The Chances of Restoration of Monarchy in Iran

[Cory]

I do not really understand this comparison.

[Cory]

Exiled Crown Prince campaigns to bring Arab Spring to Iran - Telegraph

[Cory]

HIH Crown Prince Reza met with exiled Iranians in the Netherlands to speak about the future of their country:

Noblesse & Royautés » Le prince Reza d’Iran à La Haye

[Class Avesta]

What are the possibilities on "House of Pahlavi" to be reinstated back in Persia (Iran).

What are the possibilities for another revolution to spark.

Regards
Class Avesta

[Class Avesta]

What are the possibilities on "House of Pahlavi" to be reinstated back in Persia (Iran).

What are the possibilities for another revolution to spark.

Regards
Class Avesta

[fearghas]

Negligable I'm afraid.

[BeatrixFan]

This is a strange one. The answer is - we won't know unless it happens, but with the Arab Spring, it's now not unheard of for nations who have lived under dictatorships for decades to overthrow their governments. Iran seems to have a significant revolutionary movement but it's dealt with more harshly than in other places we've seen. Even if there was a revolution in Iran, there's no saying that people would automatically revert to monarchy again (Libya is a prime example). Having said that, the Empress is still popular there according to her supporters and Crown Prince Reza seems to have a decent following so it's not entirely unthinkable but I doubt it's likely anytime soon.

[RoyalistRiley]

I think this topic was discussed here on TRF when there were the Green Movement protests in Iran a few years back but I can't remember the thread it was under. I personally believe constitutional monarchy vis a vis the Westminster system would be good for any country, including Iran, but I feel that a republic may be the default option were a regime change to occur similar to what happened in Libya.

[BeatrixFan]

I think now it's very much the transitional governments that have been established before and during a revolution that are considered by other world powers as the legitimate government and as we haven't seen any revolutionary groups led by monarchist candidates, I'd assume that's why republic tends to be the default setting.

[Alexey 1904]

Beatrix Fan: I agree with your first post(#2). I don't think it will be anytime soon either for the monarchy to return to Persia. (Iran). It's sad, but in 1979, when the Khomeni backers forced the Royal family into exile,it seemed the majority of the people in Iran didn't want them back. It's kind of like the Romanovs and the Greek royals. They both went into exile, and one family escaped execution, the other did not. But at least the Pahlavis do have their followers and can come go as they please even if they can't go back 'home' to Iran.

[Artemisia]

A lot of Iranians have moved to Armenia amid recent worries in their own country; having spoken to them, I wouldn't say it's the Government or Ayatollah that are on the way of a potential restoration. And bear in mind, most of these people are, to various degrees, against the current Iranian regime. A gentle, peaceful people, they have too many issues right now to even think of restoration. It's not really about the current Government or its policies - most people in Iran, rather like Greeks, simply have no desire to reinstate their Monarchy.

Moreover, the current Royal Family is so very remote from the daily life of Iranians, I doubt most of them even know their names (with the possible exception of Empress Farah, who is known and generally spoken of with regard). The recent unfortunate events within the Iranian Royal Family generated a certain degree of interest, but it was too short-lived to mean anything.

Then again, history of Persia is of huge importance to its people - and most of its history is intertwined with its Monarchs. A restoration of a constitutional monarchy with no major political power is a possibility, but only when and if the country's far more pressing problems are resolved.

[Dman]

All I know something has to be done to restore Iran because that place is in a total mess.

[vkrish]

This happens with every constitutional monarchy..Good or bad..
As long as they are there..they are there..people accept them..though once in a while they fret or fume..
But once its gone..they dont care that much..apart from just being nostalgic..once in a while..
So hardly any monarchy was reinstated..except when 'big' powers wanted a puppet to balance..
And Iran having been an absolute monarchy..I dont think people will even bother to think about restoration..
But what Ayotollah runs now..atleast seems closest to constitutional monarchy (correct me if wrong..not well verse.). Only thing remaining is to make it hereditary

[Parterre]

Hello, I saw this thread and I was surprised that the general reception was so strongly negative, I do think it's less likely than it is but I've seen several articles that really make the case there is a rehabilitation of the Royal Family in Iran, and thanks to several satellite TV shows people are are becoming aware of them and how things were before the revolution, even young people who weren't born at the time.

