A study on the Formation of the Institutional Configuration, Based on the Balance of Power in Iranian Traditional Society (Reviewing Changes in Iran from Safavid to Qajar from Historical Institutionalism Point of View)

The dominant theoretical approach in historical sociology of Iran- regarding the image of Iranian society in which the absolute power and despotism prevented the development of associations¡ guilds¡ social classes or entirely any independent forces- inevitably has led to the «absence of society» as «social forces» that had an effective role in the development of Iranian society. Using the historical institutionalism approach¡ this article provides an alternative narrative of the traditional Iranian society that acknowledges the role of the multiple social forces¡ institutions and agencies. According to this alternative narrative¡ the institutional configuration of the Qajar era¡ was based on a complex network of interactions between the four main institutions of central government¡ the clergy¡ tribes and market¡ resulting in relatively stable institutional balance between the institutions. This institutional balance is not based on the domination of one institution to the others but it is based on the balance of power between those institutions. This institutional balance¡ rooted in the formation of Safavid government which itself was a combination of tribal forces and ideological power.