The Rise of the Pasdaran. Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
Abstract:
Founded by a decree from Ayatollah Khomeini shortly after the victory of the 1978 1979 Islamic Revolution, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps IRGC has evolved well beyond its original foundations as an ideological guard for the nascent revolutionary regime. Today, the IRGC functions as an expansive socio-political-economic conglomerate whose influence extends into virtually every corner of Iranian political life and society. Bound together by the shared experience of war and the socialization of military service, the Pasdaran have articulated a populist, authoritarian, and assertive vision for the Islamic Republic of Iran that they maintain is a more faithful reflection of the revolutions early ideals.