The Shah's rule was obviously a dictatorship, but I imagine that he didn't advertise it as such. What sort of nominal democratic rights and powers remained under the Shah? How did the state in government actually function? And what were people's supposed and then actual rights vis-a-vis that state? Yeah, that's a terrific question. It's important to note here that the Shah's approach and even his rhetoric shifts from the post-Koo period through the 50s, 60s, and up to the sort of lead up to the revolution.
Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the third episode in our four-part series. We pick up in the wake of the US-British 1953 coup against Mossadegh, assess the Shah's repression and attempts to manufacture consent through passive revolution, and then close by laying out the 1979 Islamic Revolution in all of its wild complexity.
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