Michael Miner

The Coming Revolution: an Improbable Possibility- Systematic Governance in the Iranian State Michael Miner

Following the 2009 Presidential Election, secular democratic stability in the Islamic Republic of Iran appeared the most improbable of possibilities. Yet it marked a critical point in history that will forever be remembered as the beginning of the end for theocratic tyranny in the state. Paradigm shifting demographics and increasingly authoritarian leadership are aggravating a revolutionary construct. If political and socio-economic challenges remain unaddressed, conditions will trigger a confluence of events unifying opposition against the ruling clerical establishment. This research first examines select mechanisms of the Iranian political system as it stood prior to the 2009 Presidential Election; chiefly the most influential and powerful apparatuses of the state. Second, if and how consequential effects of the election have altered political activity of a society within the midst of a revolutionary construct. Finally it will conclude identifying systemic trends that may result in unanticipated structural reformation of constitutional political power: a shift that will change the nature of the Iranian political system and redefine a delicate balance of power in the Persian Gulf.