Making History in Iran

The perils of producing revolutionary moderation: entertainment, style, and the ‘Islamic Che’ in Iran

“…How do revolutionary states cultivate a base of support among a new generation willing to defend the existing political structure? Of course, education (Malekzadeh 2011; Vejdani 2014) and social welfare policies (Harris 2017) provide certain levels of buy‐in among some sectors of the population. But how can a state entice citizens into believing that its ideals and virtues are worth defending?2…”

“…Khodis are those who are connected via kinship networks and they play an important role in marriage, land ownership, and allegiance. Throughout the twentieth century, as Iranian society became more urbanized and relationships began also to be defined based on professional affiliations, the scope of khodi expanded to include people in one's professional social circle (Vejdani 2014). In the decades leading up to the Iranian Revolution, khodi and gheyr‐e khodi were a series of concentric circles, the smallest and most meaningful one being the family, slowly expanding out to include those from one's neighbourhood, those from one's social circle, those in one's social standing, and eventually those who shared one's political views (supporters of the Shah versus supporters of the left, Mujaheddin, etc.).…”