The Iranian Revolution of 1979: Theoretical approaches and economic causes

Nearly three decades have passed since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Since then, a religious narrative has dominated explanations for the revolution. This thesis will act as a corrective to this dominance by looking at the revolution from socio-economic and theoretical perspectives in order to analyze the material conditions behind it. The first part will discuss the theoretical underpinnings of revolution, including ideology. The second part will be an economic analysis from the 1960s to 1979, and will serve as the structural material for constructing an economic basis for the revolution. Central to this examination will be the role of oil rentierism in creating the modern Iranian state. In summation, this thesis aims to link the revolution of 1979 with the historical-theoretical discussion on revolution and the contemporary debate on rentierism in the Middle East.