The Role of the Legitimacy Crisis in the Fall of the Second Pahlavi Regime

Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the factors influencing the fall of the Pahlavi government in order to analyze this event from different angles. The present study has tried to specifically assess the impact of the legitimacy crisis on the fall of the second Pahlavi regime from the perspective of "crisis theory". Accordingly, the main question of the research is, what was the role of the legitimacy crisis in the fall of the Pahlavi regime and the victory of the revolution. The findings of the study indicate that the Pahlavi regime tried to legitimize its sovereignty over Iranian society by relying on the principles of legitimacy such as the traditional monarchy of ancient Iran, the constitution, the army and military power, religious symbols, etc. At the same time, the authoritarian structure of the Pahlavi regime, the struggle against Iranian culture and authentic Islamic traditions, the intervention of foreign powers and lack of independence, reliance on force and repressive apparatus, restrictions on political participation, and acting as a rentier state led the Pahlavi regime to face a crisis of legitimacy. Not only did the Pahlavi regime fail to successfully resolve the crisis of legitimacy, but its wrongdoing exacerbated the crisis and widened the gap between the government and the people, calling into question its legitimacy and ultimately paving the way for its collapse. The research method is descriptive-analytical and causal. The data collection method in this research is library and documentary.