Iran and the Developmentalist State: (1941-1979)

The Qajar period, when Iranians first met the modern world, is usually assumed to be the beginning of thinking over development and the role the state plays in it. The issue of development is still alive within the intellectual circles as well as authorities and has led to accumulation of a fruitful literature. Relying on the theory of democratic developmentalist state, the present study attempts to review and analyze the developmental programs during the second Pahlavi era (1941-1979). Our argument is that 1) during the 1941-1953, the type of politics prevented the state from generating the required capacity for developmentalism, during 1953-1962 a transformation in the state-society relation led to some rupture and change in politics and consequently prepared the ground for some efforts for adopting developmentalist policies (the transition period), and during 1962-1979, with an increase in oil revenues, developmentalism flourished and its positive characteristic was significantly revealed. But the country’s situation and the kind of politics did not encourage the Iranian state to become democratized.