Paradoxical Modernization and Neopatrimonialism in the Pahlavi Era

This study aims to examine the causes of the fall of the Pahlavi regime, which is characterized as a dependent quasi-modern neopatrimonial government that, despite economic and industrial modernization efforts, failed to achieve sustainable authority. The findings of this research indicate a clear incompatibility between the modernization process and the traditional legitimacy of the Pahlavi regime. While the Pahlavi government was based on a neopatrimonial structure, the Shah, by emphasizing economic and industrial development, attempted to consolidate the power of the central government through land reforms and the expansion of social services. Evidently, the outcomes of the modernization process conflicted with the traditional foundations of the Pahlavi regime, resulting in internal contradictions and challenges at three levels: (1) social groups and classes, (2) political and social norms and values, and (3) the political-institutional structure. Accordingly, one of the most significant factors leading to the Islamic Revolution was the paradox between neopatrimonialism and modernization. The research method employed in this article is analytical-descriptive. For analysis, the study utilizes modernization theory as well as Max Weber’s concept of traditional legitimacy. Data collection was conducted through a library-based approach.