People, I think, are associating that time with an era of economic growth, a more open society, and prestige in the world. The issues that really sparked the revolution, the political repression, corruption, and illiberal government seem to be glossed over simply because they weren't as bad as things are today. The Shah didn't have people stoned or hung from cranes. The popular opinion of him in the West... as a corrupt brutal kleptocratic American puppet, who deposed Saint Mossadegh... is certainly not shared by many Iranians because it's untrue. And when you compare the other issues, you see that, for example, Iranian GDP per capita is yet to reach the level it was before the revolution, after three decades!

I mean all these articles are anecdotal, and for all we know they could be slanted, but I think there is a sizable amount of people, including young people, who would be supportive of a restoration.

The Economist: In with the madding crowd: Why did Iran favour a reactionary Shia divine over a wealth-creating king? (Feburary 12)

Mr Buchan’s account of an infamous arson attack on a cinema, in which at least 470 people were killed, and which was blamed on the authorities (unfairly, as he demonstrates) is unrivalled.

For all his faults, the shah was no butcher. After a year of protests, he fled his people rather than mow them down. (The revolution was marked by relative restraint on both sides; thousands died, not tens of thousands.) He was replaced by a man who for millions represented the traditional Iran that they had been instructed to shun.

The New York Times: Iranians Taking Solace in the Past (May 22)

To my surprise, my revelation to them that Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s tomb inside a mosque is quite humble was greeted with sighs of sadness. “May he rest in peace,” one young journalist told me. “We enjoyed such respect during his reign. Now the world treats us like thieves!”... It is this economic misery and constant fear that has left so many Iranians, including those born after the departure of the shah, so nostalgic for the past.... The first, second and now third generations of young Iranians born after 1979 have no memory of the country’s pre-revolutionary era. All they hear are stories from parents or family friends describing how “during the time of the shah” Iranians could travel anywhere they wanted and never had to line up for hours outside foreign embassies to beg for visas, like so many young people do today. These young Iranians — roughly 70 percent of the population — now listen with pride as their elders talk of the country’s once-strong national currency and regional prowess... And so, more than 30 years after his death, the shah’s strong nationalistic sensibility has made him more popular than ever. The post-revolution generations have only heard their country referred to as part of an “axis of evil” that supports terrorists and deserves to be bombarded. They have come to idealize Iran’s era of monarchy, associating the shah and his wife with social freedom, economic stability and regional power.

The Wall Street Journal: This Year’s Ramadan TV Hit in Iran: Reza Shah Pahlavi (July 30)

Most Iranians—about 60 percent of the population of 75 million—were not even born before the revolution. They look to pre-1979 Iran under a monarch with nostalgia and perhaps a dose of naiveté. They hear stories from their parents and grandparents that sound dream like: an average salary was enough to have a prosperous life and savings; women could swim in bikinis; youth could dance at nightclubs and drink local beer at bars and Iranians could travel the world, with ease and respect.

The young generation isn’t interested to hear of the oppressive political environment under the Pahlavi reign, of the political prisoners and price of activism. Perhaps because they see that three decades later the political oppression that brought the masses to the streets still exists but so much else is gone.

PBS: A Surprising Rehabilitation: The Shah in the Eyes of Young Iranians (August 2)

More than three decades after Mohammad Reza Shah Phalavi's death and despite relentless official demonization of the former monarch, the younger generations of Iranians have a soft spot for the man whom their parents brought down. Last Thursday, the anniversary of the Shah's death, I spent some time talking to the residents of Tehran about him....And yet many Iranians born during the late 1970s and 1980s have kind words to say about him. Leila, a 32-year-old teacher and mother of two who lives in central Tehran, tells me, "I think people, particularly our parents, were very unfair to Shah. He was not a bad man at all." I tell her about the SAVAK and all the political prisoners. "Even worse!" she says, "Look at these guys who rule the country now -- compared to them he was a saint!"... Leila might be right; Tehran cabdrivers often refer to Shah as "Oon khoda beyamorz," which literally means "He, who God may rest in peace." I tell one driver -- 20-something Hossein -- who is taking me to Azadi Square, once known as Shahyad or "Shah's memory," that it is the anniversary of the Shah's death. "God rest his soul in peace, these people did not deserve him," he says. I ask why he thinks so. Hossein, the rear of whose car bears a large religious sign, replies, "Those days people were free. My dad bought a Paykan for 24,000 tomans. Those days, Iranians could go anywhere in the world. There was no inflation. He treated them decently." He shakes his head mournfully. "Now look at people lining up for a piece of chicken."

