How Did the White Revolution Ultimately Undermine the Shah's Power?

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How did the contradictions of the Shah's regime undermine his power rather than fortifying it as I imagine he had intended? As Kander, you mentioned, for example, that his land reform accelerated the mass proletarianization of peasants into peripheral urban slums. And why did ultimately the Islamic revolution break out when and how it did? The white revolution has the effect of really emphasizing these contradictions that come to be terminal for the government.

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. If you love The Dig, support the podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig Check out our newsletter and archives at thedigradio.com