A Strong Civil Society: Another Surprise from Iran
For many decades, Western thinkers and scholars, in their historical and social analysis of Iranian society, have utilized theories of “patrimonialism” or “despotism”. With the emergence of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 (1357 AH), this theory was reformulated in a new form titled “religious despotism.” Characteristics such as autocratic, individual-centered governance, the absence of law,…