Neo Liberal Globalization and Its Effects on the Islamic Republic of Iran as a Rentier State

Subject Areas : International Relations

Hamid Reza Shirzad ¹

1 - PhD Graduate of International Relations from Islamic Azad University, Science& Research Center, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2013-05-04 Accepted : 2013-09-18 Published : 2013-09-22

Keywords: Globalization, Key words: Hegemony, Neoliberalism, Neo gramscianism, Ideologized rentire state, Inside –outside dialectic,

Abstract :

Abstract since 1960s with sudden and multiple increase in oil revenues and its supremacy over other economic sectors in national income, Iranian government officially transformed to a rentire state which seems still is and tend to be in predictable  future. The above mentioned phenomenon caused radical changes in, government size and structures, inflation increase and forming a new and unique kind of relationship between government, citizens and civil society .It also caused restructuring of domestic political economy settings, reorganization and emergence of domestic blocs of power and interests, relative independence in foreign relations and finally changing of pattern of inside-outside relations. After Islamic revolution there were radical changes in priorities of foreign relations based on the new ideological values but there were not the same radical trend of changes in the rentire nature of government, its role in the domestic economy and its economic relations with the outside world. Rentire states continue to exist with the ability to cover their weakness through the continuous flow of oil revenues and their distribution based on two main routes, firstly to put the government as the sole base of development and secondly to allocating more to their supporters and reducing the influence of civil society on the ruler’s desired order. Globalization occurrence and deepening particularly its neoliberal project, challenged the most basic foundations of these type of underdeveloped and weak governments in both efficiency and the governance levels, which results in  forcing inevitable evolution of the rentire state, changing domestic political rulers behaviors and transforming their type of connection to the international system . Globalization (neoliberal) with its worldwide extent and depth puts little space and alternatives for rentire states, they should either be efficient according to new order (project) necessities which means to change their position inside the national political economy , (redefine) type of internal governance and reducing them their autonomy in the international arena (a new position in the international division of labor) or if they cannot get along with the type of globalized order they must pay the price of further inefficiency inside and more incompatibility with the rest of the world. This means that the country's growth can be suppressed by increasing transaction costs both inside and outside and failing to benefit from all development capacity of country and ultimately undermine national power compared to other nations of the world. The mainstream theories of IR or IPE has a high explanatory power to explain the integration process of a state to the globalizing order but they lack the competence for explanation of why a nation with high potential cannot or don’t have the will to develop its place in the international division of labor and world economy. This dissertation has no claim of representing a new theory in IPE, it only pave the way for the new interdisciplinary approach and somewhat heuristic model for understanding how to avoid approaching states (rentire) as a homogeneous entities and using a two tier criteria to evaluate the effects of globalization (project) on them which are first its effect on the rentire nature of these states and second its effect on the hegemonic concept which holds control over this states. Using a neogramscian approach helps me to better explain this theoretical challenge in Dominant theories (especially institutional neoliberal) which have little explanatory power about outside of the order (isolated) states. There exist not a rich literature about the mechanisms through which the globalization (project) affects states (rentire), therefore I used an outside –inside dialectical approach with the study of impacts of globalized concepts of control over internal concepts of control which means ideologized (projected) globalization effects on ideologized rentire state. Using the above mentioned theoretical approach will reach us to conclusion that the hegemonic concept of control of Iran's rentire state (traditional ideological) is going to fade by the strong waves of globalized concept of control (neoliberal project). Using of coercive power can for a short period survive this concept of control but it is obvious that there will be a capacity for hegemonic shift inside Iran whether by government choice or outside government’s alternatives.    

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