Book contents
- Presidential Elections in Iran
- Presidential Elections in Iran
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Theoretical Framework
- 2 The Age of the ‘Imam’
- 3 The Era of Reconstruction and Reform
- 4 Ahmadinejad and Secularisation: Rupture or Continuity?
- 5 Consolidation of Secularity
- Conclusion
- Appendix Presidential Elections in a Nutshell
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - The Age of the ‘Imam’
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2021
- Presidential Elections in Iran
- Presidential Elections in Iran
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Theoretical Framework
- 2 The Age of the ‘Imam’
- 3 The Era of Reconstruction and Reform
- 4 Ahmadinejad and Secularisation: Rupture or Continuity?
- 5 Consolidation of Secularity
- Conclusion
- Appendix Presidential Elections in a Nutshell
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 2 examines the Islamic Republic’s first five presidential elections, which were held in the revolution’s first decade. These elections brought to power Abolhassan Banisadr (1980), Mohammad-Ali Rajai (1981), Ali Khamenei (1981 and 1985) and Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989). This chapter highlights how presidential elections in this milieu were highly influenced by Khomeini’s religious revolutionary ethos, as reflected in the chapter’s title: ‘The Age of the Imam’. This ethos was pervasive and far from a distinguishing feature of the triumphant Islamic Republican Party (IRP). It was a characteristic of the age and its zeitgeist. Undoubtedly, there were disagreements, but these were framed and expressed in the context of revolutionary religiosity. Although the fifth election was held after the death of Khomeini in July 1989, it is included in this chapter as it was also guided by Khomeini's revolutionary principles. This chapter, and its focus on Khomeini’s religious revolutionary ethos, frames the ensuing transformation of electoral discourses and imaginaries in the post-Khomeini era.
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- Presidential Elections in IranIslamic Idealism since the Revolution, pp. 41 - 72Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021