The evolution of the Iranian presidency: from Bani Sadr to Rafsanjani

Abstract

In 1979, the framers of Iran's Islamic Constitution designed a weak and divided executive branch headed by a president with more ceremonial than actual powers.* A decade later, the Constitution was revised. Now, the executive branch is no longer divided and has at its helm a powerful president. Why this profound institutional transformation? And what have been its consequences? This paper addresses these intriguing questions. Specifically, from an institutional perspective, I will examine the relationship between the ideology of the architects of the Islamic Constitution and the institutional design of the presidency. I will then analyse the correlation between the design of the presidency and the performance of the office. Finally, I will discuss the relationship between the socio-economic conditions and the 1989 constitutional reform of the presidency. Analysing these relationships will also allow us to make some sense of the labyrinth of Iran's factional politics. But why focus on the presidency? Today the presidency is the most powerful institution in Iran. The president is also the only nationally-elected official; therefore, the presidency more reliably reflects the mood of the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian elites, and those permitted to participate in the political process than does any other institution.