................................................... 11 1.7.2 The Public Choice Approach ................................................................ 13 1.7.3 Hegemonic Stability Theory ................................................................. 15 1.8 Scope and Limitation of Study: ................................................................... 15 1.9 Definition of Terms ..................................................................................... 16 iv 1.9.1 Economic Sanctions.............................................................................. 16 1.9.2 Voting Behavior.................................................................................... 17 1.10
Recommended publications
  • Weekly Geopolitical Report by Bill O’Grady
    Weekly Geopolitical Report By Bill O’Grady May 28, 2013 prevent the Green Movement from threatening the government. Elections in Iran For the current election, it appears that (Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the next report will be Khamenei wants to avoid a repeat of the published June 10 th .) 2009 elections at all costs. And so, the Iran’s Guardian Council, the government ayatollah is taking a series of steps to body that certifies candidates for elections, prevent a reoccurrence of the last election. published its list of candidates last week. In this report, we will examine the structure Although over 800 Iranians applied to run of the Iranian government and the history of for president, the council approved a group how this government structure has evolved. of eight. The applications of two prominent From there, an analysis of Khamenei’s goals Iranians were rejected. Former president for the upcoming elections will be offered. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar As always, we will examine the Rahim-Hashaei, a close confidant of ramifications of this situation on the President Ahmadinejad, failed to make the financial and commodity markets. list. The Islamic Iranian Republic The last presidential election, which was The interaction of religious and political held in 2009, re-elected Ahmadinejad. power has been fraught with difficulty However, there were widespread claims of throughout history, regardless of the broad voter fraud, and civil unrest followed the religious denomination. Temporal power vote. In something of a surprise, Ayatollah sometimes views spiritual power as a threat. Khamenei, the spiritual head of Iran (and, in At other times, secular powers try to co-opt the convoluted government structure of Iran, religion to enhance its own power.
    [Show full text]
  • The Unexpected Results of Presidential Election in Iran
    1 The Unexpected Results of Presidential Elections in Iran By Akbar E. Torbat Iranians voted in the presidential, city and rural council elections on June 14, 2013. The two elections were arranged to be on the same day to boost participations and show support for the Islamic Republic. The Guardian Council had handpicked eight candidates and rejected the rest of the applicants for presidency in violation of the Islamic Republic’s constitution.1 Despite 1.6 million first-time young voters, the turnout was 10% lower than the previous election. Some political factions had indicated that they would boycott the election. However, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei encouraged Iranians to vote by saying “It is possible that some people, for whatever reason, do not want to support the Islamic Republic establishment but if they want to support Iran, they should come also to vote at the polls.” In reality, those who did not support the regime did not have anyone on the ballot to vote for. According to John R. Bird, Canada’s Foreign Minister, the election was “effectively meaningless” because only “regime-friendly” candidates were allowed in the race.2 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had designated his former Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashei as a nominee for president but the Guardian Council rejected him to be on the ballots. As Mashei was pushed aside, the election became a competition between the two wings of the clerical oligarchy; the conservatives (or principalists) and the moderates plus their reformist affiliates. Mashaei who had advocated secular policies and had nationalistic sentiments was considered a threat to the clerics, and therefore they decided to bar his candidacy.
    [Show full text]
  • La Elección De Hassan Rouhani En 2013 Y El Desarrollo De La Política Interna
    El Colegio de México Centro de Estudios de Asia y África FACCIONALISMO POLÍTICO EN IRÁN: LA ELECCIÓN DE HASSAN ROUHANI EN 2013 Y EL DESARROLLO DE LA POLÍTICA INTERNA Tesis presentada por DOLORES PATRICIA MARÍN DÍAZ para optar al grado de MAESTRÍA EN ESTUDIOS DE ASIA Y ÁFRICA ESPECIALIDAD: MEDIO ORIENTE DIRECTOR: DR. LUIS MESA DELMONTE Ciudad de México, 2017 Agradecimientos En primer lugar, quisiera agradecer a mi familia, a mis padres Catalina y Patricio, que me han apoyado en cada una de las decisiones que he tomado en la vida, sin que el hecho de estudiar una maestría en la Ciudad de México fuera una excepción. Gracias por su apoyo incondicional y por las incontables muestras de cariño a lo largo de este proceso y de todos los que tuvieron que ocurrir antes para poder llegar hasta aquí. Gracias también a Guille y Diana, que son elementos primordiales de esta familia y que me han apoyado en todo momento. Al profesor Luis Mesa, no sólo por haber dirigido este trabajo de investigación, sino por el interés y esfuerzo que puso como asesor y como maestro y por la pasión contagiosa con la que impregna cada una de sus clases. A él, toda mi admiración y cariño. A los profesores del CEAA, que contribuyeron a mi formación compartiendo sus conocimientos, especialmente al profesor Khalid Chami, quien nos mostró la diversidad de facetas del (los) mundo(s) árabe(s) a las que uno puede tener acceso a través de la lengua; y cuyas enseñanzas trascienden el salón de clases. A mis lectores, la profesora Marcela Álvarez y el profesor Moisés Garduño, por haberse tomado el tiempo para leer y comentar la investigación, y por haber compartido sus conocimientos a lo largo de este camino.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran Election Update May 31, 2013
