Creating Local Democracy in Iran

Abstract

Empirically rich and theoretically informed, this book is an innovative analysis of political decentralization under the Islamic Republic of Iran. Drawing upon Kian Tajbakhsh's twenty years of experience working with and researching local government in Iran, it uses original data and insights to explain how local government operates in towns and cities as a form of electoral authoritarianism. With a combination of historical, political, and financial field research, it explores the multifaceted dimensions of local power and how various ideologically opposed actors shaped local government as an integral component of authoritarian state building. Ultimately, this book demonstrates how local government serves to undermine democratization and consolidate the Islamist regime. As Iran's cities and towns grow and develop, their significance will only increase, and this study is vital to understanding their politics, administration and influence.

Centralization, Elite Capture, and Service Provision: Evidence From Taiwan

“…A prominent argument for why democratic environments are better able to unlock the power of decentralization is that fair and free elections allow voters to punish political leaders who deliver bad policy outcomes (Ashworth, 2012;Besley, 2006;Ferejohn, 1986). Other recent studies more broadly address why decentralization may instead undermine development (Faguet, 2014) and entrench undemocratic rule (Tajbakhsh, 2022) in autocratic and distorted democratic contexts, although there is some evidence that authoritarian elections can help align local officials 0 incentives to meet citizen needs (e.g., Beazer & Reuter, 2022). This study adds to this broad discussion by measuring sub-national variation in election quality in Taiwan.…”

Iran’s uprisings for ‘Women, Life, Freedom’: Over-determination, crisis, and the lineages of revolt

“…The most notable achievement in this regard was the first town and village council elections convened in 1999, which evaded the Guardian Council's vetting process due to the lack of remit as well as their sheer scale and magnitude. Through these elections, it was believed that the Reformists might be able to further consolidate their electoral gains and to remake the state in their image (Tajbakhsh, 2022). In conjunction with these initiatives, in his second term, Khatami would pursue the so-called Twin Bills, which aimed to expand the president's executive power and restrict the Guardian Council's power to disqualify electoral candidates.…”