The Rise of the Pasdaran. Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

Abstract

Founded by a decree from Ayatollah Khomeini shortly after the victory of the 1978 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has evolved well beyond its original foundations as an ideological guard for the nascent revolutionary regime. Today, the IRGC functions as an expansive socio-political-economic conglomerate whose influence extends into virtually every corner of Iranian political life and society. Bound together by the shared experience of war and the socialization of military service, the Pasdaran have articulated a populist, authoritarian, and assertive vision for the Islamic Republic of Iran that they maintain is a more faithful reflection of the revolution's early ideals.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA492568

Entities

People

  • Alireza Nader
  • Brian Nichiporuk
  • Frederic Wehrey
  • Jerrold D. Green
  • Lydia Hansell
  • Rasool Nafisi
  • S. R. Bohandy

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Employment
  • Homeland Security
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Recreation
  • Reliability
  • Students
  • Terrorists
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • Warfare

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security