    Iran Election Update May 31, 2013 • ISNA conducts a poll and asks its readers, “After the first televised debate between the candidates, which economic viewpoint of the candidates did you prefer?” As of Friday afternoon, over 4,500 respondents overwhelmingly chose Mohammed Aref with 40.3 percent. Followed by Hassan Rouhani with 18 percent and Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf with 13 percent. Saeed Jalili only received 6 percent of the votes. (The poll is located on the left side of the homepage, and results are given after the respondent has voted). Asr Iran News asks the same questions to its readers and the results (over 12,000 respondents) were strikingly similar with Mohammed Aref leading in votes with 31 percent and Hassan Rouhani trailing with 29 percent. • English language news PressTV offers a short summary of last night’s first televised debate between the presidential candidates. PressTV also provides multiple short clips of Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf explaining (with English subtitles) that, “National solidarity is needed to alleviate poverty,” and Mohammad Gharazi discussing the nuclear program: “We are not allowed to build an atomic bomb, both in religious terms and according to customary regulations.” PressTV also claims that “Iranian reformists may urge Mohammed Aref to quit presidential race” and become Hassan Rouhani’s Vice President if he is to be elected. • YJC News posts two sets of photos of all the presidential candidates arriving and preparing for the televised presidential debate as well as a behind the scenes look. • Khabar Online lists the final comments of each presidential candidate after last night’s first television debate.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Urdu Press No
    From the Urdu Press No. 71 16 May-15 June 2013 5 Rajab- 5 Shaban Hijri [Note: Using editorials as an indicator, this series presents views, understanding and attitude of the Urdu periodicals in India towards various developments concerning the Middle East. The selection of an item does not mean the endorsement or concurrence with their accuracy or views. Editor, MEI@ND The Siasat Daily (The Politics Daily), Hyderabad Editorial, 1 June 2013, Saturday 1. Providing Weapons to Syria resident Bashar al-Assad has warned Israel of dire consequences for its unsolicited attacks inside Syria. If the Syrian crisis escalates into a regional war, it will add to the P woes of the suffering civilians. Assad is under pressure from regime supporters inside the country to respond to Israeli attacks and if Syria opens a battle front at the Golan Heights, it will bring back memories of the 1967 war. Israel had started using the Golan Heights for domestic purposes since 1981, but it remains an occupied territory. The crisis has led to immense loss of life amidst continuing violence. It is Israel which is responsible for the current situation in Syria. Syria and Israel have been in a war-like-situation since 1948 though Israel has remained muted since it was defeated by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A 1967 war-like fighting will lead to huge loss of life for the people living around the Golan. The international players have thus far remained non-committal on the events in Syria and the US has not cleared its stance, despite heavy loss of life.
    [Show full text]
  • Internal Factors and Its Impact on Iranian Foreign Policy
    Przegląd Strategiczny 2018, Issue 11 Radosław FIEDLER DOI : 10.14746/ps.2018.1.15 Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań https://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1573-9898 INTERNAL FACTORS AND ITS IMPACT ON IRANIAN FOREIGN POLICY A state’s foreign policy is the process interconnected with several influential factors and complicated interplay between internal (domestic) and external policies. The external policy always reveals internal conditioning, but also in reverse (Rosneau, 1967). In the democratic model the state’s foreign policy is thoroughly discussed and should have minimal societal acceptance. In case of collisions between societal expec- tations and the chosen course of foreign policy, it could bring about severe criticism, empowering the opposition, but in the long run it may bring rising support for the government. The problem of the nature of a democratic system is the electoral calen- dar. It is a relatively short time for a deep change of foreign policy and to convince the public opinion of its main assumptions. The main ambitious projects are difficult to achieve. However, the assumption of public support as a precondition of a steady governmental policy is often misleading. The most evident example is Neville Cham- berlain’s appeasement strategy towards Hitler’s demands. It gained heavy societal sup- port and was pursued according to public’s its expectations. Picture the moment when the triumphant Prime Minster Chamberlain was greeted as the only savior of peace just after Munich. In 1940 the opposition condemned this as a naïve and dangerous course which even accelerated the war. The appeasement policy is treated as a historical mis- take and improper answer to the rising power of the Third Reich.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran Has a Challenging Election Ahead
    Iran Has a Challenging Election Ahead By Akbar E. Torbat June 01, 2013 "Information Clearing House" - The eleventh presidential election of Iran is scheduled to be held on 14 June 2013. The applicants for Iran’s presidential candidacy registered from May 6 to 11. A total of 686 applicants including 30 women registered to run for president. After ten days of reviewing the applicants’ backgrounds, only eight of them were selected on May 21, to run for president. The oligarchs in Tehran claimed the high number of applicants represented a symbol of democracy in Iran. But that is clearly not true. The regime chooses only the applicants who would serve its own ideological interests rather the people and such criterion contradicts the principles of democracy. There are many highly qualified secular candidates who want to run for president but none of them can meet the regime’s ideological requirements. The screening of the applicants based on their ideologies is clearly against the democratic principles. Screening Violates the Constitution The presidential candidates were selected by a non-elected body of jurists called the Guardian Council. This Council rejects any candidates whose records and ideas deviate from the regime’s requirements without giving any justifications. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has repeatedly said that he has only one vote and does not have any power over selecting the presidential candidates. But that is not true since he actually chooses the candidates indirectly through the Guardian Council. This council has 12 members; six are chosen by Khamenei and another six are chosen by the head of judiciary who is appointed by Khamenei.
