Revolutionary Populism: Inclusion and Exclusion in Iran from 1977 to 1981

• In Event: Political Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Nations and Nationalisms (Table 1)

Abstract

Research on populism, despite its diverse theorizations of the concept, agrees that it constructs an antagonism with the establishment. This has fostered a question: what happens to populism when it succeeds in occupying the position of power? Literature suggests that if populism is not absorbed and neutralized in a strong democracy, it will either transition to authoritarianism or remain in an electoral democracy but significantly weakening checks and balances. However, what discursive transformations are necessary for a populist movement to adapt to its new position of power have remained understudied. Through a case study of the Iranian Revolution (from 1977 to 1981) and by applying Ernesto Laclau’s discursive theory of populism, I have shown how the idea of “people” was re-articulated to construct a new antagonism suited for the Revolution’s sudden hold on the reins of governmental power. Findings suggest that with the Revolution’s victory, despite efforts to cease populism by nationalists and conservatives who were part of the populist alliance before the revolution, Islamists were able to continue populism by three newly fashioned discursive elements: first, extending the meaning of “the deprived” from the poor to all Muslims in historically colonized countries; second, centralizing anti-American fight by portraying America as “the big Satan;” and third, using the idea of “exporting the Revolution” to give “the people” a sacred responsibility continuing their mobilization. This study contributes to populism studies by highlighting the discursive innovations necessary for populism in power, while showing how these innovations would result in the exclusion of previously included socio-political demands and forces.

Author

• Mahdi Feyz Karimlou, University of Iowa