The Economist: Iran’s former empress: A royal comeback? (August 22)

On July 26th, a popular London-based TV satellite station called Man o To (Me and You), best-known for adapting Western formats to Iranian audiences, broadcast a long documentary based on conversations with the former empress. “From Tehran to Cairo”, as the programme is called, tells the story of the royal couple, from their flight until the shah’s death from cancer in the Egyptian capital, where Egypt’s then president, Anwar Sadat, was the only leader to behave generously to an old ally. The day after the broadcast, the chatter in Tehran was of little else.... Would Iranians welcome back the monarchy they booted out 33 years ago? Many inside the country regret what has taken its place, but the empress unsurprisingly failed to acknowledge the corruption and despotism that marked the shah’s rule. The vision she put forward, of a tolerant Iran standing high in the world’s esteem, still seems distant indeed.

[BrazilianEmpire]

Originally Posted by Parterre

I mean all these articles are anecdotal, and for all we know they could be slanted, but I think there is a sizable amount of people, including young people, who would be supportive of a restoration.

The Monarchy in Iran will not be Restored today, nor tomorrow, but.. who knows, maybe it'll be Restored the day after tomorrow.

Constitutional Monarchy is the best regime for a country, and it's certainly better than a Muslim Theocracy.

[COUNTESS]

Yes, better than a Muslim Theocracy, but not as good as a plain old democratic system. Feeding and paying big bucks for those who do nothing much is ridiculous.

[BrazilianEmpire]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

Yes, better than a Muslim Theocracy, but not as good as a plain old democratic system. Feeding and paying big bucks for those who do nothing much is ridiculous.

What is a "plain old democratic system"? A Presidential Republic, like our countries? Well, last time I checked (and last time UN checked as well), Monarchies were more democratic.

The top10 of Democracy:
Democracy Index 2013: Global Democracy At A Standstill, The Economist Intelligence Unit's Annual Report Shows

1. Norway - Constitutional Monarchy.
2. Sweden - Constitutional Monarchy.
3. Iceland - Parliamentary Republic.
4. Denmark - Constitutional Monarchy.
5. New Zealand - Constitutional Monarchy.
6. Australia - Constitutional Monarchy.
7. Switzerland - Parliamentary Republic.
8. Canada - Constitutional Monarchy.
9. Finland - Parliamentary Monarchy.
10. The Netherlands - Constitutional Monarchy.

Iran will be much better with an Emperor.

[King Ursa Major]

From what I have read about the Iranian Monarchy Restoration possibility, Many people favor it. People say that books about the Shah (Mostly censored) fly off the shelves compared to books about the Iranian Republic. People remember how Iran was more prosperous under the Monarchy.

Granted, The last Shah was a Tyrant, but he was trying to reform the system and make it more democratic during his last years as King.

My opinion: Being American, i'm not a real fan of current Iran, Its a Dictatorship oppressing its people, Restoring the Constitutional Monarchy would give the Iranian people their freedom (for the most part).

[GömdNatt]

Originally Posted by BrazilianEmpire

What is a "plain old democratic system"? A Presidential Republic, like our countries? Well, last time I checked (and last time UN checked as well), Monarchies were more democratic.

The top10 of Democracy:
Democracy Index 2013: Global Democracy At A Standstill, The Economist Intelligence Unit's Annual Report Shows

1. Norway - Constitutional Monarchy.
2. Sweden - Constitutional Monarchy.
3. Iceland - Parliamentary Republic.
4. Denmark - Constitutional Monarchy.
5. New Zealand - Constitutional Monarchy.
6. Australia - Constitutional Monarchy.
7. Switzerland - Parliamentary Republic.
8. Canada - Constitutional Monarchy.
9. Finland - Parliamentary Monarchy.
10. The Netherlands - Constitutional Monarchy.

Iran will be much better with an Emperor.

No, Iran will be much better with a leader who genuinely cares about its people. Whether that's an emperor or a president, who can say. I think in some ways Reza is a good prospect. He's lived outside of Iran for many decades now, he's seen how other monarchies exist, he's lived under democracies, but if he is too succeed, he needs a Prime Minister & cabinet members who are more concerned for the country than for their own needs. As countries the world over has shown, that's not an easy thing.

I am of the belief that once a monarchy is gone, let it go. Greece never did better with a monarchy, despite bringing it back time and time again. Iran, Greece, Russia, etc need leaders who care less about their bank accounts & thuggery and more about making the country better for everyone.

It's a tough thing to find, particularly when the country is being run by thugs and tyrants.

[Cory]

It is rather strange Prince Reza does not speak about the Restoration of Monarchy.