    [Show full text]
  • The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
    $Siy»M ' '-'''• • : " ; '-' : *:''/';• ffi-'•.'• LIBRARY, NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CA 93940 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS A RACE FOR MARTYRDOM: THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS CORPS (IRGC) by Susan E. Merdinger December 1982 Thesis Advisor: Jc)hn W. Amos Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. T208045 ucuwty classification or twh ^m fgMw Cm a»ta»a«n REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE READ INSTRUCTIONS nTT BEFORE COMPLETINC FORM a. oovt accession no » RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NUMBER 4 T iT_C ar»<* Sua»/il») S TYPE OF REPORT » PER. 00 COVERC A Race for Martyrdom: The Islamic Master's Thesis; Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) December 1982 • • PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMKR ?. auTnOr.«> » CONTRACT OH SRANTmt number^*; Susan E. Merdinger t PERFORMING OGOANlZATlON NAME ANO AOORESS to. program element project task AREA • WORK UNIT NUMBERS Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California 93940 I < CONTDOLLINC D" Ct NAME tuO AOORESS 12 REPORT DATE Naval Postgraduate School December 1982 Monterey, California 93940 IS. NUMBER OF PAGES 122 n mOniTqPinG AGENCY NAME * AOOREtSCIf aYfferanf trmm Cantralflna Offlca) >• security class. r«< >M a ra>er Jnclassif ied i§«. OECLASSlFI CATION/ DOWN GRAOING SCHEDULE « DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT '•/ rN/» *•••.•<) Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. <7 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT at th» aaarracf »nr»« fit J(oe* 30. If dlflmttM horn Rmporl) • SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES i> *EY VOROt Cmiikui an r»« • Ha if • arr an« Hapfffr *r Mae* nuaiaar; Revolutionary Guards Pasdaran Pasdars Islamic Fundamentalists 20 ABSTRACT 'Canilmja an >•»•»•• .(«• If nacaaaarr •"« laawiflfr »r alaeA .•«) The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is often referred to in Western press but still, little is known about these uniformed zealots. This thesis is an attempt to show that the IRGC is not a haphazard army but one that is striv- ing to organize while, at the same time, attempting to deal with Iran's internal security, as well as external threats.
    [Show full text]
  • Iranian Presidential Elections, 2013
    ﻭﺣﺪﺓ ﺍﻟﻔﻜﺮ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺎﺳﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺎﺻﺮ Unit of Contemporary Political Thought www.kfcris.com A monthly report issued by the Unit of Contemporary Political Thought for the analysis and evaluation of crucial events in the Islamic world Iranian Presidential Elections, 2013 - Factions, Personalities and Contrasts in the late post- Khomeini period. - Run-up to 2013 Elections. - The New President: Background Profile and Relationship with other bodies. - The New President: His views on Iranian Foreign Policy Perspective (in terms of the regional neighbors). - Rowhani and Nuclear Issue Issue 3, June,2013 © KFCRIS, 2013 or over three decades, presidential elections in FIran have been a defining moment of transition in different political periods of the Islamic Republic. A unique state institution, the presidency in Iran is at once hampered by constitutional restrictions on the power and authority of its incumbent and a desired target for factions internal to the political regime and ambitious politicians alike. The eleventh presidential elections of the Islamic Republic were held on June 15 2013 and presented several marked differences with respect to the previous presidential contest of 12 June 2009. The most visible of these was the absence of any sizable instances of violence, both before and after the poll, and of any intra-elite strife. None of the campaign teams furthermore produced complaints on broad or systematic fraud, and accepted the results swiftly. All of this is in marked contrast with four years ago, when two of the four final candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, voiced concern about the possibility of wide scale falsification of the electoral results prior to the vote and then effectively never recognized the validity of the results released by the Interior ministry, setting off the wave of protest, strife and inner-regime crisis that are yet to be fully resolved.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran Election Update May 29, 2013
    Iran Election Update May 29, 2013 Speaking to members of the Parliament, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Active participation in the elections would ensure the immunity, strength, and security of the country and would also deter enemy threats.” He also asked the candidates to refrain from mudslinging against their rivals and “not to distort the social realities in order to gather more votes.” ISNA posted photos of the meeting. Khabar Online posted a schedule of all the presidential candidates' programs broadcast on state media with a chart illustrating the TV channel as well as the time the program will be aired. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was asked about the possibility of his government supporting candidate Saeed Jalili and he answered, “I have never heard of this.” He was also directly asked whether candidate Jalili would be his choice in the presidential election and Ahmadinejad answered, “Forget about it.” Another reporter asked him if he wanted to defend his policies that have been greatly criticized by the final candidates during their campaigning to which he responded, “Do you have any other questions?” During a meeting with the principlist Front of Epic-Makers, presidential candidate Gholam Ali Haddad- Adel spoke about the economy and warned that there are critical days ahead. When he was asked whether he wanted to create an economy like an “Islamic Japan,” Haddad-Adel answered, “They labeled me with that during the 6th Parliament. I want to build an Iranian model (of economy) that is above all the other countries so that they will want to be like us.” ILNA posted photos of presidential candidate Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf making a campaign visit to a mosque in the northwestern Iranian city of Zanjan.
    [Show full text]
  • READ Middle East Brief 80
    Judith and Sidney Swartz Director Prof. Shai Feldman Can Rouhani Revitalize Iran’s Oil and Gas Associate Director Kristina Cherniahivsky Industry? Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History and Prof. Nader Habibi Associate Director for Research Naghmeh Sohrabi Senior Fellows Abdel Monem Said Aly, PhD oon after his victory in the June 2013 presidential Khalil Shikaki, PhD Selections, Hassan Rouhani announced that reforming Myra and Robert Kraft Professor and revitalizing the oil and gas sector would be one of his of Arab Politics Eva Bellin government’s top priorities. He and many of his aides showed Henry J. Leir Professor of the no hesitation in criticizing the policies of former president Economics of the Middle East Ahmadinejad toward the oil and gas industry in his two-term Nader Habibi tenure. Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Kanan Makiya Like other oil-exporting nations, Iran depends heavily on oil revenues to finance government expenditures and pay for imports. When these revenues Junior Research Fellow decline, the economy suffers. A combination of international sanctions Eric Lob, PhD and poor domestic management led to a gradual decline in daily oil output Postdoctoral Researcher and stagnation in natural gas output in most of the years of Ahmadinejad’s Jonathan L. Snow, PhD presidency. The decline accelerated in 2012 as the United States and the European Union introduced new sanctions against Iran’s oil exports and put pressure on countries that were buying hydrocarbon products from Iran. While the Ahmadinejad administration put most of the blame for this decline on sanctions, critics of his government claimed that his own policies caused more damage to the oil and gas sector than did the sanctions.
    [Show full text]
  • King and Karabell BS
    k o No. 1 • April 2010 o l t Changing of the Guards: Iran’s Supreme u Leader Struggles to Control Military O By Ali Alfoneh n Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini controlled the Islamic Revolutionary r Guards Corps (IRGC) by assigning personal representatives and commissars to IRGC units and offices. Initially, e the system was dysfunctional because of multiple commissars and parallel control structures with overlapping t responsibilities, but at the beginning of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule, the commissars consolidated their positions and exerted enough power to help stymie political reforms. Today, the system is again weak, and, increas- s ingly, the commissars act more as spokesmen for the guards than as agents overseeing the IRGC and ensuring that a the supreme leader holds power over the IRGC. This change undermines Khamenei’s authority over the IRGC and has allowed the IRGC greater autonomy to the detriment of outsiders who would engage the regime. E On February 15, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary lapping responsibilities that often allowed the e Rodham Clinton made headlines with a com- IRGC to expand its power in ways that sometimes l ment that the IRGC was slowly taking over Iran. ran contrary to the supreme leader’s interests. d “We see that the government of Iran, the supreme Although the commissar system was dysfunc- leader, the president, the parliament is being sup- tional when he took over as supreme leader, d planted and that Iran is moving toward a military Khamenei managed to restore control over the i dictatorship,” Clinton told the U.S.-Islamic commissariat in the first years of his rule.
    [Show full text]